Reviewing 2 free PR apps: Muck Rack and Prowly

As a former journalist and master’s student entering the world of public relations, I have used my fair share of tools to connect with fellow journalists and PR professionals. I have researched and scoured different platforms, including ones I have personally used in the past, and I chose two: Muck Rack and Prowly.

Let’s talk about Muck Rack first. I have used Muck Rack in the past, when I was a reporter for the Lincoln County Journal in Missouri, to contact fellow journalists and public relations professionals, and I found it very user-friendly. Muck Rack allows you to track media coverage and cultivate relationships. The platform has a built-in search engine that will pitch your campaigns to journalists interested in your client, as well as auto-updating media lists. The most popular feature is the “Who Shared My Link” tool.

“Users simply enter the URL of an article or webpage to find out how many times it was shared on social media, and which journalists and bloggers shared it,” May Zayan, a freelance blogger and marketing communications coordinator for Holland & Knight, said.

Muck Rack also updates contact lists, monitors social media posts about your client, and can also be integrated with Gmail and Microsoft Outlook. However, users have reported that, though Gmail can be integrated, Google Analytics cannot be. Also, though there is a free trial, Muck Rack is very pricey, starting at $5,000 for a basic subscription, which might not be affordable for smaller PR agencies or departments.

Prowly is another PR tool that many professionals use. Unlike Muck Rack, it integrates with Google Analytics and features a worldwide media database powered by artificial intelligence. Prowly also has a “media pitching” tool that chooses press contacts based on the contents of the press release. PR professionals have reported it is user-friendly, hosts journalist-friendly “virtual. newsrooms” and streamlines the process of distributing PR campaigns.

Prowly’s AI Press Release Creator module, for example, enables PR professionals to draft their document from scratch using key details like important dates, figures and quotes, or they can give an “interview” to an Open.AI-powered “journalist” to generate a detailed draft based on information gleaned from that back-and-forth conversation, according to Megan Venzin of Nonprofit Communications Report.

But Prowly content strategist Kamila Hanson said AI should always be used as a first draft, not the entire project. “You, the human being, are the one who makes the decisions,” she said.. “AI is just an assistant — nothing more and nothing less.”

However, users have reported limited filtering options with Prowly, and even though the platform is user-friendly, it can move slowly at times. It also carries a free trial, but monthly subscriptions can run around $500 for a basic package.

Both Muck Rack and Prowly are quality content management software systems for PR professionals. The size of your agency or PR department determines which option is financially prudent. While Prowly has more AI-generated tools, Muck Rack is widely trusted by PR professionals worldwide.