Automation technology is changing the way we work. Across all sectors, businesses now recognise the benefits that embracing the appropriate automation tools can bring, from improving efficiencies to helping stretched teams better manage their workloads. Public Relations (PR) professional are no exception.
According to a report by communications and journalism school USC Annenberg, 59% of PR pros feel that technology will drive considerable change to the industry. Despite this, many PR teams have been slow to adapt to automation.
When leveraged correctly, the automation of PR tasks, such as media monitoring, distribution, social media and reporting, can save time while improving planning and results. This can help organisations streamline efficiencies and deliver better results.
We’ve put together our top examples of PR processes that most benefit from automation. Here are some ways that PR teams can incorporate automation into day-to-day operations:
Media Monitoring
For PR professionals, one of the most important tasks is monitoring media output. This enables organisations to understand how audiences are interacting with their content and how they can improve lead engagement.
When publications and individuals mention or share your organisation’s news, it is important that this is monitored to track the impact of your content. Automation tools provide PR professionals with new ways to monitor coverage results, track media sources and customise search options. This allows PR teams to work towards specific goals and identify trends in their coverage.
Distribution
Building media lists can be time-consuming. Creating a distribution list template that can be uploaded to a single platform, allows businesses to quickly create a target list enabling press releases to be sent out at the click of a button.
Automating with distribution tools can benefit PR organisations by allowing them to schedule out pitches at optimum times and personalise communications with contacts. With the right automation tools, PR organisations can increase efficiency in their distribution process to deliver maximum impact with audiences.
Reporting
Automation can also simplify the reporting process for PR professionals by allowing organisations to easily track campaign metrics.
Compiling reports with automation technology provides a range of user benefits including custom dashboards, data visualisation and real-time results from PR campaigns. Using tools for reporting also enables organisations to automate keyword tracking to establish Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) impact.
Social Media
Social media automation allows PR teams to act with greater efficiency. Through social media automation, PR teams can plan and schedule what will be posted so that it automatically happens, saving time and enabling them to draw more traffic to their site. Social media automation allows organisations to focus on high-priority tasks without worrying about posting on social media at specific times.
Automation in PR can support and improve workplace routines to better integrate with marketing and sales teams. Automation tools take care of repetitive tasks to allow PR pros to prioritise high-end business operations, such as content creation, campaign planning and relationship building.
If you are looking for external support for your PR team, Ilex works in partnership with B2B tech and telcos to offer complete communications support, from consultancy to content creation, distribution and reporting. Get in touch with our team of experts today and book a meeting to find out how we could help you.
