by Nikki McClaran

The responsibilities for a public relations professional are endless and diverse, and with over 600 million websites, finding the right tools and resources to help with your workload can be more stressful than what it’s worth. Which website is best for finding the trending current news? Where do I go to manage social media? The possibilities are endless, and honestly, just overwhelming. Luckily for you, I have scoured the vast internet and found the sites that are currently the cream of the crop and will blow your mind in how they will help you as a PR professional.

Social Media: Buffer

Buffer is a free social media managing site, similar to Hootsuite and TweetDeck. Connecting Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, Buffer’s biggest strength is its scheduling flexibility specifically with its option to stagger posts. Want to post every Monday and Friday at 3 p.m.? Buffer’s user-friendly layout allows you to easily do so. An added convenience, Buffer will automatically shorten any link you insert to a bitly. Recently partnering with Google to upgrade its analytics, Buffer is a site to explore with its rising popularity as a social media tool.

News Sources: theSkimm

As a PR professional, keeping up with current news and trends is a necessity rather than a luxury, but some days, even scanning the local newspaper can seem like too much of a time burden. Fortunately, theSkimm, an informative and humorous daily email, is there to catch you up on what you need to know. Don’t discount it for its feminine touches because each emails contains a variety of topics such as current news, finances, sports, international affairs and pop culture. It also links directly to the original news source links so you can explore the topic more if it catches your eye. Subscribe, you won’t regret it. Want even more news? Check out Pulse, Vox and TheMuse.

Designing: Piktochart

Most of us will probably never go specifically into graphic design, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create infographics that make you look like a graphic design expert. Piktochart is a free designing website that allows you to create infographics, reports, banners and presentations that will truly make you stand out. In as little as 10 minutes, you can give an image to any of your big ideas with its pre-programmed fonts, images and templates. Test it out, you may be surprised at what you can easily create to bring your presentation or pitch to the next level. Want to keep creating? Check out Canva and HaikuDeck.

Finances: Investopedia

Financial literacy will not only promote you as a desirable employee but may even be necessary for your work responsibilities. If you’re like me though, trying to learn about finances is confusing and frustrating. To help get a basic foundation of knowledge, I suggest exploring the Investopedia’s tutorial section. A product of IAC, these tutorials offer articles that describe the basics of investing, ranging from topics such as bonds, investing, mutual funds and stocks. Once you have the foundation, head over to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg for daily updates and trends.

There you have it–some of my suggestions for useful websites in the PR world. Think I missed some? Make sure to comment on which ones you love and they might show up on the next Nik’s Picks.

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