Searching for Media Contacts

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Modified on: Tue, 13 Dec, 2022 at 6:21 PM

Searching for Media Contacts is an integral part to get your story heard. To begin:

1. Click on Influencers
2. Click on Search

1. Click the arrow in the Contact Name box to see the criteria available for searching
2. Use the scroll bar to see all of the criteria that can be used to search
3. Once you have selected a search criterion, click on the text box and make a selection or type in the desired search information.
4. Click the Plus Sign button to include additional criteria to your search. You can add as many fields as you like.
5. When all desired criteria are in place, click Search

Media Contact Search Criteria

Contact Details

• Contact Name: Name of the media contact. The name can be entered starting with the first or last name.
• Subject: The beat or topic that the contact reports upon
• Job Role: Role held by the media contact
• Contact Location: Where the media contact is physically located
• Contact Language: The media contact’s working language
• Contact List: Search a previously created media contact list
• Keyword in Contact Profile, Title, Email, or Notes: Type in any word or phrase (enclose phrases in quotes) for which you would like to search. NOTE: Boolean search terms cannot be used in this field to combine search terms. This field will also specify where you want to search for this information: contact profile, contact title, email, and notes. 
• Record Type: Specify whether you are looking for only private, only public contacts, or both.
• Opted-Out Contacts: Allows you to search for contacts who have opted out of receiving your distributions or just show contacts that you are still able to distribute to.

Outlet Details (for the Outlets Associated with the Media Contacts)

• Outlet Name: Name of the publication(s). The Outlet Name field allows you to specify whether you are looking for an Outlet Name that Starts With or Contains the search term entered. Multiple publication names can be selected for searching.
• Outlet Subject: This will run a search for media contacts based on what subject(s) the outlet covers
• Outlet Location: Location of the publication which can be specified by city(s), county(s), state(s), or country(s) 
• Outlet Target Area: Geographic area defined by Cision based on the combination of the area the outlet covers and its common distribution area.
• Outlet Medium & Type: Select general publication formats for which you want to see results: Magazine, Online, Newspaper, Broadcast, Other. Once you select general formats, you will have the opportunity to select more specific publications formats for which you want to see results. Examples of specific media types include Consumer Magazine, Trade/Industry Magazine, National Radio Program, Regional Radio Program, Consumer Online, Consumer Blog, News/Business Blog, Trade/Industry Online.
• Outlet List: Use this feature to search for media contacts within a saved outlet list
• Outlet Keyword: Type in any word or phrase (enclose phrases in quotes) for which you would like to search within the Outlet Profile. NOTE: Boolean search terms cannot be used in this field to combine search terms.
• Outlet Reach: Specify the desired range of reach resulting outlets should have.  You will need to specify a minimum and maximum number for either UVPM or Audience Reach. In the Cision Communications Cloud, UVPM (Unique Visitors Per Month) is the reach calculation associated with online publications while Audience Reach is the reach number associated with print or broadcast publications.
• Outlet News Focus: The geographic scope of the news covered by the Outlet: National, International, Region, Local, Community
• Outlet List: Search among Media Contacts contained in an existing Outlet list.
• Audience Insights (Social Media Insights for the Media Contact’s Audience)

To learn more about this search, click here. 

• Audience Location: Where the media contact’s Twitter Audience is located
• Audience Interests: Subjects of interest among the media Contact’s Twitter Audience

Campaigns

• Campaign Name: Name of the campaign with which the media contact is associated.

Monitoring

• Talking About (click here to see details about Talking About): Type in any word or phrase, enclosed in quotes, for which you would like to search. The results will be media contacts who have talked about the topic during the past 90 days on Social Media or in the News.

Searching by Media Contact Name

When searching by Contact Name, you can type the name using any order you prefer, first name and then last or vice versa.  As you type, the system will begin to show you matches within our database. Media Contacts who are associated with Multiple Outlets will be presented using a consolidated auto-suggestion. When this occurs, the oldest record for the Media Contact in our database will show first with all additional records for that same Media Contact indented. This approach is a visual indicator letting you know that all of the records in the group are for the same Media Contact.

