3BL vs. Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
3BL
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
3BL Media's content distribution platforms and Brand Studio promote the environmental, social, governance (ESG) initiatives of companies, nonprofits and NGOs.N/A
Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
Score 5.1 out of 10
N/A
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a service owned by Cision (via the merger with Vocus) for reaching out to journalists.N/A
Pricing
3BLHelp a Reporter Out (HARO)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
3BLHelp a Reporter Out (HARO)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
3BLHelp a Reporter Out (HARO)
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

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Best Alternatives
3BLHelp a Reporter Out (HARO)
Small Businesses
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud
Score 7.5 out of 10
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud
Score 7.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud
Score 7.5 out of 10
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud
Score 7.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud
Score 7.5 out of 10
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud
Score 7.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
3BLHelp a Reporter Out (HARO)
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(4 ratings)
5.1
(12 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
3BLHelp a Reporter Out (HARO)
Likelihood to Recommend
3BL
I would (and do) recommend 3BL Professional to any company/org trying to expand the reach of it's CR programs. Often communications is how we justify the budget for our program work (communications help us increase brand reputation, reach potential employees, reach investors and ESG analysts). The 3BL platform is an incredible way to get your impacts and initiatives out to the world so that people know about the incredible programs you're running. Would recommend for any CR/ESG/Sustainability team.
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Cision
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) was (and today, HERO is) an incredibly valuable tool that effectively bridges the gap between journalists and PR practitioners, and it filled a need on both ends. A perfect solution to an ongoing industry problem. When I have a client that needs media coverage, and a lead is shared in the daily email that fits the client's expertise, it creates an opportunity that we may never have otherwise been able to identify.
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Pros
3BL
  • sourcing and amplifying relevant content across a large network
  • critically assessing current industry trends and determining the best plan for our campaigns and content
  • professionally managing out content, drafting mock-ups and promoting articles in a timely manner
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Cision
  • Pushes PR opportunities right to your desktop several times a day
  • Provides media opportunities for just about every industry and if you monitor it regularly, on just about every topic you can think of
  • Provides an easy way to contact reporters with relevant information
  • Media outlets are verified for you
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Cons
3BL
  • Could use detailed description of difference between page views and impressions and how these are differently experienced by people who could see the content on various channels
  • It would help to know a ballpark figure of impressions served up by Reuters, AP and other services that pickup 3BL content
  • It would help if quarterly reporting could track with our fiscal year quarters instead of calendar year quarters
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Cision
  • I've noticed that some queries are incredibly vague to the point where they could or could not apply to me. I feel like they should implement more strict parameters on what the query has to include.
  • Sometimes the outlet is marked anonymous which is not beneficial at all to those who are browsing queries. I think the outlet should be required as that is a pretty essential piece of information to consider.
  • I think they email slightly too often. My inbox gets flooded with HARO emails and I'm not able to go through all of them because they get buried. Maybe explore a new strategy to organize the huge amount of queries that get submitted every day.
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Usability
3BL
No answers on this topic
Cision
It takes only a few minutes to set up your account. Then, the rest is just checking the push emails, and responding to relevant queries.
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Alternatives Considered
3BL
No answers on this topic
Cision
They are different tools. While HARO pretty much gives you feedback on media opportunities you can pitch for and allows you to get in touch with the reporter, so you can get exposure and they can find people for their news. Cision allows you to syndicate your press releases. You need to have a written press release in order to use it.
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Return on Investment
3BL
  • A lot of staff time saved on PR which is not our expertise.
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Cision
  • A hard thing to measure in terms of actual sales dollars, however, being able to provide fresh content is essential to any brand. When someone mentions they saw the published piece or it grows organically from social media, that is a win.
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