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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cision Communications Cloud

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ACIsion Communications Cloud is used for identifying key media and influencers, connecting with audiences, monitoring traditional and social media, and analyzing outcomes.N/A

    PathFactory

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/APathFactory enables you to unlock B2B revenue with AI-powered content intelligence which allows you to generate personalized, engaging, and conversion-focused experiences across the entire B2B buyer journey. Per the vendor, you can accelerate deal velocity and grow your pipeline by recommending the next-best assets for individual buyers and target accounts alike.N/A
    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    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
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    No answer on this topic
    PathFactory
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    67 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    32 Answers
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    50 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    67 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    45 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    92%
    Implementation went as expected
    47 Answers
    Features
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    Content Publishing
    Comparison of Content Publishing features of Cision Communications Cloud and PathFactory
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    PathFactory
    8.2
    158 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Content hub00 Ratings8.4150 Ratings
    Forms / Gated content00 Ratings7.5150 Ratings
    Embedded CTAs00 Ratings8.0135 Ratings
    Content distribution00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
    Content promotion00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
    Content automation00 Ratings7.0120 Ratings
    Content Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Content Reporting & Analytics features of Cision Communications Cloud and PathFactory
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    PathFactory
    8.2
    158 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Audience profiling and targeting00 Ratings7.7132 Ratings
    Closed-loop tracking and reporting00 Ratings7.8125 Ratings
    Content performance analytics00 Ratings8.3157 Ratings
    Campaign optimization dashboard00 Ratings8.98 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Contently
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    CoSchedule Marketing Suite
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Contently
    Score9.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    8.5
    (158 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    9.3
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (8 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (8 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.3
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.3
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision Communications CloudPathFactory
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cision
    For a small start-up, the cost-benefit to add lift to press releases [and] particular milestone accomplishments is definitely there with the Cision [Communications] Cloud. Much of what we do, by necessity, is done internally without the benefit of outsourced press folks, so the Cision [Communications] Cloud ease of use and reporting is very important.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    It's a great tool if you want to create experiences on web and share content with your audience - especially if you want to create bingeable content. For a microsite, I would like to see more modules that build up a page, and great examples for inspiration
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cision
    • Their upgraded press release templates and ability [to] pull in an entire, completed release makes the [process] faster and easier, and allows for more graphics, such as company mastheads, [are done well].
    • The media tracking offers the ability to find relevant placements across the entire country.
    • The journalist database streamlines the process of finding relevant reporters to directly connect [to] on news releases that are relevant to their beats.
    • The process of setting up, creating, and distributing a release is seamless, easy to use, and not labor-intensive.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    • Create Visually appealing performance report
    • Give more in-depth information about performance metrics than most alternatives
    • Ability to track performance over time and compare this performance across time periods
    • Provide and send auto-run reports to top level management based on predefined criteria and timeframes
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cision
    • In the media influencer database, the classic Cision allowed us to do a zip code radius search to really drill down to the neighborhood level. That's because we do localized media advisories and press releases for events at neighborhood schools. One part of a big city like Chicago really doesn't care what's happening in another part of Chicago that's too far away. The zip code radius search was a feature in the classic Cision but not with the current Cision Communications Cloud. We've asked for this to be restored several times, but nothing's happened. In fact, we were told to use DMA — which actually goes wider in a search (bigger than a city), not more narrow as needed. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of what we need.
    • Another missing feature involves a merge field when sending out an email press release through Cision. This is the "select insert field" button in the upper right that's used to personalize a release with the media contact's name and other information. This is key for localization of the release. Many media outlets won't run a release unless it's local. While "county" is a feature in the influencer database when putting together a media list in Cision, "county" is not available to insert into a press release as a merge field. Counties are important because this is how many newspapers and health departments are organized and identify themselves. I've asked for this to be implemented, to no avail. As a workaround, we've had to use "contact city" or "outlet city."
    • After refining a media list in Cision using filters, I've had to download the list and take it offline to see the big picture, screen for duplicates, etc. While there is a button on the bottom left intended to help with this, it doesn't do the trick. That's because there may be multiple contacts with the same email address. In addition, one media contact may represent numerous media outlets, so this same contact could show up several times. It would be nice to have a better way to see the whole list online and eliminate both duplicates as well as those who previously opted out.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    • Microsite was very hard to build ourselves. Changing the site can be really confusing and is not always intuitive. We have trouble knowing how to update items to get it to work the way we want it to.
    • Better instructions on how to customize tracks and use the different tools.
    • Users that come in without UTM parameters should still be included in all data reporting.
    • The reporting is confusing.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cision
    While I am happy with the product performance overall, TrendKite's recent merger with Cision is cause for concern. When we first signed on with TrendKite, I spoke with several users and the best response I received was that the company was a startup and we could expect there to be hiccups along the way as the company grew and the platform got more robust. That has certainly been the case. However, now that they have merged with Cision — a company that has grown too fast, has not focused on improving its product and has poor customer service — I have concerns that TrendKite will lose some of the qualities that have made it a great company and great product to work with.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    We have seen a lot of value from our team's use of Path Factory. We also like working with this vendor as they actually take our feedback and implement it on their roadmap. A great vendor with a great product
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Cision
    The flexibility and customization of Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* is among its most important features. Changing the dashboards, using keywords in the saved searches to pull out the best stories and the integration with marketing automation tools gives me confidence that I will able to continue using this tool well into the future. The future implementation and integration of the media contact database will complete the suite, making list management and email marketing programs much smoother. *This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    Overall, I think the tool is fairly easy to use to get a basic content uploaded to create a track and even the more complicated features become easier once you become familiarised with the process
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    I think there was only one time where we had issues reaching our account manager, otherwise PathFactory was always willing to hop on the phone to talk through strategy, to work through issues, and help build custom solutions to fit our needs. Customer service is a big selling point of PathFactory.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Cision
    Generally, Cision performs well day to day, but it's got some annoying bugs that slow down usage/require user workarounds which is inefficient. More seriously, a few months ago, as a result of a major system upgrade, certain critical functionality was not working and I was unable to use the service for more than a day when I had time-sensitive work to execute
    Read full review
    PathFactory
    The analytics and reports feature is fairly new and have proved very popular with many areas of our business and is growing in popularity. The metrics that are attainable are very insightful and provides a clear picture on the performance of the track.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cision
    For Cision TrendKite in particilar, support always responded, but it was sometimes slow. For some of our booleans and search queries, we would need help refining and excluding terms/phrases that weren't relevant to our client or campaign. This sometimes took 1-2 days just to get a response back, which sometimes was too late when a last-minute report was due. This was only with the support staff, not necessarily our customer success manager or sales rep.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    We meet weekly with Jennifer and I can't say enough about her. When issues have happened or we need help, she jumps on it quickly. If she doesn't know the answer, she pulls in Reggie or another on her team that can help. She goes above and beyond and has been very supportive, even when we had a lot of hard questions to answer from higher-ups. All this is on top of just being an awesome person.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Cision
    No answers on this topic
    PathFactory
    I was able to browse around the tool quite easily once some basic training was given. I learnt much from using those method and only needed further help when wanting to learn about Reports, External codes and adding forms.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Cision
    The online training sessions available for the Cision Communications Cloud are helpful and informative. There's more than one option - initially, I signed up for the live webinar classes on basic functions and that is what I recommend other new users do as well. If I have specific questions or something I want to learn more about, I can search the online database and find article or online training videos to get the information I need.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    The customer service, from technical through to customer success, is one of the biggest reasons I'd recommend PathFactory. This is true of their training. It can be as bespoke as you like, at least in my experience, and the team is always willing (where possible) to incorporate your suggestions.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Cision
    There is no implementation at the customer's end so this doesn't really apply to my instance of Cision (possibly to all instances of it).
    Read full review
    PathFactory
    The PathFactory team was very helpful when implementing the product. They gave us a lot of recommendations on best moving forward. As a note to new users, when implementing I would make sure that you create with your team a system to make sure that the platform is scalable. My team was able to do this through creating a foldering structure, naming conventions for tracks and assets, and ensuring tagging is used on all content uploads. I would also make sure when implementing that you have an understanding of how your team will track success and that your brand team is involved to make sure that there is consistency in the look and feel of the tracks
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cision
    It's a similar product. I think Meltwater sells itself as being a bit more niche, but I have not found many significant differences between Meltwater and Cision. Meltwater's sales process is a very high pressure and their prices are inflated.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    I used Uberflip in a past company. I think they are pretty comparable. From what I remember, Uberflip was more intuitive to use, but I think PathFactory might have more capabilities. Although this was years ago, I am not aware of Uberflip's functionality now. I have had good experiences with both.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    Pathfactory is growing in popularity amongst individuals from different parts of the organisation and it would be difficult to forecast how scalable this can become
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Cision
    • Cision has a net positive impact on time savings for staff so we can be quicker to market
    • Cision has a positive impact on internal savings as it is used internally across multiple accounts and with the internal PR team
    • Cision is extremely useful when it comes to resourcing and conducting outreach in those DMA's where our agency doesn't have a physical presence
    Incentivized
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    PathFactory
    • We saw ROI within the first 9 months of using PathFactory.
    • Our onboarding team saw quicker adoption of our product while using PathFactory to engage them during the onboarding process.
    • We've been able to more accurately understand our content needs and what works best when prospecting for specific segments. (eg. SMB, mid-market, and enterprise)
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Cision Communications Cloud Screenshots

