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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

    ZoomSphere

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/AZoomSphere is a social media scheduling and management solution designed for teams to plan, schedule, auto-publish, and analyze their social media content across multiple platforms. ZoomSphere is primarily used by social media managers, marketing teams, and agencies to streamline content workflows, improve collaboration, and track performance across various social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X. The software helps users automate…

    $29

    per month

    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudZoomSphere
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Leads Manager
    $29
    per month
    ZoomSphere
    $199
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudZoomSphere
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Two month discount available for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cision Communications CloudZoomSphere
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    No answer on this topic
    ZoomSphere
    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
    Features
    Cision Communications CloudZoomSphere
    Publishing
    Comparison of Publishing features of Cision Communications Cloud and ZoomSphere
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    ZoomSphere
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Content planning and scheduling00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Audience targeting00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Workflow management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Marketing
    Comparison of Marketing features of Cision Communications Cloud and ZoomSphere
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    ZoomSphere
    9.0
    1 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Content marketing00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Channel coverage/integration
    Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Cision Communications Cloud and ZoomSphere
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    ZoomSphere
    8.4
    1 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Twitter00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Facebook00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    LinkedIn00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Instagram00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    YouTube00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Reporting/analytics
    Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Cision Communications Cloud and ZoomSphere
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    ZoomSphere
    8.3
    1 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Campaign success analytics00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Real-time tracking00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Competitor analysis00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Account management
    Comparison of Account management features of Cision Communications Cloud and ZoomSphere
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    ZoomSphere
    8.5
    1 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Role-based user permissions & privileges00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Mobile access00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudZoomSphere
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Sendible
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Emplifi
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudZoomSphere
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 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 CloudZoomSphere
    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
    ZoomSphere
    ZoomSphere is suited for all companies - from small to big, for one brand or more brands within company. With ZoomSphere you can leverage your social media presence - but you need to use lot of apps ZoomSphere has. I think that ZoomSphere is not suited for company that want to use ZoomSphere for only one purpose, for example content creation and publishing. There are plenty of ways how to use ZoomSphere more complex.
    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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    ZoomSphere
    • Content Creation and Publishing
    • Analytics and Reporting
    • Workflow management
    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
    ZoomSphere
    • Community Management
    • Viewable backlog or product roadmap
    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
    ZoomSphere
    No answers on this topic
    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
    ZoomSphere
    There is always a space for improvement, but overall I see ZoomSphere as a valuable partner and tool for our business on social media. Maybe in a future rest of the apps in tool (community management, social media listening,...) will be on a same level as competitors and we will use only one tool for whole social media management. But if not, ZoomSphere is still awesome for the most of it
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ZoomSphere
    No answers on this topic
    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
    ZoomSphere
    No answers on this topic
    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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    ZoomSphere
    Whenever I contacted customer service, I had a great response within minutes. Sometimes was not easy to solve, but somehow we figured it out. I would like to reccommend more proactive communication with clients regarding product roadmap, for example "In 1Q we will launch XY,..." Client should know that before implementation - client can prepare for news, client can test something,...
    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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    ZoomSphere
    No answers on this topic
    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
    ZoomSphere
    No answers on this topic
    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
    ZoomSphere
    We see ZoomSphere as a better option than Kontentino. They are almost the same in way you can use the tool, but ZoomSphere has better UI and UX and also customer service. We also know that pricing levels are better with ZoomSphere than Kontentino. But both tools are quite awesome for social media management. Just book a demo, have a trial and you will see by yourself.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
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    ZoomSphere
    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
    ZoomSphere
    • Possitive effect into measure all awareness effects on social channels
    • Time effectiveness
    • Faster workflow management and realtime communication
    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.

    ZoomSphere Screenshots

    Screenshot of ZoomSphere Workspaces, which lets the user keep clients and projects organized. A separate workspace can be set up for each client with only needed apps—no extra clutter. Each workspace comes with a built-in Chat for easy communication and a Files section to store everything from images and videos to presentations and reports, keeping work in one place.Screenshot of ZoomSphere Scheduler, which simplifies social media planning and publishing across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X. Users can manage formats like stories, carousels, and short videos, or set up a custom approval flow for fast approval from a manager or client, and enjoy features like Instagram grid preview, post performance panel, and bulk actions.Screenshot of a Kanban-style interface to streamline task management. Here, users can create tasks, set deadlines, attach files, and discuss each task card with a team to keep everything on track. With clear task organization, ZoomSphere Workflow Manager helps teams stay on top of their projects and ensures smooth collaboration from start to finish.Screenshot of ZoomSphere Notes, which makes organizing ideas and plans easy.Screenshot of ZoomSphere Analytics, which offers in-depth insights into social media performance. Content performance can be analyzed with over 100 available metrics, and reports can be generated for any time period.Screenshot of the tool to send multiple posts for approval to client at once. Bulk Actions lets users send entire batches of posts via email or built-in chat, as well as duplicate, update statuses, or delete multiple posts.