If building a contact list won’t best serve the purpose of your campaign, you always have the option to build an outlet list.
Accessing the Media Outlet Search:
Follow these steps to search the database for outlets based on shared criteria:
Click on the Influencers tab.
Click on the Search option.
Finding Media Outlets:
Click on the Search Media Outlets tab.
Click the Outlet Name box and select your first search criteria.
Once you have selected a search criterion, click on the text box and make a selection or type in the desired search information.
Click the Plus Sign button to include additional criteria to your search. You can add as many fields as you like.
Select a Saved Search or Recent Search, which will automatically fill in the search criteria for you.
When all desired criteria are in place, click Search.
Outlet Search Criteria
Outlet Details
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: Use this to search by the subject that the outlet writes about
Outlet Location: Location of the publication which can be specified by city(s), county(s), state(s), or country(s) (if using our international database.
Outlet Target Area: Geographic area defined by Cision based on the combination of the area the outlet covers and its common distribution area.
Outlet DMA (Designated Market Area): The publication’s Designated Market Area. The Designated Market Area is the city and its surrounding suburbs in which the publication is located. When searching by DMA, you can sort the DMAs either alphabetically or by the DMA rank.
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 Language: The operating language for the outlet.
Outlet List: Use this feature to combine multiple outlet lists in one search
Outlet News Focus: The geographic scope of the news covered by the Outlet: National, International, Region, Local, Community
Outlet Frequency: How frequently that outlet publishes new content
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.
Record Type: This will enable you to search for any user added outlets. Select Private to find user added publications.
Opted-out Outlets: Find outlets that have opted out of email distributions sent from the active data group. If your account does not have data groups, this criteria will show all outlets have opted out of sent email distributions.
News-Only Outlets: Use this field to include or exclude news-only outlets in your search results. News-Only outlets are those that only contribute to news items to monitoring but do not include pitching or contact information. News-Only Outlets will have ‘This is a Vocus News on Demand (NOD) outlet’ in their pitching profile.
Affiliated Media- toggle this filter to ON to exclude affiliated media (bureaus) from your outlet search results. By default, this filter is turned OFF.
Contact Details
Contact List: Allows you to build an outlet list based on contact lists in the system
Using Outlet Name to Search
When searching by Outlet Name, the system will begin to show you matches within our database as you type in a publication name.
The Outlet Name field also allows you to specify whether you are looking for an Outlet Name that Starts With or Contains the search term entered. These additional 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.
Media Outlets that are associated with each other will be presented using a consolidated auto- suggestion. When this occurs, each section of the publication, bureau, or differing medium for the outlet will be indented. This approach is a visual indicator letting you know that all of the records in the group are related.
Starts With or Contains option which is beneficial when you only know part of the Outlet Name rather than its official name.
Primary listing of the publication in our database,
Each section, bureau, or differing medium for the publication.
When using the Outlet Name to search for a publication that has an accent over a letter, the system will be able to find the match whether or not the accent is included in the search field.
Using Outlet Location, DMA, or 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 by either: A). Alphabetically or by B). Rank.
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:
Type in a city, county, state, or country name.
NOTE: Countries outside of North America are only available with our international database. If you are not sure if you have our international database or want to add it, contact your Account Executive.
Click on the desired location in the list of location matches from the drop- down menu.
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.
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 Outlet Reach Field
The Outlet Reach field can be used to find Outlets whose reach falls within the desired range. When using this field, you will enter a minimum and maximum reach for the range you are targeting.
Select the type of reach range for which you are looking. UVPM (Unique Visitor’s Per Month) is the reach calculation associated with online publications, while Audience Reach is number associated with print and broadcast publications.
Enter the minimum reach number for your range (up to a nine-digit number can be entered in this field).
Enter the maximum reach number for your range (up to a nine-digit number can be entered in this field).
The Media Outlet Search Results Panel
When the results of your search are returned, you will have a variety of options for viewing and working with your results presented in numerous panels.
At the top, you will find a recap of your search criteria that was used to run the search.
The Edit Search link will take you back to the search page where you can change the search criteria.
