Cision Communications Cloud Information Reviews & Insights

Score6.9 out of 10

459 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Cision Communications Cloud are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Pros

Easy-to-use and Intuitive User Interface: Users have found the user interface of Cision PR Software to be easy-to-use, intuitive, and not overwhelming. They appreciate the well-designed and user-friendly interface of Cision Communications Cloud.
Exceptional Reporting Capabilities: Users highly praise the exceptional reporting capabilities of Cision Communications Cloud. They find the platform's reporting features to be interactive, detailed, and customizable. Many users value how these reports help them quantify the impact of media on their business and gain insights into trends. Additionally, users appreciate the media tracking capability of Cision as it aids in measuring PR results.
Effective Search Functionality: Users find the search function in Cision to be helpful and excellent for quickly obtaining high-level information or metrics about a publication. The detailed database of contacts in Cision is also highly valued by users who find it useful for identifying reporters and influencers. Moreover, they highlight that the new edition of the media building interface is easy to use.

Cision Communications Cloud Reviews

30 Reviews

InformationComputer Software11Internet5Telecommunications6Broadcast Media1Publishing2Information Services1Computer Games1Music2Media Production1

PR Simplicity with Great Reach!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

December 5, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cision Communications Cloud for our company's press releases to reach a broad audience. We are a quickly growing small business and awareness is our biggest challenge. Cision Communications Cloud is a great resource to get our name out there! The [ease] of use in selecting targeted press releases was the main reason we chose Cision Communications Cloud.

Pros

Reach - A large list of mediums and new organizations that pick up our press releases.
Simplicity - Step by step approach to releasing news items with guidance along the way. Things like support with titles to get the best response [is] very helpful.

Cons

Expanded reach in technical niches - We are [an] electrical manufacturing company and our audience [is] quite difficult to [reach]. Cision Communications Cloud does a great job of helping us target.

Likelihood to Recommend

Our press releases issued through Cision Communications Cloud are easy to formulate and have an expanded reach for our electrical manufacturing company. We look to put out [a] new product or IP news frequently, Cision Communications Cloud makes it easy to create and share these releases across multiple platforms and to a long list of targeted media sites that our customers read [every day].

Verified User

Director in Marketing (Telecommunications company, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

4 years of experience

So far so good!

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

January 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We just used Cision Communications Cloud in order to send out an important press release via PR Newswire regarding a software update that we pushed out. This is helping us to increase awareness and spread the details of the software update to our customers as well as the media.

Pros

Cision has the largest distribution network in terms of press releases
Cision Communications Cloud provides a detailed and almost immediate visibility report on the results of the release

Cons

I experienced some customer service struggles--mostly in that I had to wait on hold for 15+ minutes before I could ask a simple question along the way.
My release needed to be sent in a faster manner than traditional, so I had to follow up after each step wasn't completed quite as fast as it was detailed that it would. I did receive help, I just had to initiate the next step each time.

Likelihood to Recommend

My experience is specifically with sending a press release via PR Newswire through Cision Communications Cloud. This is a great fit for the times in which you want to send a press release for a big update or change. However, due to the price, I wouldn't use it for small releases, but it does have a really wide reach so it is great for large releases. Plus, the process is not overly time consuming once you have the release written.

Erin Halvey

Content Marketing & PR Specialist in Marketing at Accountable HQ (Computer Software, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

Great platform!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

November 20, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cision Communications Cloud for our corporate communication to delivery press releases to other media outlets. It is primarily used by marketing, but all functions can have a say on what we send over the wire. I think it is a good way for other outlets to pick up our wins and share with their audiences.

Pros

Easy to use platform
Helpful operations team at Cision
Great way to communicate to media outlets

Cons

More explanation on who is picking up the release
Updating platform regularly
More explanation on headlines of those who pick up the release

Likelihood to Recommend

Cision Communications Cloud is a great platform to use when trying to get your message out to many media platforms all at once. Eliminates the hassle of trying to reach out one by one. Use this platform when you want to share your release. I'm not sure of a case when you wouldn't use it, because if you didn't have public relations, then you wouldn't invest in the program.

Verified User

Project Manager in Marketing (Media Production company, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

PR Strategy Success with Cision

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

July 15, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cision is used to enhance and monitor our Public Relations efforts. We keep track of media contacts, news coverage and social mentions. We use analytics to gauge sentiment in the marketplace. We monitor our competitors and compare earned media results. It's a fantastic way to pull month-end and periodic reports for Board review, we really appreciate not having to keep track of placements in spreadsheets!

Pros

Monitors media mentions. We can see where our news releases are published and we can see where there are stories about us that may require follow up with the journalist or publication.
Monitors competitors. We can easily see the news our competitors are sharing and the volume of coverage they receive. This gives us great benchmarking data to increase our share of voice in earned media.
Provides information about sentiment so we have an idea of overall perception the media is providing people about our company. This allows us to follow up and provide information and education where needed. It also lets us know where we need work to improve perception in the media.
Customizable Media lists. Create lists with freelancers and staff journalists. Include notes about contacts, pitch ideas, etc.

