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As generative AI reshapes how people research, learn, and make decisions, a new discipline is emerging: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Just as SEO helped brands get discovered on Google, GEO ensures they appear accurately and positively within AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. With millions of consumers now turning to generative engines instead of search engines, GEO is fast becoming essential for marketing and PR professionals looking to influence how their brand shows up in this new discovery layer, where conversations, not clicks, determine visibility.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Why Should Marketing & Insights Teams Care About GEO?

How Does GEO Work? Key Mechanisms & Signals

What's the Difference Between GEO and SEO?

Increase Your GEO Readiness with Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of ensuring that AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Llama, etc., provide accurate, positive, and up-to-date information about your brand when users ask questions. These platforms are referred to as Generative Engines, Answer Engines, or Large Language Models (LLMs). They are increasingly used by consumers to research purchases and make decisions.

GEO is a way of making sure that AI platforms give people the right information about a company’s brand and products. 

For example, if a person asks ChatGPT: “What is a good family car for camping trips?” then the auto manufacturers would want ChatGPT to suggest their SUV models, and list the benefits. To make sure that happens, the auto brands need to use GEO.

GEO ensures your brand shows up correctly within these AI-generated responses.

The practice of GEO involves several steps, but it is mostly focused on creating, structuring, and publishing content in the best way to influence the responses given by AI Generative Engines. 

In this article we’ll go into the detail of how GEO works, why it’s important, and how you can use it to make sure your brand is featured positively in AI platforms.

Sometimes, generative engine optimization (GEO) is referred to as answer engine optimization (AEO). Learn more about the differences and similarities of GEO and AEO, and take a look at the best AEO tools.

For a long time marketers have been able to rely on the fact that consumers almost exclusively use Google to research buying decisions. So they have been able to use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure their brand’s website appears in the organic search results, or use paid search advertising to buy ads on relevant search results. 

This is a highly effective way of targeting the right audience at the right time. But now things are changing.

LLMs aren't just another channel. They sit on top of this ecosystem. They synthesize everything into a single conversation.

Allie Konchar, Partner & Chief Client Officer, Omniscient

Changing user behavior: AI + conversational search

Increasingly, consumers are using tools like ChatGPT to research their buying decisions. Data from Meltwater’s 2026 Global Digital Report shows that ChatGPT.com is now the fifth most visited website on the web.

While search engines remain popular, many search queries now produce an AI generated summary that often provide enough information to divert users away from clicking through to websites, because their question has already been answered. McKinsey reports that around half of all Google search queries already produce AI generated summaries, and that number is increasing all the time. 

With conventional web search, consumers are performing research manually, trying to find trustworthy sources and sifting through information to reach the answers they seek. But with Generative Engines, the AI is performing the research automatically, using its existing base knowledge alongside supplemental information pulled from more recent online sources. A search engine shows users where to find answers, while a Generative Engine just gives them the answer. 

For marketers, the key takeaway is that few top-of-funnel consumers are visiting your website, because during the awareness phase their information needs are being met by Generative Engines. This makes it more difficult to move them down into the consideration phase. 

TIP: For more data around growing AI usage and online consumer behavior, download our 2026 Global Digital Report, featuring nearly 700 pages statistics to help inform your GEO strategies next year.

You already know that everybody is talking about AI, and all of your competitors are having the same discussions as you about what it means for their marketing strategy. Those who move decisively to implement GEO, ensuring their brands are represented clearly and positively in Generative Engines, will capture the largest share of those consumers who start their buying journey with an AI query. 

Those who ignore GEO will lose ground, as growing numbers of consumers turn from search engines to Generative Engines, the size of the audiences that can be reached through conventional search marketing will decrease. 

How do generative engines (LLMs) surface content?

