Those who work in public relations have a lot to juggle. On the whole, the role of a public relations professional is to create and uphold the image of a company, both publicly and within the ranks of the workforce. To do this they will need to control every piece of information pertaining to the company they work for. So if you happen to be a PR pro, you know that your job can include all kinds of activities, such as penning press releases, engineering the company’s presence at conferences and public events, disseminating information to employees, and of course, managing the brand image within the online arena. This means that you will have to embrace technology and learn to make your many mobile devices work for you. In your business, an iPad stocked with the right apps can make a big difference in what you can get done on the PR front and the impact you have. And here are just a few apps that can help you immensely.

1. Social media. Interacting with the public via social media outlets is an essential part of any PR effort moving into the future. While you have probably already targeted known platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ (just for example), you should also try to think outside the box by creating a presence on popular sharing sites like Instagram and Pinterest while staying abreast of any new social media platforms that could start trending and grow overnight. Having foresight in this area isn’t easy, but with your ear to the ground you may be able to get a jump on the next big thing, securing a major coupe for your company.
2. E-reader. Part of the job of a PR specialist is to monitor and track the press regarding your company or clients. This means reading newspapers, blogs, and trade publications. Since most tablets start their lives as e-readers anyway, getting the software you need shouldn’t be too difficult. But of course some programs are better than others. Pulse is a good option for just about any type of online print, while Kindle for the iPad has been optimized to make usage on this tablet look just as good as the original.
3. Storage and sharing. Your job will require you to compile all kinds of information from a variety of sources, and you may have to access it and share it on the go. For these purposes, the Dropbox app is ideal. It’s simple functionality will meet all of your storage and sharing needs. On the other hand, Google Drive offers you 5GB of space (handy for video files) and links up with Google Docs. In a pinch you could download both for different purposes.
4. Organization. Staying on top of your many tasks could leave your head spinning, and after a while stuff could start to slip through the cracks. So consider a task manager like Remember the Milk (a classic at this point, it syncs with Outlook, Gmail, Twitter, and even Siri) or a simple calendar and listing program like TeuxDeux.
5. Communication. Keeping in touch with your many contacts at the office, in the industry, and in the media can be tedious and time consuming without the right apps to get you through. Evernote provides you with an easy way to jot down lines to send to the press release service, Viber lets you make calls via WiFi or 3G (for those times when you can’t get cell service), WhatsApp works the same.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.