Cons

When people leave your organization, it can be difficult to change settings and automated emails.
More ability to customize searches and to tweak them without the assistance of Cision of staff.

Likelihood to Recommend

We have found Cision to be a helpful reporting tool, which was the primary reason it was originally purchased. We wanted to have a better understanding of our coverage, sentiment and how we stack up versus our competitors. It has performed very well for us. We have not used the distribution services because we have another service we had already subscribed to. However, we are looking at combining the two in the future for a seamless PR tool that does everything we need it to do.
In addition to media relations, we also use it to track government contacts. It has been helpful to have our information in one place and out of a spreadsheet that could easily be overwritten or deleted.

Verified User

C-Level Executive in Marketing (Telecommunications company, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

Cision: great for big business, jury is out on niche mid-size businesses

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

June 14, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It's used only by the Marketing department right now. I'm the only company employee who spends time on PR (split with Customer Comms) and have one freelancer who we give access to use the platform. Our Digital Marketing Manager also uses the platform to help supplement monitoring HARO and for advertising information. Cision helps with competitor intelligence and understanding our PR reach.

Pros

Media database of reporters is always helpful and what I consistently come back to Cision for.
Monitoring: I find it harder now at a B2B organization to measure impact with Cision, but Cision's ability to monitor sheer volume and general impact has always been helpful.
Share of voice.

Cons

UX when it comes to switching between systems. I understand that it's a process that is long and can be difficult to accomplish but feels like as such a powerhouse Cision must have a faster process for this. e.g., Trendkite. Overall, as a user, I get the sense that Cision just buys companies and everything I touch as a user requires me to enter a new system/previous company's interface. It's also complicated to remember where things live, or how you get to similar aspects in other platforms (e.g., Distribution and Message Center).
HARO: I'm interested in certain search terms within HARO and am surprised there isn't a way to create an email alert based on my search term.

Likelihood to Recommend

Cision is great for large companies and organizations that receive a lot of news (particularly mainstream news). As a mid-size B2B company, I'm less convinced now that Cision is the right tool when we're trying to gather measurement and impact among smaller trade publications. Cision considers those pubs to be small without much impact, but those are big hits for us. My measurement reports (e.g., SEO, audience reach, etc.) never look great because I'm not focused on the New York Times but on publications like Health+Safety Magazine or AutoSuccess. Not that I expect a weighted system or have an answer for this, I'm just not sure how much measurement helps us.

Emily Hartman

Marketing Communications Manager in Marketing at KPA (Computer Software, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

7 years of experience

Positive & Excited to Keep Using Cision Communications Cloud

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

January 22, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is being used across the communications team (department), and it addresses giving our team specific metrics backing out our earned media.

*This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.

Pros

Visual representation of data, need to simply show data without being boring
Flexible, easy to adapt data based on topic or campaign

Cons

Omitting unnecessary pick ups -- can be tedious going through coverage and weeding out what not to include
Needs the ability to input an already made earned media list to help filter results and pick ups

Likelihood to Recommend

Definitely the most flexible of the platforms and the acquisition by Cision allows for more opportunities. it is good for monitoring specific campaigns on certain topics and less helpful with telling you your overall performance since it picks up random coverage not pertinent to your company.

Verified User

Strategist in Corporate (Telecommunications company, 5001-10,000 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

Lots going on - for good or bad

Rating: 6 out of 10

Incentivized

October 12, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* across all PR departments at our company. We use it to track coverage of our clients and news to share PR results with teams.

*This review was written near the time Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.

Pros

Cision Communications Cloud has print, broadcast, online and radio all in one place, rather than using different monitoring services for broadcast versus online.
Cision Communications Cloud has a ton of data on viewership and the impact of each story.
Cision Communications Cloud saves reports and coverage all in one place making it easy to return to coverage that was pulled.

Cons

There is room for improvement with advanced searches. Rather than having to code out if you want just U.S. coverage or any other specific filters, there should be dropdowns allowing you to fully customize your search.
I always receive errors when trying to search just one type of media i.e. just selecting broadcast, or just selecting online, rather than all. The page will continue to refresh and never pull just one type of media which is what we need sometimes.
I will still notice coverage results missing and find stories on Google that Cision did not pick up.

Likelihood to Recommend

Cision Communications Cloud is great when you need mass coverage pulled with numbers. It's harder to find highlights and specific stories and still misses some things.

Verified User

Manager in Marketing (Music company, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

Cision Communications Cloud

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

August 15, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* to track coverage across the Asia Pacific region and develop monthly reports for business stakeholders.
*[This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.]

Pros

The newsletter function is great. It's easy to use and repeat successful formats with updated content.
The tagging system is great, allowing you and other team members to track a theme or coverage from a campaign across geographies.
The training options are good, with options to learn more about the product's features.