It’s important to understand that while Generative Engines are based on similar technology, they all work a little differently. Broadly speaking they all use two different sources of knowledge to provide an answer to a query: 

<table class="table-primary alternate-color">
  <caption>How Generative Engines (LLMs) Surface Content</caption>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Generative Engine</th>
      <th>Primary Retrieval Method</th>
      <th>Sources Most Often Cited</th>
      <th>Sources Less Likely to Be Cited</th>
      <th>Notes on Behavior</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>ChatGPT</td>
      <td>Bing search + internal training data</td>
      <td>Reuters, AP News, Wikipedia, Encyclopedic sources</td>
      <td>Social media platforms (X/Twitter, Instagram)</td>
      <td>Prefers authoritative, neutral, structured sources with high trust signals.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Google Gemini</td>
      <td>Google Search + YouTube + Knowledge Graph</td>
      <td>Reddit, YouTube, Google-indexed blogs</td>
      <td>X/Twitter</td>
      <td>Strongly favors user-generated content, community threads, and Google-owned properties.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Perplexity</td>
      <td>Real-time web crawling + citation-first retrieval</td>
      <td>News publishers, reputable blogs, research papers</td>
      <td>Low-trust UGC</td>
      <td>Most transparent engine — always cites sources and updates in real time.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Claude</td>
      <td>Internal training data + selected retrieval</td>
      <td>Academic sources, reputable news, long-form articles</td>
      <td>Short-form social media</td>
      <td>Prefers long-form text and well-structured explanatory content.</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Training Data: All LLMs begin by being trained on a huge volume of existing content and data — we’re talking about dozens of terabytes (a terabyte is 1,000Gb). This training data comes from a wide variety of sources (including your website), and gives the LLM its base knowledge about the world. The LLM does not have any knowledge of anything that happened after its initial training. 

Live Web Search: To overcome the knowledge cut-off problem, the training data is supplemented with fresh information gathered from the internet. If the Generative Engine thinks that a user’s query would benefit from more up to date information than it already has, it fetches new content from trusted online sources and works that into its response. Google uses its own search engine to find fresh information, while ChatGPT uses various sources, including Microsoft Bing.

It’s also important to note that AI does not quote any of this content verbatim in its responses. Much like a human, it uses the information it has learned to inform its own answer, and that can include information from various sources, including the press, competitors, consumer reviews. So don’t expect it to always be on-message!

Another key point is that unlike a search engine, an LLM does not have an index of content which it searches to find answers. It would be impossible to search ChatGPT for all mentions of your brand — that’s simply not how it works. 

An LLM is more similar to a human brain, in that it has a lot of knowledge stored in patterns and relationships between words and concepts. It is extremely difficult, verging on impossible, to examine and understand the detail of an LLM’s learned knowledge because of the sheer scale and complexity; this is a challenge referred to as Black Box AI. 

But we do understand how Generative Engines work at a high level, and we can analyze the kind of responses they produce for relevant queries, which gives us insight into how we should optimize our content for increased visibility.

What content features improve GEO-visibility?

Bear in mind that when you’re optimizing content for Generative Engines, the goal is to write copy that is easier for AI to digest and incorporate into its responses.

Clarity: Avoid overly elaborate language. Do not use corporate-jargon. Keep it simple, professional, and to the point. Leave no room for ambiguity. 

Authority: Wherever possible back up your statements with data from reputable sources, quotes from experts or industry leaders, and reference-able proof points. 

Structure: Organize your pages well with clear titles, headings, and subheadings. Use heading tags (H1, H2, etc) correctly to specify the hierarchy of your content. 

Recency: AI platforms look for more recent information from trusted sources to supplement their base knowledge, so in both owned and earned media, aim to publish fresh content recently.

In many respects GEO shares principles with good SEO practice. If you write consistently high quality content which addresses the needs of your target audience, and structure it correctly on well designed, standards compliant web pages, you will succeed.

First you need to understand your starting point. Meltwater’s GenAI Lens is a tool that gives brands insight into how they are discussed by all major Generative Engines, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Deepseek. 

With GenAI Lens you’ll be able to understand how your brand is already featured in LLMs, what source websites are used in those responses, and whether outdated or inaccurate information is being used. 

