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Cision Communications Cloud vs. Sysomos, now part of Meltwater

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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

    Sysomos, now part of Meltwater

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/ASysomos was a social media listening and marketing solution for content discovery, planning, publishing, moderation, and analytics. Sysomos was acquired by Meltwater, and is no longer available, but the features of the former Sysomos are now part of the Meltwater platform.

    $1,000

    per month

    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudSysomos, now part of Meltwater
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Sysomos
    $1,000.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudSysomos, now part of Meltwater
    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 CloudSysomos, now part of Meltwater
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    Chose Cision Communications Cloud
    Cision is a much more complete system. It provides a real depth of media sources and it is extremely user friendly unlike the competition.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cision Communications Cloud
    Cision Communications Cloud has a wider database for an affordable price, and their customer service is top-notch.
    Incentivized
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    32 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudSysomos, now part of Meltwater
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Social Suite by Reputation.com
    Score9.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudSysomos, now part of Meltwater
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    7.0
    (46 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    6.8
    (28 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    8.5
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    2.0
    (8 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (8 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision Communications CloudSysomos, now part of Meltwater
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Sysomos Expion is best suited, in my opinion, to offices where either you have only one moderator/manager OR where multiple users plan to manage a specific channel. Without live updates, it gets far too complicated for multiple users to manage the exact same workload
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Ad-hoc research. During planning phase of a campaign it is a helpful tool to understand the marketplace, key influencers and topics that engage a target demographic.
    • Post-event hashtag analysis. Rapid generation of reporting on efficacy of a campaign, key voices, topics that resonated, viral reach and more.
    • User interface. Friendly and accessible enough to minimize training needs and enable decentralized access, though we have found some hand-holding is still required to get the most out of the platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • It does not provide a visual for volume over time.
    • The visuals aren't excellent, and would require an export to create better looking graphics.
    • The interface isn't intuitive and sometimes requires clicking around to find things that seem like they should be under a different title.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    There are two differentiating features that Sysomos MAP has that the competitor tools I have experienced (Radian6, Meltwater Buzz) did not: user-friendly Boolean queries for searches and near-real-time results. The former is important because, of course, your results are only as good as your search/campaign. With Sysomos, once you master Boolean queries (which isn't terribly difficult) you're set for creating any kind of listening report. I strongly prefer this to the "campaign creator" forms that other services provide. Second, Sysomos MAP returns results almost immediately - like a Google search. So if you get your results and see that you need to tweak your query - no big deal. Or if you have a last-minute request for a client - not an issue. Meltwater can take up to 48 hours for a search to fully populate. This is a major issue if you get your full set of results back and see that you need to adjust the query; you're looking at another two days of wait time. A long wait on results can also prove problematic in agency settings where clients or prospective clients often need results with a quick turnaround.
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    The product is very easy to use. The platform is visual and data is easy to read. Boolean construction can sometimes be difficult, but the boolean constructor tool is helpful for boolean beginners. For more experienced boolean constructors, the boolean display at the top is very helpful in identifying where there may be holes in the construction
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Not really an availability issue, but concurrency licensing rules mean that only one user can be logged in at a time.
    Read full review
    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
    Discontinued Products
    This has not been an issue. It is actually beating TweetDeck when we are tagged within a post that TweetDeck is monitoring.
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Unfortunately, we have not had a great experience with customer support from Klear. In the sales process, they were very responsive and helpful, but when onboarded, it definitely changed. We are based in the US and our customer service rep is based in Israel, meaning our work hours barely overlap. Oftentimes we're waiting 24+ hours for a response, and when it's a time-sensitive issue (like the platform not pulling in Instagram Story data) we want it to be resolved as quickly as possible. Klear also has a chat feature for more immediate help, but we've experienced a similar situation there where it takes 12+ hours to get a response and it's usually from our customer service rep. Our rep is very nice, but also doesn't seem very knowledgeable about the platform, and usually can't provide an immediate answer to a question we ask and has to "check with her team."
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We had a kick-off training with the whole team where they walked us through the functionality. This was a pretty effective and comprehensive training.
    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
    Discontinued Products
    Implementation was so easy I dont even remember it!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We've used Sprout Social & Hootsuite in the past -- and they all stack up pretty evenly. Sysomos has the same features as Sprout or Hootsuite, except their reports and analytics are a little more detailed. Hootsuite has a better social media management software and dashboard though
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Lowered costs and overhead when Expion got introduced as we now use one centralized solution for all of our social media work
    • We can finally calculate ROI with ease and understand our campaign performance through proper tracking and analytics
    • Competition tracking was never easier
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.

    Sysomos, now part of Meltwater Screenshots

    Screenshot of TOP CONTENT: See the best performing content from all your social media channels in one view plus compare it against your competitors’ pages.Screenshot of FAN MODERATION: Sysomos Expion makes it easy to know who to speak to, when to engage in conversation and can even be integrated with customer care centers.Screenshot of PUBLISH: Easily plan, schedule and publish content from a simple drag-and-drop calendar with workflow that’s easy to track and review.Screenshot of OPTIMIZE PAID ADS: Optimize paid ads with smarter analytics and trending triggers so you can better understand how organic and paid content are working together.Screenshot of DYNAMIC DASHBOARDS: Powerful marketing analytics shows that it’s not just about creating a report or crunching some numbers - but about telling a story.  You’ll discover patterns, breakouts, and trends in real time to capitalize on opportunities.