Today Google announced their News Lab, an effort to make it easier for journalists and technologists to work together and build the future of media. With News Lab, Google aims to make tools available to journalists that will help them locate and verify newsworthy user-generated content, better distribute and optimize news, and more. While this announcement most directly impacts journalists, there are many ways public relations professionals use News Lab to maximize brand storytelling and news generation.

Study Google’s lessons about how to use available research tools

Google has released lessons for journalists to make better use of available Google search tools for journalism. Some of these lessons are valuable for marketers, too, including:

• Advanced Google Search. Supercharges your Google searches, and help you verify images.
• YouTube. Helps you grow your YouTube audience, enables users to find your videos, and more.
• Google News. Helps you understand how to keep an eye on trends and how to discover historical stories that could inform your storytelling.
• Public Data Explorer. Teaches you how to access and use public data reports to add a layer of credibility to your news.

Take a look at Google Trends to dig deeper into industry news

Google Trends was designed specifically for journalists, but there’s a ton of useful data for public relations pros. You can utilize Google Trends to find stories relevant to your brand, and add your brand’s voice to the conversation in a relevant, timely way. One great feature is that each story shows a map with interest by region, which could help prioritize local market pitching efforts.

Utilize credible user-generated content to add depth to your news

Google has partnered with a number of organizations to find and vet user-generated content, enabling trustworthy news to rise above gossip. One way communicators can use these tools is to review content on the new YouTube Newswire (powered by Storyful) to discover relevant and timely user-generated video that could be addressed credibly by your brand.

What do you think? Could these resources help you supercharge your communications? Let us know in the comments!