When searching for contacts that use an accent over a letter(s) in their name, the system will be able to find a match for a contact name whether you include the accent in the search field or not. 

Search Criteria with Additional Capabilities

Using Outlet Name field options to find a publication efficiently

The Outlet Name field allows you to specify whether you are looking for an Outlet Name that Starts With or Contains the search term entered. These options can help you more efficiently find a publication of which you may only know part of the name rather than its official name. The Contains option is particularly useful for finding bureaus and broadcast shows.

Using Geography Criteria: DMA, Outlet Location, Target Area

When searching by Outlet DMA(s) (Designated Market Area) you can enter either the DMA Name or the DMA Rank in the Search box. You can sort the DMAs Alphabetically (1) or by Rank (2). Also, you can search multiple DMAs at a time. NOTE: Designated Market Areas (DMAs) are specific to the United States. If you have a need to search beyond the United States consider using Contact Location, Outlet Location or Target Area.

If you are using the Outlet Location criteria field, you can specify desired locations using the following steps:

1. Type in a city, county, state, or country name
2. Click on the desired location in the list of location matches from the drop-down menu.
3. If the location is a city located in the United States, you will be presented with the additional option to search for media contacts within a specific mile radius from the city. 
4. Repeat this process to include multiple outlet locations in the search.

When searching by Outlet Target Area, a city, Designated Market Area, state, or country can be entered in the search box. Matching results for the location entered will be displayed. Notice that the geo place name will be displayed to the right of each result. Additionally, note that multiple locations can be selected for the Outlet Target Area.

Using the Browse by Group to Search Subjects

The Subject filter allows you to browse related subjects using a group.   The Browse by Group choice appears at the bottom of the expanded Subject menu.  

Click on Browse by Group to see the subject groups.

Click on the desired subject group from the list.

When the subjects contained in the group appear, you can browse through the list checking on those subjects that you would like to include in the search.  Or, you can use the Select All button to check all the subjects in a group.

Filtering, Viewing, and Understanding Search Results

Let’s break down the Media Contacts results screen by sections.

At the top, you will find a recap of your search criteria that was used to run the search.

1. The Filters panel appears on the left. The filters panel contain multiple additional criteria you can use to limit the results of your search. 
2. The Results panel, in the center, will show all of the media contacts who met your search criteria.
3. The Profile panel, located on the right, will populate with the media contact’s profile as you click on them in the Results panel.
4. The Sort By option will allow you to sort the contacts by various data.
5. The Viewing Options button can be used to change the view used in the result panel.
6. The Options Toolbar will enable you to add contacts to lists, run reports, or send an email distribution to the contacts.
7. The Save Search button will enable you to save your Influencer search.

Applying and Removing Filters

1. Click on the title of a Filter to see what options are available.
2. Check the box next to filter choice(s) to limit your results to matching contacts. You can apply as many filters and filter choices are you prefer.
3.  Check any contacts that are a good fit for your campaign.
4. Be sure to click the Add to List button to save any checked contacts to a list.
5. Click the “Clear filters” link to remove your filter choices. Repeat these steps for any other filters you may want to apply.
6.  The Filters panel can be minimised/expanded by clicking on the arrow next to the Filters header.

While the following filters are available for Media Contact search results, each filter will only show if multiple filter choices are available. For example, if every media contacts in your result set is an Editor, the Job role filter will not show. 

• Subject – the beat/topic the media contact covers
• Job Role – the title or responsibilities of the contact
• Contact List- This will show if any of the contacts in your results are already on any saved media lists in your system
• Outlet Type – defines in detail which type of print, online, broadcast outlets
• Outlet DMA – the designated market area for the Media Contact’s outlet
• Outlet City – the city where the Media Contact’s outlet is located
• Medium & Media Type- mediums and media types for the publication associated with the media contact. Mediums are presented as filter choices initially. Expanding each medium will show specific media type filters within it. 
• Outlet County– the county where the Media Contact’s outlet is located
• Outlet State– the state where the Media Contact’s outlet is located
• Outlet Country – the country where the Media Contact’s outlet is located
• Language– the Media Contact’s working language
• Social Media– what social media pages have been included in the contact’s profile
• Record Type– defines whether the contact is private, visible only to a single organisation, or public, visible to all Cision users.
• Campaigns– shows what campaigns of which media contacts in your result set are members.
• Contacts with Multiple Outlets– if you prefer to see separate records for the Media Contacts who are associated with multiple outlets, turn this filter on.  Otherwise, Media Contacts associated with multiple outlets will have a merged record accounting for all of their outlets in your results.

