BuzzSumo vs. Help a Reporter Out (HARO), discontinued

Pros

• The real-time data unmatched and Buzzsumo is continually improving their tools and dashboards every year (we've noticed that their team listens to suggestions and often implements new features based on how our industry is evolving).

Cons

• The price is a little steep for us. We are a small advertising agency and have a lot of tools to consider to improve our efficiency. We just wish it was a little less expensive.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• Monitors for client PR placements and notifies via email and Slack alerts
• Helps us research potential journalists writing about the topics relevant to our clients
• Displays trending web and social content clearly with relevant metrics
• Allows us to view what's working for our clients' competitors in the media

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

• Although I think it's hard, I'd like to see it being used for other mediums as well such as Twitch, etc.
• It could have better backlink data to include more backlinks that each content piece has.
• One or two more pricing tiers might work.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

The interface is a little clunky for me, especially on mobile. However, the directions are clear and it didn't take long for me to figure out how to use it. I just wish that things were a little more streamlined.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

The support we have received over the years has been wonderful. They have definitely demonstrated excellent customer service. We find the chat support to be the quickest and most useful for the day-to-day questions. A rep always responds very timely, answers our questions, and sends a follow-up to ensure we're maintaining success

Incentivized

Buffer is a tool that can be very useful for certain uses of Twitter, but in reality, it is very limited when you want to demand a little more. The pros actually weigh a lot, but the serious limitations in several regards do not allow us to give it a higher mark.

I consider that Buffer is a very useful tool that allows you to have an active presence on social networks without having to be glued to them all day. There are others, among which Hootsuite stands out.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• It has had a positive return as it has allowed us to create better content and gain popularity online.
• Though the cost is relatively high in my opinion, it has allowed us to make better organic content than we would have paid this cost on ads.
• Helps us find influencers for campaigns.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized