At any given moment, there is an overflow of information streaming into our lives. From magazines and the Internet, to TV stations and billboards, it seems as though we can’t make a turn without the news hitting us smack dab in the face.

In the PR world, staying informed is key to reaching success. Not only is it important to be knowledgeable about our clients, but it is imperative that we are aware of what’s happening throughout their industries. We must know about the conferences and tradeshows that are happening, relevant awards and of course, what the competition is up to.

We could spend all day scanning the Web and reading and watching the news, so how can you stay informed efficiently? For me, it isn’t about reading one magazine or following a set of analysts on Twitter. In order to stay abreast of what’s happening, I use a combination of different tools and software.

Each morning I start my day with a large cup of green tea. From there, I dive into my day. I open up TweetDeck, which allows me to closely track Twitterers and tweets relevant to my clients, and immediately see what’s happening on the Web. While my TweetDeck loads, I head over to a series of core trade publications’ Web sites. Since blogs have become a key source of information, I am regularly checking my Google Reader account for up-to-the-minute blog updates. Having one place to check for new entries, rather than going to each and every blog, saves me countless minutes (and hours) throughout the day.

This is what’s working for me right now. In a few weeks or months from now, I may have a different routine. We all use different resources to stay informed. So, how do you stay informed about your clients and their industries in an efficient way? What tools are you using? What works best for you?

I was on the phone recently with a senior reporter from one of my client’s top-tier trade publications, and we were talking about Twitter. It turns out that his publication has a Twitter feed, but the reporter doesn’t have his own account or contribute to the pub’s feed. He claimed that he didn’t know what he’d use it for, but was still a bit intrigued by the communication medium. I saw the opportunity to offer him some information and suggestions outside of the normal thought leadership and company news I would normally pitch, and I promised to write up a list of ways he could use Twitter.

So I sat at my computer , unsure of what to say, and getting increasingly agitated at the unmoving cursor as it blinked away, mocking my inability to come up with the ideas I promised. Eventually, I figured there were a few basic things he could do, like tweet about his articles to drive traffic to them. I mentioned sending out appeals to his PR followers for sources for upcoming stories (I suggested this one rather selfishly – I thought it’d be clever to respond to one of his first tweets with a source). I also suggested he use Twitter to provide sneak peeks to upcoming pieces, and announce new webinars that were scheduled for the pub’s Web site.

And while I feel like my suggestions were helpful, especially for a person who wants to use Twitter but hasn’t before, he still hasn’t signed up and used it. Naturally, being the neurotic PR guy that I am, I worry that what I provided wasn’t creative or specific enough for him to become a full-fledged Twitter-freak like so many other journalists.

So I ask the larger PR community: How can journalists use Twitter to make their jobs easier? What are some of the ways we, as PR and communication professionals, would like the media to use this tool.

If you’re juggling multiple Twitter accounts and you’re not using HootSuite yet, your life is way too difficult.

As a busy PR account executive who enjoys a healthy dose of social media each day, I’m currently managing and/or contributing to more than five Twitter accounts. I have one personal account, but, like all of my colleagues, I also chime in on our company account and help Tweet new and interesting news on behalf of a number of our clients. This seems to be a lot of work, but it’s actually a lot easier than it sounds.

That is, of course, if you have a handy-dandy tool like HootSuite. Now, before I go any further, let me be perfectly clear that while I would love a little kickback for this healthy endorsement, there aren’t any checks in the mail. I’ve simply test-driven a couple Twitter tools and I happen to like HootSuite the best. Well, actually, I like HootSuite for Tweeting on multiple accounts and I love Tweetdeck for keeping track of it all. Someday, when someone develops an application that combines both tools’ best features, life will be even easier.

So, what is this glorious, self-proclaimed, “ultimate Twitter toolbox”? It’s an easy-to-use interface that allows you to manage all of your Twitter accounts from one place. You simply enter all of your usernames and passwords, and they are forever stored on your HootSuite account. Then, when you are ready to Tweet, you use a drop-down menu to view those accounts or simply click on the account icon to Tweet from that username.

There’s no logging in and logging out of your various accounts and, if you want to, you can Tweet from several accounts at once. Aside from making it really easy to jump from account to account, there are two other things that I really like about HootSuite: it allows you to schedule Tweets for a later date and its built-in URL shortener, ow.ly, tracks and collects stats based the number of times people click on the links you Tweet.

Rafe Needleman, CNET’s Webware editor, recently did a nice piece about HootSuite and another similar, yet now unavailable, technology called CoTweet. My colleagues and I have had several conversations about what Twitter tools are best and, in general, it often boils down to personal choice. I’d encourage everyone to take a few tools for a spin to determine what works best for you. In the meantime, check out Needleman’s piece here. Happy Tweeting!