In a public relations campaign, being able to search the Web quickly and easily is essential to analyze the impact of communications activity.

It is hard to believe, but Internet search engine Google was brought to life nearly a decade ago in 1998. This invaluable online tool has become such a way of life that the Oxford English Dictionary officially recognized it as a verb in June 2006 and the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary followed suit a month later. Given its status as the Internet tool of choice for millions worldwide, it makes you wonder what we did before Google existed.

Of course, Google is not the only search engine, and it certainly wasn’t the first, preceded by AltaVista, Lycos and Yahoo! Thanks to these tools, surfing the Internet has become second nature to many people seeking up-to-the-minute and historic information. In a public relations campaign, being able to search the Web quickly and easily is essential to analyze the impact of communications activity. Having spread the word, it is important to track by continually monitoring for media coverage.

Using key search words, search engine alerts such as those provided by Google and Yahoo! are a highly effective way to find articles on the Internet. Alerts are free, making them an attractive alternative to fee-based services or having to search each individual magazine Web site to see if they’ve run an article on your company, product or service.

Technology is constantly evolving and new Internet services are always popping up. One example of a new search engine is StumbleUpon (stumble-upon.com). According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), StumbleUpon delivers better search results than Google. “Next time you want to wander the Web, forget about Googling it. Stumble it,” the WSJ wrote. Therefore, it’s important to keep an eye out for the next best thing to stay current.

These days, it’s just as important to search blogs – a Web log or journal with commentary on a particular subject such as travel, online gaming, technology, politics, or healthcare – as it is to search traditional online media. To do this you need a specially designed blog search engine such as Technorati (technorati.com) or Blogdigger (Blogdigger.com), because the traditional Internet search engines are several steps too slow in indexing. According to Wikipedia, in May 2007, Technorati was tracking more than 71 million blogs. No human being or team of people can keep track of that much information, and if some of the blogs are relevant to you or your business, you need these tools to find out what people – many of them recognized industry influencers – are saying.

Tools of the trade
There are numerous other products and services on the market to help make PR practitioners more efficient and effective. They vary in price, but can provide a worthwhile return on investment.

Databases filled with information on reporters and media outlets for every industry are must-have tools for PR departments and agencies. Services like Cision’s Media Directory (mediamap.com) and Vocus (vocus.com) allow users to search through hundreds of thousands of contacts and develop customized lists for pitching stories, distributing news releases and identifying editorial opportunities.

They also provide media monitoring and evaluation services and enable users to analyze press coverage to help determine its impression on the market. This intelligence helps companies to determine if their message is having the desired impact and allows them to change course if necessary.

The Information Age has brought a proliferation of clipping services. Cision also provides a media monitoring or news clippings service, as does BurellesLuce (luceonline.com) and CustomScoop (customscoop.com). These services monitor thousands of U.S. and international print publications, as well as broadcast news, electronic media, blogs and other Internet sources. Coverage is delivered in full-text, as it appeared in the media, complete with photos and graphics. These services are much more sophisticated than the search engine alerts, but they can be costly. Large publicly traded companies that generate a lot of coverage typically use them, but they can also be very valuable for any company to track what its competitors are doing.

For companies to achieve the best results from a significant news item they should consider using a wire service for news release distribution. Two of the largest and best-known services are BusinessWire (businesswire.com) and PR Newswire (prnewswire.com). They both offer a comprehensive range of services, including multimedia distribution options, which allow companies to maximize the exposure and coverage of an announcement. These wire services are particularly important for public companies because of disclosure, but privately held companies can benefit greatly, as well.

These traditional tools have proven themselves successful time and time again, but we are living in the Internet age and it behooves us to explore social media. If you’ve heard of YouTube, MySpace, Digg, Second Life or Wikipedia, then you are familiar with social media even though you may not know it. Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share content, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives in the form of message boards, forums, podcasts, wikis and blogs. Social media is still in its relative infancy, but it is spreading like wildfire as the medium of choice for the next generation.

Because members of this generation will one day become our captains of industry, companies should explore social media and determine how to leverage it in their communications efforts. Blogs’ value for business-to-business companies has yet to be determined, but for companies selling to consumers they can be an extremely beneficial way to reach potential customers and should be considered part of the marketing mix. As blogging matures and people become more familiar with them, there is greater potential for them in the B2B environment.

Tools exist that allow companies to start their own blogs, such as Blogger (blogger.com), and thousands of people use these services to quickly and easily publish their content online. A typical blog combines text, images and links to other blogs, Web pages and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of blogging. So, whether you’re a technology guru or novice, the Internet and computer software are valuable tools of the trade. Time is money in any industry, and these tools can help you or your company become more efficient and effective in your marketing efforts, which can have a very positive impact on the bottom line.

Vivian Kelly is CEO and founder of Interprose Inc., a PR firm based in Reston, Va. Contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 703-860-0577.