The best PR tools consist of several components that, when put together, provide a complete toolbox with everything you need to manage media contacts and get your message out to the world.
Certain tools stand out and tend to be at the top of the list for PR pros looking for a platform to meet their needs. A huge contact database full of journalists is a given. Same with the ability to draft and send press releases. Analytic insights about how your campaigns are received and the ability to monitor for brand mentions are also important boxes to check.
But there’s another PR platform feature that has quickly gone from “nice to have” to “must-have” — online newsroom software. The ability to create a branded online space where you can keep all information about your company, brand, or organization, all updated in real-time, has proven to be a winner in the race to get noticed.
Here's what you'll read about in this this article:
Let the search for the best newsroom software begin!
Online newsroom software - definition
If you’re the focus of media interest, an online newsroom puts all the material you’d like to share about yourself in one place. There’s no need for journalists to hunt all over online, looking for bits and pieces of your PR history. When it’s easier to write a story, that story is better and more accurate and you make a better impression on the journalist who wrote it, setting up possible future cooperation.
If you have such resources in-house, your development team can easily help you build an online newsroom. These days, however, it can easily be created by any other team in your company thanks to newsroom management software.
It’s mostly because virtual newsroom software is now a prominent, out-front selling point for any comprehensive PR media management tool. Not to mention that some of the PR software providers focus solely on selling online press rooms.
If you’re currently looking for a digital newsroom tool, feel free to download the ultimate PR software cheatsheet and get familiar with the leading press room software providers below.
Leading press room software providers
Here are a few words about how different PR media relations tools have put their own spin on newsroom management software.
Prowly
Prowly makes it easy to do just what’s said on the website: to establish “the definitive source of information about your brand.”
Not only do Prowly online newsrooms look great, but they come with built-in features to help build your online footprint and leverage the SEO advantages that it brings. Being able to add your domain name adds an element of credibility (and more SEO juice!).
Plus, analytic insights into traffic sources add to your ability to reach out to the people who are already interested in you and what you have to share.
Pricing: From $258/month
Prezly
In addition to the expected customization features, including domain name, Prezly adds some nice features that make it easy to create your online newsroom just the way you want it. You can add a newsletter signup form, create searchable categories, and include picture galleries along with multimedia materials.
Add cool extras like being able to add embargos to posts and easy integration with Google Analytics and you have a solid option for your online newsroom needs.
Pricing: Starting from $90 per user per month
Online newsroom tip: Why send an attachment to your press release when you can just send a link? Instead of thinking about trusting a download, one click takes journalists straight to your message. Keep it simple and avoid unwanted email attachments with an online newsroom.
pr.co
Getting feedback from journalists on what they’d like to see in an online newsroom would be a good idea before you started building one, don’t you think?
That’s the approach that pr.co took and it shows in the user-friendly nature of their newsroom management software. They also make it easy to build your contact database by turning visiting journalists into subscribers to your content.
Another cool feature is the ability to create separate language-based pages for when it’s time to scale and go international. Add easy integration with YouTube and social media platforms and you’ve got a great online newsroom.
Pricing: From $527/month
PressPage
Here’s a platform that started as an early form of online newsroom and worked backward to add the functionalities that other names on this started with. This reverse history means they have more of a background in digital newsroom tools and it shows in their feature-rich offer.
With all the standard customization tools you expect along with a super-easy user interface, PressPage is a solid pick for anyone looking to upgrade their PR game.
Pricing: Undisclosed
Online press room tip: Typos happen. Too-late updates land on your desk. Things change. So what do you do if you’ve already sent out an old-school press release in the form of an attachment to an email? There’s not much you can do apart from sending out an update or correction, which makes you look...less than professional. With an online newsroom, you just make a couple of quick edits and you’re done (and no one will ever know you made a typo).
ACCESSWIRE
Ease of use is the focus here, from customizing the look of your online newsroom to uploading content to it. In fact, Accesswire’s online newsrooms are synchronized with their press release creation tools for seamless integration.
Solid analytical insights make it easy to know which content attracts the most interest, who your most regular visitors are, and more. Smart contact management and simple customization make this another good option for online newsroom software.
Pricing: Undisclosed
epresspack
Looking for all the features we’ve mentioned but in a more sleek package and mixed with a bit of blockchain just because? Then give epresspack a look when it’s time to set up your online newsroom.
In addition to the expected appearance customization and easy access, you’ll find a neat and clean interface along with some cool blockchain-based features for an added layer of security around confidential documents. Journalists will find it easy to download and share when you want them to and a serious defensive moat when you don’t.
Pricing: From $850/month
Online newsroom tip: When it comes to getting noticed, every little bit helps. In the online world, that means expanding your footprint as much as possible. An online newsroom not only does just that, but it’s a great complement to your website – a kind of add-on but separate. Pleasing the algorithms that boost your online visibility is easier when you have more authoritative content about your brand, which just happens to be the focus of your own online newsroom.
Ready to choose a digital newsroom tool?
For many brands out there, an online newsroom adds a sense of legitimacy to the main website, helps to control the narrative when getting media coverage, and makes it easier to manage online reputation.
If you’re currently on the hunt for press room software, make sure to consider at least a few alternatives - and take advantage of the 7-day free trial with Prowly!
Cover photo by Le Buzz