The Filters panel appears on the left. The filters panel contain multiple additional criteria you can use to limit the results of your search.
The Results panel, in the center, will show all of the media contacts who met your search criteria.
The Profile panel, located on the right, will populate with the media outlet’s profile as you click on them in the Results panel.
The Sort By option will allow you to sort the outlets by various data.
The Viewing Options button can be used to change the view used in the result panel between a Profile View and List View (similar to when viewing news search results).
The Options Toolbar will enable you to add outlets to lists, run reports, or send an email distribution to the outlets.
The Save Search button will enable you to save your Outlets search and run the same search later on to see if additional outlets added to the platform fit your search criteria.
Filtering Outlet Search Results
The filters panel contains multiple additional criteria you can use to limit the results of your search.
Click on the title of a Filter to see what options are available.
Check the box next to Filter choices to limit your results to matching Outlets.
You can apply multiple Filter choices at a time.
To clear Filter choices, click on the Clear Filters link(s).
Available Outlet Filters:
Outlet List- outlet media lists of which publications in your result set are members.
Medium & Media Type- mediums and media types for the publications in the result set. Mediums are presented as filter choices initially. Expanding each medium will show specific media type filters within each medium.
Outlet DMA – the designated market area for the Outlet
Outlet City – the city in which the Outlet is located
Outlet County– the county in which the Outlet is located
Outlet State/Province– the State or Province where the Outlet is located
Outlet Language – the language in which the Outlet publishes content
Outlet Country – the country where the Outlet is located
Outlet Language– the language of the outlet
Subject – the beat/topic the Outlet covers
Social Media– the social channels on which an outlet has a profile
Record Type – defines if the Outlet is public (available to everyone using Cision) or Private (available to just your organization)
News-Only Outlets: use this filter when choosing to see news-only or media database outlets in your search results. News-Only outlets are those that only contribute to news items to monitoring but do not include pitching or contact information. News-Only Outlets will have ‘This is a Vocus News on Demand (NOD) outlet’ in their pitching profile. Media Database outlets have contact information for pitching as well as pitching profile information.
Affiliated Media- toggle this filter to ON to exclude affiliated media (bureaus) from your outlet search results. By default, this filter is turned OFF.
Working with Outlet Search Results
The middle of the screen contains the results. Clicking on the name of an Outlet will populate its’ Profile information to the right. For more info on Outlet Records, click here.
Changing the Outlet 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 analyze the details associated with your results. The view you use last within a session will be the view that persists through subsequent logins.
Profile View is the default view and will show all results in the left pane and details for each result in the right pane.
When using the Profile view, you can sort the media contacts by a variety of data such as Outlet Name, Audience Reach, and UVPM.
The Grid View will show all data for all outlets in a column view.
When using the Grid view, you can sort the outlets using any column of data. To sort, hover over the desired column. Click the triangle that appears in that column to sort in ascending or descending order.
Customizing and Sorting the Grid View
If you choose to view your Outlets in the grid, you will have the option to create a customized 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.
Click the Gear icon.
A form will appear that you can use to customize the Grid View.
Uncheck any columns that you do not want to see displayed and add a checkmark for those you want to view.
Drag and drop columns in the order that you prefer to see them.
Click Save.
Note: Click on the Reset to Default to return the Grid View to the default order.
Once you have initially customized 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.
Saving Multiple Outlets to a List
Select the desired Outlets with the checkboxes next to their names
Click the Add to List button at the top of the results.
If you want to add the outlets to an existing list, click the checkbox preceding the list name(s).
If you want to add the outlets to a new list, begin typing the name of the new list in the search box.
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.
Adding an Individual Outlet to a List from the Profile View
Select the Outlet that you would like to add to a list.
In the profile panel, select Add to Lists button.
A drop-down will populate with the names of your existing lists.
If you are adding the Outlet to an existing list, select the checkbox by the desired list name.
To create a new Outlet List, begin typing the name of the new list in the Search box.
When the “Create new list” prompt appears, click it which will create a new list with your specific name.