Learn how Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties (SF Goodwill), a nonprofit social enterprise, uses Muck Rack to:
- Curate topic-specific media lists with Muck Rack’s journalist search engine
- Keep up-to-date with instant media coverage through Muck Rack Alerts
- Save time manually tracking reach using Who Shared My Link
SF Goodwill
Since 1916, Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties (SF Goodwill), a nonprofit social enterprise, has been committed to providing tens of thousands of local people with barriers to employment, a second chance through training and the dignity of work. Through its distinctive earn-while-you-learn supportive employment model, Goodwill successfully delivers access to training programs that lead to economic mobility. Goodwill is equally committed to environmental sustainability and trains job seekers for jobs that lead to sustainable career pathways and utilizes best practices for diverting millions of pounds of goods every year from local landfills. Today, SF Goodwill has 19 popular retail locations, 26 donation sites and a thriving e-commerce shopping platform.
Veda Banerjee
Director of Marketing
If I were talking to another company considering Muck Rack, I would tell them to go for it! Muck Rack is easy to use, it’s thorough, and has an excellent support team.
—Veda Banerjee, Director of Marketing
In Their Own Words: SF Goodwill's Favorite Muck Rack Features
Media Research and List Building
I primarily use Muck Rack for creating our media lists.
I like that you can search by topic within the platform. Coming from a science stories background, I’ve since switched to focusing on retail, sustainability and environmental impact and poverty and unemployment topics. Within Muck Rack, I can search by these specific keywords, which makes it easy to find relevant journalists.
From there, I can take a look at a journalist’s recent coverage and see their tweets to help me determine if they’re the right fit for a pitch. If I’ve worked with a specific reporter, I use the notes feature in Muck Rack to track their responses.
Muck Rack has also been really helpful as I prepare our CEO for media interviews. I look at a journalist’s recent coverage and give my CEO an outline of what they’ve recently published or if they’ve worked with another Goodwill, and create a media brief explaining why this reporter wants to work with us. It’s been extremely helpful and well received by senior staff.
Muck Rack has been especially helpful throughout the coronavirus pandemic. We closely monitor the policy changes in California, keeping an eye on Governor Newsom’s Twitter account and media coverage. Being able to see which reporters are tweeting about a public figure or following the policy shifts has been really helpful. We can move them into specific media lists and use it for crisis communication.
Muck Rack Alerts
I like Muck Rack Alerts because they arrive quickly in my inbox. Google Alerts seem to be a bit delayed. I have various Muck Rack Alerts set up for different topics, from our mission work to fashion to news related to specific Goodwill chapters.
For instance, many Goodwill chapters are now beginning to reopen across the country, and I’m putting together a list of coverage they’ve received for our senior team, because we want to closely monitor the situation. We’re using it to assess how the media and public responds, to help make informed decisions down the line. I plan to use this same method for future unfolding stories.
I’ve been doing media relations for a long time and have used every other legacy platform in previous roles. I like the simplicity of Muck Rack. It’s intuitive. Because we’re such a small team, the ability to go into the platform and quickly get the information I need is invaluable.
—Veda Banerjee, Director of Marketing
Who Shared My Link
One of the Muck Rack features I really like is Who Shared My Link (WSML). If we get a big media hit, it’s a great way to quantify that work. We can easily see which reporters are tweeting about our article, and add them directly to our media list.
Using WSML, I can look at retweets and original links, whether it’s bloggers or reporters, and find opportunities to engage with them for an upcoming item or story.
With legacy platforms I’ve used in the past, I’ve sent pitches that just don’t land. With Muck Rack and the WSML tool, I’m much more mindful about finding reporters who are actually interested in my topic, so a future pitch to them makes sense.
Five Fast Questions
1. In addition to results, what other benefits have you experienced from Muck Rack?
I’ve definitely saved time! I like being able to quickly research journalists and create talking points and media briefs.
I’m also looking into getting more into pitching podcasts, so I’ll be diving into that next. I like that Muck Rack has a database specifically for podcasts.
What I really like about Muck Rack is that it allows me to be smart about media positioning, and the interface is simple enough that I don’t get overwhelmed. Especially with a very small team it is important to be able to manage media relations efficiently.
2. What has your experience been like working with Muck Rack’s Customer Success team?
I love knowing I can reach out for help at any time. When I ask questions, Muck Rack is always quick to respond. I’ve received help much faster than I have with other platforms. Many times, I never even heard back from the other platforms when I asked questions often thinking to myself, “I can’t wait until our contract ends.”
3. If you had to explain how you use Muck Rack to someone in a tweet, what would you say?
@muckrack helps me stay organized as a PR professional. Sharing relevant content, coverage, and industry trends using Muck Rack has also helped the organization see the value of media relations.
4. What would your job be like if you didn’t have Muck Rack?
I don’t think I could do it! I would probably have tons of spreadsheets and I would have to rely on Google Alerts. It would certainly be a lot harder, especially with such a small team. It is great to have one platform that does a really good job with reporting and measurement.
5. How would you describe your experience with Muck Rack in three words?
Supportive, intuitive, data-driven
