There is no point in launching a business if no one gets to hear about it. And it is you who have to make people hear about it. Needless to say, you are not alone fish in the sea.

The good news is, there are so many PR tools that can help startups compete with big shots. They just need to have a sound strategy as far as media coverage is concerned.

It’s about having a well-thought-out strategy for your PR campaign. You need to hit the ground running with your networking skills, reaching out to as many media persons as you can, creating as much buzz as you can.

That being said, there is no need to hire a PR firm as there are some tried and tested tools that can make your life a lot easier and your PR campaign a mega-hit. No matter what your company size is, the efficacy if these tools remain the same.

Below is a list of 5 such tools.

1. PRWeb

Sending out a Press Release is an old school but still, an effective option, to launch your PR campaign.

The first step is to create and tell a unique story that the blogger community will find interesting. The second step is to have an extensive distribution, making your story reach to a large number of media contacts.

Media persons should feel that urge to cover your story. So it’s better to streamline your story rather than going all over the place.

For pushing your release and making it rank in SERPs, you can use PRWeb and its three-step process, ie, Write, Distribute, and Track.

It’s easy and quick on PRWeb, and its ‘Track your news’ feature makes it a potent tool. You can sense the reaction that your Press Release is evoking, which goes a long way in answering important questions like:

• How many people and how many times your release was read?
• How many impressions did your release received?
• Which media agencies have received your release?

Not just that, you also receive the search engine data, showing you the keywords that pulled in the maximum number of people.

Some people might find the pricing on the higher side, PRWeb is worth its price. It can save a lot of your time and you can focus more on the quality of your content rather than networking.

2. Muck Rack

Mostly there is a lot of guesswork when startups kick off their PR campaign. If you are a greenhorn in marketing and PR, you simply send out emails, keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.

It’s a hit or miss approach, but more often than not it will be a miss. With Muck Rack, you can throw all that guesswork out of the window. It’s one of the finest tools to find the right set of bloggers and media persons.

With Muck Rack you can:

• Search for Company names, Journalists, and Bloggers, and filter information based on media types.
• Get notified whenever bloggers or media person tweet about your company, competitors, or use any of your keywords.
• Receive reports on how your content is being shared on social media.
• Organize your media lists, including personalized notes, making the process a lot more efficient manner in the future.

Note: The signup process is quite detailed, so do your homework before creating your account on Muck Rack. Gather a list of your competitors, as you will be required to provide that information.

3. Meltwater

Meltwater is an advanced tool and there might be a lot of hit and trial while using it. So take your time and watch some of its tutorials on YouTube, as it offers a plethora of features.

Using Meltwater, not only can you track the search engine buzz, but you can track your competitors as well. Who wouldn’t want to know what their competitors are doing or how many mentions or tags they are getting on social media?

You can remain in touch with millions of editorials, blogs, and social media interactions. You can zero-in on media persons who are popular and cover your industry extensively.

PR is about building connections for the future. So you need to play the waiting game at times too. So if you are starting out and want to nurture your social media relations, then Meltwater is your answer.

4. Anewstip

It’s not a cakewalk to find relevant media contacts. You can google as much you want, but it’s always tough to streamline and list out contacts relevant to your industry.
This is where Anewstip comes into the picture and brings in the much-needed speed and efficiency.

You can actually search for bloggers and media persons based on the content they post on social media, like tweets. Simply type in the keyword, and you will receive the list of people who have used that keyword in their content.

It indexes around 200 million news articles and 1 billion tweets, to provide you a highly refined information.

Unlike Meltwater, Anewstip is quite simple. So not much of hit and trial here.

5. Duct Tape Marketing

For righting an irresistible Press Release, you don’t have to be a professional or some kind of a wizard. You just need to have the right approach.

What if we tell you that there is a Press Release creator that provide you all the tools to create an engaging release, without wasting your precious hours?

We are talking about Duct Tape Marketing, which is an ideal option for startups by helping them create those eye-catching Press Releases in quick time. From writing a kickass headline to writing a solid body, you will get apt guidance and cues, without spending a dime. You just need to fill in the required fields and take a back seat afterward. The tool will take care of the rest.

Startups, therefore, can focus more on their social media branding and networking opportunities.

Hope you found the write-up informative and will help you ace your PR game. Do share your views and queries in the comment section.