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Cision Communications Cloud vs. Pulsar CORE vs. Salesforce Agentforce Marketing

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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

    Pulsar CORE

    Score10 out of 10
    N/APulsar is a social media monitoring platform offering social listening, owned channels analytics, and social CRM. Customers use Pulsar for brand tracking and campaign measurement. The platform includes 4 tools: TRAC: Social media listening across topics, audiences and content diffusion. CORE: Owned channels analytics to measure your content performance and audience growth. FLOW: Social customer relationship management and social media publishing. TEAM: Analyse your internal social networks…

    $1,200

    150,000 mentions

    Agentforce Marketing

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/AMarketing Cloud is a cloud-based digital marketing platform, used by marketers can segment their audience, deliver personalized messages, track campaign performance, engage leads and accounts, and optimize strategies based on real-time insights.

    $1,250

    per month per installation

    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    TRAC (starter package)
    $1,200
    150,000 mentions
    Account Engagement
    $1,250
    per month
    Engagement
    $1,250
    per month
    Intelligence
    $3,000
    per month
    Loyalty Management
    $20,000
    per month
    Personalization
    $100,000
    per year
    Data Cloud for Marketing
    $108,000
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    Free Trial
    NoNoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPrices listed are on a 'starting from' basis. All TRAC packages have unlimited user log-ins, unlimited search queries and are charged on the amount of mentions pulled in. Bespoke packages are available.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    Considered Multiple Products
    Cision
    No answer on this topic
    Pulsar
    No answer on this topic
    Salesforce
    Chose Agentforce Marketing
    We use Mailchimp for email campaigns that are not sales-specific, i.e., press releases. While Mailchimp is good for tracking opens, click-throughs, embedding photos, embedding videos, etc., Pardot works best when integrated both with Google Analytics as well as Salesforce. It …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    88%
    Would buy again
    84 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    32 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    72 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    89 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    58 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    54 Answers
    Features
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Cision Communications Cloud and Pulsar CORE and Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pulsar CORE
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.3
    171 Ratings
    5% below category average
    WYSIWYG email editor00 Ratings00 Ratings7.4122 Ratings
    Dynamic content00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1153 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content00 Ratings00 Ratings6.4112 Ratings
    Landing pages00 Ratings00 Ratings7.6121 Ratings
    A/B testing00 Ratings00 Ratings7.0151 Ratings
    Mobile optimization00 Ratings00 Ratings6.7111 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3132 Ratings
    List management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1129 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences00 Ratings00 Ratings7.295 Ratings
    Lead Management
    Comparison of Lead Management features of Cision Communications Cloud and Pulsar CORE and Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pulsar CORE
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    8.1
    124 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Lead nurturing automation00 Ratings00 Ratings8.8109 Ratings
    Lead scoring and grading00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1110 Ratings
    Data quality management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3116 Ratings
    Automated sales alerts and tasks00 Ratings00 Ratings8.2101 Ratings
    Campaign Management
    Comparison of Campaign Management features of Cision Communications Cloud and Pulsar CORE and Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pulsar CORE
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.3
    114 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Calendaring00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3103 Ratings
    Event/webinar marketing00 Ratings00 Ratings7.497 Ratings
    Social Media Marketing
    Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Cision Communications Cloud and Pulsar CORE and Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pulsar CORE
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.4
    88 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Social sharing and campaigns00 Ratings00 Ratings7.383 Ratings
    Social profile integration00 Ratings00 Ratings7.539 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Cision Communications Cloud and Pulsar CORE and Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pulsar CORE
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.6
    124 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1118 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3123 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3100 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Cision Communications Cloud and Pulsar CORE and Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pulsar CORE
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.5
    124 Ratings
    0% below category average
    API00 Ratings00 Ratings6.790 Ratings
    Role-based workflow & approvals00 Ratings00 Ratings6.689 Ratings
    Customizability00 Ratings00 Ratings6.9111 Ratings
    Integration with Salesforce.com00 Ratings00 Ratings7.6113 Ratings
    Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM00 Ratings00 Ratings8.914 Ratings
    Integration with SugarCRM00 Ratings00 Ratings8.611 Ratings
    Third-party software integrations00 Ratings00 Ratings7.524 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Vbout
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Bloomreach
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Social Suite by Reputation.com
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Iterable
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (329 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.1
    (114 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.5
    (37 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.6
    (9 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (36 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.1
    (7 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    3.0
    (17 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (40 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision Communications CloudPulsar COREAgentforce Marketing
    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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    Pulsar
    I think that Pulsar is a good tool for brands or agencies who have a set list of competitors or subbrands that they are looking to do a monthly/weekly comparison of engagement metrics. When you have the brand account inputted, the data is shown in a visually tangible way and easy to comprehend.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    I think the product, by definition, is meant for marketing — and we use it exactly for that, for running campaigns. That’s the best-suited use case for the product. I don’t think it’s really meant to be used for anything else — that’s just not how it’s designed.
    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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    Pulsar
    • Track engagements over time
    • Easy to use interface
    • Modern and updated display
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    • Filter relevant content so you can priorize those that are more relevant and resolve it first
    • Measure the traffic in the different social networks, as well as the response rate, average response time and other relevant metrics
    • Configure automation rules to order the work of those who must interact with the customer
    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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    Pulsar
    • Unfortunately, when exporting data it is often hard to read in an easy format.
    • I've used other tools where you can get historical data once you put into the tool but Pulsar cannot do that.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    • The email builder does not offer any way to catch/check bugs across different email service providers
    • Creating SQL is not as easy as drag-and-drop; a lot of technical knowledge is required
