NEW YORK: PR workflow automation platform Prowly surveyed 200 PR pros to dig into preferences and trends for the latest edition of its State of PR Technology report and found that they're not taking full advantage of tools to increase efficiency.
According to the report, 92.9% of those surveyed continue to use Google Docs or Microsoft Words to draft their press releases, more than half (57.3%) store their media lists in manually updated spreadsheets and almost a third (30.8%) of respondents don't use any type of media database to source new contacts.
Among those who do use tools, Cision is the most popular (29.7%), according to the report. It suggests this is due to its strong brand awareness and time on the market. Other popular tools include Muck Rack (17%) and Meltwater (10.1%). For those who chose "other" (13.6%) among the options provided, many tend to use reactive tools like HARO or Qwoted. Perhaps most surprisingly, the third-most-popular option, chosen by 16.1%, was not using PR tools at all.
The biggest struggle among PR pros is getting journalists to respond to their outreach (60.6%). The report also found that more than half of respondents find media databases (34%) and media monitoring tools (21.4%) to be the most valuable of the tools available. Yet despite this wide availability of tools with numerous capabilities, only 35.5% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the solutions available.
Prowly is a media relations management tool that helps users find contacts, organize them into a CRM, create press releases, manage email pitches and monitor coverage, among other features.