We know that LLMs pull content from the web, which they use to inform their responses. So whatever is said about your brand online will significantly affect how Generative Engines talk about your company. 

Start with your own website, this is the first place LLMs will look for information about your organization. But also focus on trusted, high authority third party sites like the mainstream news and specialist media within your industry, because these are the kinds of sources that LLMs will use. GenAI Lens can show you which websites the leading LLMS use to source information about your brand. 

Once you have a comprehensive audit of how your brand is currently portrayed online, you can perform a gap analysis against your desired messaging, and build a plan for how to reach that objective.

Tip: AI brand monitoring, AI media monitoring, and LLM monitoring will help you understand your online footprint. Learn how to track your LLM visibility and how to track LLM brand mentions.

An important difference between GEO and SEO is understanding how people search differently when using Generative Engines. Users interact conversationally with AI, and are likely to ask more complex questions in natural language, compared to simple keywords or short queries in a search engine. So it’s useful to get an idea of what kind of questions people will ask about your brand or industry, to help plan your GEO content.

Tip: Learn more about AI visibility for retail brands.

Unlike search engines, at present the leading Generative Engines do not share data on popular user queries, so it’s not easy to find out exactly what people are asking about your business. But you can look at popular keyword searches associated with your brand, and brainstorm the most likely questions people will ask Generative Engines. 

You can also use a social listening platform, like Meltwater Explore+ to analyze social media conversations around your brand and industry, to gain insight into common questions. Once you have mapped out all of the most likely questions people might ask, you can start creating content that answers those questions.

Tip: Learn how to connect social listening with generative engine optimization. 

Conventional SEO was built around search queries but GEO requires thinking in concepts, context, and authority — you need to focus on the intent of the query, rather than simply trying to match keywords. 

LLMs prioritize sources that provide comprehensive, well-structured, and contextually rich content. Focus your content strategy on:

Educational depth: Long-form resources that answer questions end-to-end. Publish explainers, FAQs, and data-backed insights that answer “how” and “why.”

Credibility signals: Citations, quotes, and data from reputable sources (analyst studies, thought leadership, or trusted media).

Rich media: Generative Engines pull information from videos and images as well as text content, so make use of varied content formats. 

Consistency across channels: LLMs learn from media, social, and owned content together; ensure your narratives are aligned across them.

The key thing is to ensure that your content is genuinely helpful in answering those questions you mapped out. If your content is too focused on sales messages, it’s less likely to be used by the LLMs.

TIP: Discover innovative AI-generated content examples to enhance your digital strategy.

You can optimize the content published on your website and owned channels, but LLMs also source information from trusted third party websites. That means PR has a key role to play in ensuring your brand is featured in high authority earned media, including news features, expert comment from your spokespeople, product reviews, and any other kind of brand story traditionally generated through a media relations campaign.

Tip: Learn more about the importance of earned media for GEO and about PR Pitch GEO optimization.

The tricky part is that unlike advertising, which can tell exciting and attention grabbing stories, PR professionals are limited to working only with the facts. But while you cannot always control the outcome of media outreach activity, ensuring that PR and GEO are aligned will help increase the volume of third party sources that feature the right messaging.

Tip: Learn how GEO is reshaping PR strategies.

Meltwater’s GenAI Lens gives you the ability to track your GEO performance over time, so you can understand whether your strategy is working well and spot areas where you need to improve. The tool provides visualizations that show brand sentiment, emotion, key phrases, people, products and things mentioned, alongside citations.

Armed with this information you can identify gaps in your GEO strategy where you might need to create more or better content. You can also discover which third party sources have the greatest impact on your GEO performance, and use that information to optimize PR outreach to focus on the most important media. 

Like SEO, this is a process of constant iteration and improvement. GEO should not be seen as a one-off project that will generate positive results in perpetuity, but rather an ongoing activity that needs to be integrated with the broader marketing mix.

Tip: Learn How to Measure PR Performance Across LLMs and Generative Search, and understand how to report on LLM visibility.