Cons

Cision does not track print coverage at all, and there is no way to track this, missing a large and important media source.
Cision's coverage of media outlets in non-USA regions could be significantly improved. I've had major metro newspapers coded as "blog" in countries like Australia, which is impossible to change and has a negative impact on results when read by stakeholders unfamiliar with the market.

Likelihood to Recommend

Newsletter development and sharing is a great feature of Cision Communications Cloud, as it is easy to set up and use.

Verified User

Manager (Computer Software company, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

Cutting-edge analytics for data-driven PR professionals

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

February 27, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* helps us to understand what the world is saying about our brands. With a portfolio of several well-known travel brands in over 40 countries, it used to be a challenge to keep track of all PR coverage and at the same time not miss out on what are the hot topics the travel industry is talking about.

*This review was written near the time Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.

Pros

Cision quantifies our PR impact and helps the team to optimize the PR strategy.
Cision analytics are the data basis to strategically shape our SEO-friendly PR approach.
Cision allows us to easily get an overview of what other travel brands are doing.

Cons

Cision is very strong in detecting coverage for our brands that operate in the English-speaking market, but it struggles with other languages e.g. Spanish.
Cision also does not always get the international media right. So sometimes coverage is missing or top media is categorized as a blog (which we filter out by default).

Likelihood to Recommend

If the dashboards and searches are properly set up, you should find it easy to create nice reports that are easy to understand and updated automatically. However, if your brand name is an actual word in the local language, it takes a lot of time to remove articles, but this is a general problem of these kinds of tools.

Katrin Weissenborn

Project Manager - Content Marketing in Marketing at lastminute.com group (Internet, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

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Cision Communications Cloud for a Global Software Company

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

February 26, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cision Communications Cloud (Trendkite)* is being used on a daily basis for Alerts on when our company appears in the news, as well as for internal reporting, since Cision is connected to our website and website traffic. Next step should be to 'link' it up to our social Media platforms, so that our reporting is even more complete.
*[This review was written near the time Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.]

Pros

Best thing is not actually the platform or Cision, but the people behind it. They are available it seems ALL THE TIME, so if you forget how to quickly retrieve something it is very easy to get in contact with any of the customer service people and they all seem to have the same high level of experience and knowledge with the platform.
Interface usability - has the essentials and doesn't really let you get lost. There's room for improvement, of course, but all in all it's very straight forward.
Being able to see the geographical scale of the news, by importance and geographical areas. That notion and vision is very important for ANY business that sells beyond borders.
Limitless reports, to fit your every stake and shareholder needs - that can be replicated just by changing the dates - so you don't have to do a new one each time.

Cons

Specific Stake and Shareholder summary reporting examples: Cision has a lot of data and many times the question is more 'how to present' the data than the data itself. For that, it would be great (especially for professionals with fewer years of experience) to have some guidelines. For instance, if by answering 3-5 questions, like what is the main point you want to make of this report, who is your audience, etc, a report example would be suggested :-)
USER INTERFACE: has room for improvement, graphically and also when it comes to getting quick queries answered 'in your palm', through a mobile app, for instance, instead of always having to login through your computer.

Likelihood to Recommend

Any business that prides itself in building, maintaining and growing its knowledge in the market, brand and reputation should look into Cision Communications Cloud. Any business needs to look at market trends and movements as well - Cision is key for that, also in the cases where you are a company that is involved (actively or passively) in mergers and / or acquisitions, new business streams, unprecedented opportunities.

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🔷 Inez Corrêa de Sá

PR & Corporate Communications in Marketing at WeDo Technologies (Computer Software, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

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Cision Communications Cloud for a Global Software Company

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

February 26, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

Best thing is not actually the platform or Cision, but the people behind it. They are available it seems ALL THE TIME, so if you forget how to quickly retrieve something it is very easy to get in contact with any of the customer service people and they all seem to have the same high level of experience and knowledge with the platform.
Interface usability - has the essentials and doesn't really let you get lost. There's room for improvement, of course, but all in all it's very straight forward.
Being able to see the geographical scale of the news, by importance and geographical areas. That notion and vision is very important for ANY business that sells beyond borders.
Limitless reports, to fit your every stake and shareholder needs - that can be replicated just by changing the dates - so you don't have to do a new one each time.

Cons

Specific Stake and Shareholder summary reporting examples: Cision has a lot of data and many times the question is more 'how to present' the data than the data itself. For that, it would be great (especially for professionals with fewer years of experience) to have some guidelines. For instance, if by answering 3-5 questions, like what is the main point you want to make of this report, who is your audience, etc, a report example would be suggested :-)
USER INTERFACE: has room for improvement, graphically and also when it comes to getting quick queries answered 'in your palm', through a mobile app, for instance, instead of always having to login through your computer.

Likelihood to Recommend

�I

🔷 Inez Corrêa de Sá

PR & Corporate Communications in Marketing at WeDo Technologies (Computer Software, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

View profile