    • Salesforce Marketing Cloud is sold as a marketing tool, but to be honest, you need a LOT of technical IT support to run the tool
    • Einstein metrics are across the board; if you have multiple audiences in one instance of Salesforce Marketing Cloud you can't segment the data.
    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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    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    As of right now we have not seen any other program that integrates as seamlessly into our Salesforce platform. We have barely scratched the surface of all the features and use cases. It would be irresponsible to make a move to another platform in the near future. We have not come up against any limitations that would prompt a need to switch
    Read full review
    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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    Pulsar
    Pulsar is not a complex tool by any means. The interface is updated and comprehensive, and I've used multiple tools in the past where the interface was very outdated and exporting data was often a difficult process since it was not well organized. The tool works well in visualizing complex data.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    You won't find another solution that has as many features as Salesforce Marketing Cloud Interaction Studio. We all know Salesforce, we all know how big they are and it's not for nothing... Their tools do most of the things you want, need and even imagine. Using it is complicated, but the usability is infinite.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
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    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Upgrades and timing of the upgrades were communicated well and planned during off hours for our work. If we did have a campaign scheduled during that time, it would kick-off after the system was back active. There were a few unplanned system down times, but it was a rare occurrence and those times were also short in duration.
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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
    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Though the make up of MA apps is not built this way today, it would be nice to see them become more real-time. The integration between Salesforce and Pardot is not a true real-time integration. If I modify something in Salesforce, those changes are not automatically reflected in Pardot immediately. There is a delay of about 15 minutes before the systems sync. This delay, although not long, is less than ideal We would love the systems to be integrated real time such that changes are propagated from one system to the other immediately.
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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.
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    Pulsar
    I have not had to reach out to Pulsar support before but my coworkers have and said the support was good.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    They are really responsive and more than not solve the problem or give you insight to how you can manage the solution yourself. I do find however sometimes a long delay on the more complex issues when they need to loop in other departments. but overall a good experience with support
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Cision
    No answers on this topic
    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    The trainers at the Pardot user conference (Elevate and Connections) were very knowledgeable and presented the material well. Again, the content was targeted to more of a new user audience, and was not really relevant for folks who had been using the product for 2+ years.
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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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    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Pardot's online training touches on all topics briefly and vaguely without much indepth exploration into how a final outcome could look, such as Nurturing Campaigns, Email templates, landing page templates, etc... The only true way to uncover Pardot's full capabilities is to have Front End design and coding experience. Without this key skill set, I would not recommend Pardot to another business.
    Read full review
    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
    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    From an IT perspective, once you set up the Javascript beacon and start collecting data there is a waiting game. During this time you can start labeling your site actions which can be labor intensive for a single person, but you don't really have the final end-users on the platform yet. We did a lot of training so users were experienced, but it wasn't until they had their first tasks to accomplish that they started using the system and had questions. I'd recommend setting up some immediate goals for an end-user to start segmenting for the purpose of displaying message campaigns so you can jump start end-user action.
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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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    Pulsar
    I think that Pulsar is one of the more updated platforms that I have used and the metrics exported/shown in the dashboard are accurate. I think that some tools report inaccurate metrics gathered from social media platforms due to the new APIs, something that often causes confusion and lack of clarity.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    We use Salesforce Marketing Cloud for lead management, generating reports, tracking customer and dealer information, inputting orders, and more. I prefer HubSpot for email marketing and automation because it is easier to use and the emails are designed much better. We currently use Salesforce and HubSpot, and we are very happy to have both, as they have different pros/cons.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Cision
    No answers on this topic
    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    was not involved with this part but i have not heard about clompaints
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
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    Pulsar
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Prior to this, we had no solution and literally were doing things on paper in a world where technology is outpacing paper. Having this process optimized has made it easier for the sales and marketing people to change information. From the training perspective, it has allowed us to see holes in where we could create additional support training, so the ROI here has been a lot more than just the optimization of a process.
    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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    Pulsar
    • Input into our algorithm for brand strength and stature
    • Quick engagement tracking
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to more efficiently reach out to a higher number of prospects.
    • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to nimbly communicate important messages in a timely fashion to facilitate conversion.
    • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to track who is opening our messages so that we can stop sending to those not interested and focus on the most engaged audiences.
    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.

    Pulsar CORE Screenshots

    Screenshot of The activity dashboard gives you a thorough snapshot of all the key numbers in your datasetScreenshot of Pulsar TRAC advanced location detection gives you up to 100% geo-localised data by city, country and GPS coordinatesScreenshot of The Network map visualizes the engagement patterns within your audience and identifies the most influential usersScreenshot of Slice and dice the data with contextual, behavioural and content filtersScreenshot of See the bigger picture. Pulsar CORE gives you integrated brand-level metrics across all owned channels, so you can measure the total reach and engagement you're getting.

    Agentforce Marketing Screenshots

    Screenshot of Pardot Analytics - Pardot's reporting and analytics can be used to perform true revenue impact analysis and closed-loop reporting.Screenshot of Pardot Email Analytics - The reach and impact of  email marketing efforts are displayed in real-time with advanced reporting and analytics by device, and email client.Screenshot of Pardot Forms and Landing Pages - Pardot's form and landing page builders are used to turn online traffic to leads with targeted offers and content marketing.Screenshot of Pardot Email Marketing - Lead nurturing flows are defined via an interface that enables definition of the simplest or most complex segmented and targeted campaigns.