Which Media Sources to Prioritize for GEO

When an LLM processes a user query, it can often detect that the response might require more recent information than it has access to in its original training data. In that situation it will look online for more up to date content that will help it to form a more accurate answer, but where exactly do Generative Engines look for this information?

At Meltwater we used GenAI Lens to research which content sources the leading AI platforms were most likely to reference in their responses, and there were distinct differences between them all:

Open AI ChatGPT: Heavily favors text-based news and newswires (Reuters, AP, PR Newswire) and reference sites (Wikipedia). Much less likely to cite social media and UGC. 

Google Gemini: Leans towards high quality UGC from sites like Reddit and YouTube, as well as other online sources within the Google ecosystem. Does not index X/Twitter content. 

Google Search AI Overviews: Highly focused on UGC from Reddit and YouTube, as well as Facebook, Yahoo and LinkedIn. 

xAI Grok: Strongly skewed towards conversational UGC from X and Reddit. Less likely to cite traditional reference sources like Wikipedia, YouTube or academic sites. 

Unlike SEO, where most practitioners were happy to optimize only for Google, in GEO we have to consider the nuances of several different platforms; at the very least ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews. In short, it’s good practice to ensure you have up to date content propagated across a wide range of platforms where LLMs might look for supplemental information.  

In terms of which online sources are most likely to be referenced overall, we looked at several categories and charted the most frequently cited websites:

<ul class="medium">
	<li><b>Social Media & UGC</b></li>
    <ul>
		<li>reddit.com: 43.1%</li>
		<li>youtube.com: 17.9%</li>
        <li>facebook.com: 11.1%</li>
		<li>linkedin.com: 9.2%</li>
        <li>quora.com: 5.6%</li>
	</ul>
	<li><b>Consumer Reviews</b></li>
	<ul>
		<li>glassdoor.com: 21.6%</li>
		<li>indeed.com: 20.6%</li>
        <li>trustpilot.com: 15.7%</li>
		<li>bbb.org: 9.9%</li>
        <li>yelp.com: 8.0%</li>
	</ul>
	<li><b>Travel</b></li>
    <ul>
		<li>tripadvisor.com: 83.2%</li>
		<li>expedia.com: 10.0%</li>
        <li>booking.com: 6.8%</li>
	</ul>
	<li><b>News & Media</b></li>	
    <ul>
		<li>yahoo.com: 26.5%</li>
		<li>prnewswire.com: 10.8%</li>
        <li>reuters.com: 9.0%</li>
		<li>forbes.com: 6.7%</li>
        <li>usnews.com: 6.7%</li>
	</ul>
    <li><b>Academic & Science</b></li>	
    <ul>
		<li>nih.gov: 53.6%</li>
		<li>researchgate.net: 14.5%</li>
        <li>sciencedirect.com: 10.0%</li>
		<li>jhu.edu: 7.5%</li>
        <li>cdc.gov: 5.8%</li>
	</ul>
    <li><b>Market Research & Consulting</b></li>	
    <ul>
		<li>statista.com: 18.8%</li>
		<li>mordorintelligence.com: 16.3%</li>
        <li>gartner.com: 14.9%</li>
		<li>mckinsey.com: 13.5%</li>
        <li>cbinsights.com: 13.0%</li>
	</ul>
    <li><b>Business & Financial</b></li>	
    <ul>
		<li>investing.com: 14.1%</li>
		<li>morningstar.com: 13.2%</li>
        <li>nasdaq.com: 11.4%</li>
		<li>nerdwallet.com: 10.4%</li>
        <li>seekingalpha.com: 8.8%</li>
	</ul>
    <li><b>Government & Public Sector</b></li>	
    <ul>
		<li>weforum.org: 20.6%</li>
		<li>europa.eu: 17.8%</li>
        <li>canada.ca: 12.7%</li>
		<li>imf.org: 11.5%</li>
        <li>sec.gov: 10.1%</li>
	</ul>
</ul>

Many teams focus on keywords, backlinks, and meta tags, but LLMs prioritize context, authority, and relevance. GEO requires content that answers full questions with clear, verifiable information, not keyword stuffing or link chasing.