    Screenshot of Media Monitoring and Analytics are just part of the complete Comms Cloud. It combines deep data dive with a database of journalists and influencers, and a media relationship management tool.Screenshot of Track brand mentions in real time across the millions of online stories on the internet. Monitor millions of stories and breaking news happening daily across the web. Professional services consultants teams are in place to ensure best practices while setting up a monitoring account.Screenshot of Cision’s media and influencer relationship management tools include audience insights, combined with a pitchable database that enables brands to uncover the best media contacts and social influencers to reach their target audience.Screenshot of Identify the social conversations and influencers that are impacting a brand. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube monitoring capabilities track brand mentions across all major social channels. Analyze results for social mentions or campaigns on the fly with its reporting features.

    PathFactory Screenshots

    Screenshot of Netflix-like home screen for B2B buyers with personalized resource centers.Screenshot of Gives sales visibility into the content consumption data of leads & accounts, inside a CRM.Screenshot of Content Tracks - Gives B2B buyers bingeable content journeys that accelerate their purchase decisions, whenever and wherever they click.Screenshot of Path Analytics - Gives access to a new class of content consumption data on the level of the visitor, account, and content asset.Screenshot of Guide - Gives buyers spot-on content recommendations, anywhere on a website.Screenshot of Content Track Analytics - Shows how visitors binge content in specific Content Tracks, and assess how particular sequences of content perform.