Working with Results Associated with Multiple Outlets

If there Media Contacts in your results set are associated with Multiple Outlets, we will show them using a consolidated view.  This means that you will only see one record for them, by default, in your results even if they are associated with Multiple Outlets.  The system will always show you the oldest (longest in our database), most robust record that our Media Research team has comprised for the Media Contact. You can use the Contacts with Multiple Outlets filter to expose the additional records for each Media Contact if you prefer.

When using the default Profile View, you can easily visually identify Media Contacts associated with Multiple Outlets by their label in the right-hand pane.  In the left detail pane, these contacts will have an additional link enabling you to see their profiles associated with other outlets.

When using Grid View, you will see this information in a separate column.

If you prefer to see all the records individually associated with each Media Contact, turn on the Contacts with Multiple Outlets filter.

1. Click on the Contacts with Multiple Outlets filter.
2. Slide to toggle to the “On” position. It will have a blue background when turned on.
3. You will see multiple records for each contact in your result set.

Changing the Results View

Once you have generated a set of results, you have two view options located in the upper righthand corner of the screen that can be used to help you analyse the details associated with your results. The view that you use last within a session will be the view that persists through your subsequent logins until you change the view again.

1. Profile View is the default view. This view shows all results in the left pane and details for each result in the right pane.
2. When using the Profile view, you can sort the media contacts by Outlet Name, Audience Reach, and UVPM.
3. The Grid View shows all of the data associated with all media contacts in a grid view.
4. When using the Grid view, you can sort the media contacts using many of the data columns in the grid view.  To sort, hover your mouse over any column. Use the arrow that appears to sort the media contacts in ascending or descending of the data.

Customising and Sorting the Grid View

If you choose to view your contacts in the grid, you will have the option to create a customised Grid View by selecting which columns of information you would like to display and determining the column order. The system will save this view for you. To create a custom grid view, use the following steps.

1. Click the Gear icon.
2. A form will appear that you can use to customise the Grid View.
3. Uncheck any columns that you do not want to see displayed
4. Drag and drop columns in the order that you prefer to see them
5. Click Save

Once you have initially customised the view, you can sort results in the Grid View using any column of data. As you hover in the righthand corner of any column, you will see a triangle appear that can be used to sort the results in ascending or descending order of the data.

Adding Multiple Contacts to a List

1. To save Media Contacts from your Search Results to a List, select the desired Contacts using the checkboxes next to their names. Or, use the top checkbox to select all Media Contacts returned by the Search.
2. Click the Add to List button.
3. To add selected Media Contacts to an existing list, click the check the box by the name of the list to which you want to add the Media Contacts.
4. To add selected Media Contacts to a new list, type the name of the new list in the Search box preceding the existing lists.  Once you type in the name of a new list, you will see a “Create New List” prompt which you can click to create the list.  NOTE: Special characters, other than the semi-colon(;) and plus sign (+), can be used in media list names. 

To Add the Media Contact to an Existing List,

1. Select the Media Contact that you would like to add to a list.
2. In the profile panel, select Add to Lists button.
3. If you are adding the Media Contact to an existing list, select the checkbox by the desired list name.

To add the Media Contact to a New List,

1. Select the Media Contact that you would like to add to a list.
2. A drop-down will populate with the names of your existing lists.  To create a new Media Contact List, begin typing the name of the new list in the Search box.
3. When the “Create new list” prompt appears, click it which will create a new list with your specific name.

Sending an email to a list of Media Contacts

If you would like to learn how to send an email distribution to your search results, click here.

Reporting on your Results

You can report on your results by creating an Export or Briefing Book.  You do not need to save your results to a list prior to running either of these reports.

• Click here to see how to Export your results into an Excel file
• Click here to see how to run a Briefing Book report