2. Ignoring source credibility and transparency

AI models reward trustworthy, well-cited content. Publishing unverified claims, outdated statistics, or missing citations can lower visibility or lead to inaccurate AI summaries of your brand. Always include reputable data sources, authorship, and dates.

3. Failing to monitor how your brand appears in LLMs

Without ongoing media monitoring, brands miss when GenAI models misrepresent their products or replicate misinformation. LLM tracking tools like Meltwater’s GenAI Lens can surface these blind spots and help correct or update narratives quickly.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)? & How to Do It

Substack was once just a niche platform for independent writers, but in recent years it has emerged as a valuable channel in today's marketing ecosystem. Major brands like Walmart are sponsoring newsletters on the platform, while others like Shopify are launching their own altogether. What they’re seeking is the brand awareness and relationship building opportunities that come along with the direct, personality-driven content newsletters can uniquely offer. 

If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering how big of an opportunity Substack is for your brand or how others are actually leveraging the platform in practice. Read on to learn exactly how leading brands are making the most of this promising channel and what that means for you. 

Social media mentions of Substack have increased by about 30% over the past six months. 

Meltwater Explore data shows that Substack is a hot topic, generating over 5 million social media mentions from November 1, 2025, to April 29, 2026. That’s a nearly 30% increase compared to the six months prior.

About 46% of those mentions came from Bluesky, with another 38% coming from X. Both text-based platforms lend themselves well to writers and brands promoting their own newsletters, as well as the kind of back-and-forth discussion that long-form, written content can inspire. 

However, despite smaller shares of voice, even the visual-first platforms of YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest generate notable volumes of Substack mentions. Collectively, those three platforms racked up over 457,000 in the six-month period analyzed. 

This screenshot from the Meltwater platform shows the caption of Charli XCX’s now-deleted Instagram post promoting her Substack page. 

In fact, Instagram was the source of the post that drove the most engagement overall. Charli XCX promoted her Substack essay examining the concept of “cool” and commodification in a now-deleted Instagram post that generated over 443,000 likes and 1,700 comments, likely inspiring a slew of new subscriptions to “charli’s substack” in the process.

Today, brands are primarily using Substack for marketing in three ways:

Sponsorships: These are essentially influencer partnerships, with brands letting writers take the content creation lead in introducing them to audiences.

Branded Newsletters: These are editorial operations providing regular, valuable content, often across different verticals. The heaviest lift option, they nevertheless offer an opportunity to cultivate an engaged community around your brand.

Founder and CEO Newsletters: These are the personal projects of brand leaders with something to say. They can be unpolished and wide-ranging, super niche, brand-focused, or even only tangentially related to the brand. 

Each one offers a different balance of investment and audience ownership for brands looking to tap into Substack’s ecosystem.

Many brands reach Substack audiences via partnerships with existing newsletters and writers. This kind of setup isn’t exactly new. As we covered in our previous roundup of brands on Substack, several companies have had established newsletter sponsorships on the platform at least as far back as 2024. However, with the platform’s new native sponsorship program and continued user growth we may see even more organizations adopting this model. 

As with all content creator partnerships, the key to success here is brand fit. Luckily for brands, there are 50,000 monetized Substack newsletters to choose from, with five million paying subscribers and tens of millions more reading for free. 

Brands are linking up with the platform’s most successful writers and communities to promote specific initiatives and campaigns, as well as boost general visibility. Take for example:

Walmart inviting a popular daily business newsletter cover its small business initiative event, Open Call 

Banana Republic featuring a dedicated section highlighting its Friends and Family sale within an issue of a lifestyle newsletter

Hinge providing data from its Gen-Z dating report for a special edition of a popular personal newsletter

Lenovo having its Yoga Tab Plus AI tablet mentioned in this essay about writing in a digital culture newsletter

Sutter Home having its wines included in a short video within this recipe post on a cooking newsletter

Brooklinen helping a fashion and culture newsletter to do a subscription giveaway

What makes the best brand sponsorships work is seamless integration. Audiences are there to follow the writers, so brands should blend into the experience or enhance it with perks like free access to newsletters that are normally gated. Overall, the sponsorship route is a lower lift than dedicated newsletters that gives brands the opportunity to work with multiple writers reaching different niche audiences.

