In our opinion, Marketing and PR is more fun today than ever before, yet it’s moving quickly and requires tracking and analysis. In an effort to provide helpful tips and resources, we want to tell you about three resources we cannot live without out. We encourage you to give them a try. If you do not at least use the first one NOW, you’re truly missing out on valuable information.
Google Alerts. This free tool is essential to staying on top of your brand and industry. Set up Alerts easily to track what people are saying about you, your company and your competitors. You can choose to receive updates in real time, once a day or once per week (we recommend once a day). Be sure to set up Alerts for upcoming events you may be attending or hosting. This tool is free so don’t hesitate.
Canva. I cannot praise this site enough. Canva makes graphic design simple. You can choose from hundreds of professional templates to easily create social media graphics, presentations, flyers, posters, invitations and much more. It is mostly free, however some design elements may cost you…$1.00! Seriously, get on over to Canva now and get lost in this amazing tool. (Be warned, it’s fun and you may get sucked in for hours!)
PitchEngine. Please stop spending a fortune on newswires people! PItchEngine has been one of our favorite tools ever since it burst onto the scene in 2008 touting itself as “social media press release” distribution. It’s easy to use, affordable (we mean super affordable) and their customer service is amazing. You will actually become friendly with their staff because they are so personable and attentive. Use PitchEngine to disseminate your company news for a fraction of newswire fees, which let’s face it are so last millennium. Visit PitchEngine to see how a variety of brands are using it to get the word out in some very creative ways (bye bye AP style.) And please tell Jason that Angela at Starfish PR sent you!
If you have any questions about how to utilize these great resources OR simply want to show off your skills, please share in our comments or tag me, @LedgeDancer.