Fashion and beauty brands like Rare Beauty, Madewell, and Shopify are creating Substacks that are full-on digital magazines. As such, they feature mixes of content types, like interviews, personal essays, product spotlights, and behind-the-scenes features, that can maintain readers’ attention over time and build trust along the way.

Though branded newsletters require much more resource investment than sponsorships, they also offer more possibilities for brand- and community-building in the long term.

Rare Beauty’s Substack page includes Mental Health as a main content pillar alongside Community and Beauty.

For example, Rare Beauty’s Substack naturally covers beauty and the company’s inner workings, but it also allows the brand to highlight mental health as a pillar of its identity. Articles about wellness and self-care are regular offerings, featuring guest writers working directly in the mental health field. As a result, Rare Beauty is able to regularly share resources with its fans and followers, supplementing the work it does through its associated impact fund focused on youth mental health services and education.

Meanwhile, Shopify’s Substack is geared for its audience of creators and entrepreneurs. Its newsletter issues highlight the small business using Shopify to build successful brands, like this one interviewing the founders of underwear brand Manmade. Through its celebration of its actual users through profiles and data-driven stories behind industry trends, Shopify gives readers valuable information that they can use in their own entrepreneurial journeys. The newsletter allows the brand to position itself as a small business resource and ally instead of just an e-commerce platform.

Though launching and maintaining a dedicated brand newsletter is no small task, it creates more sustained opportunities for community building and engagement than sponsorships alone.

Some brands are driving exposure on Substack via their leaders’ newsletters. Less editorial and more bloggy, these personal dispatches offer readers the kind of candid perspectives and musings that serve to humanize the associated brand.

The Night Shade newsletter covers everything from shopping hauls to gift guides to styling tips, as well as the occasional mention of the author’s company Ghia.

One great example is Night Shade by Melanie Masarin, the founder and CEO of non-alcoholic apéritifs brand Ghia. The newsletter boasts over 13,000 subscribers, but not every post mentions the brand. In fact, many don’t, making the newsletter feel authentic instead of just another marketing channel. By bringing readers into her everyday through issues about birthday celebrations, styling tips, and the occasional peek into the inner workings of the company, Melanie successfully casts Ghia as more than just a brand, but an aspect of a mindful, joyful lifestyle.

A Little Bit of Everything by Rebecca Minkoff, founder of the eponymous fashion brand

somstack by Alex Mill co-founder and creative director Somsack Sikhounmuong

La Vie de Clare V. by Clare V. founder Clare Vivier

Take Your Time by Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen

If your brand has a founder or CEO who loves to write and share their perspectives with the world, a Substack may be a great option to highlight them.

How Do Brands Find Substack Newsletters to Sponsor?

Many brands use similar strategies for finding newsletters to partner with as they do for finding influencers. And in some cases, newsletter discovery and influencer discovery can be accomplished using the same tools. 

For Meltwater influencer marketing users, the AI Discovery feature lets you streamline the scouting process based on your brand identity and campaign goals. Just type in what you are looking for, or even copy and paste a creative brief, and the tool will direct you to the best writers to help you reach your campaign goals.

Not a Meltwater user yet? Book a meeting today.

It depends. Substack’s audience is growing, but it is still a niche platform that not every brand or marketing team has the resources to maintain. For many brands interested in the platform, newsletter partnerships are the best route, allowing you to reach an existing audience without having to build one from scratch.

However, brands that are looking to experiment with dedicated Substacks or want to commit to the long haul, here are three essential questions to ask from the start.

Looking to drive awareness? Build community? Support product launches? Publicize thought leadership? Whatever your objective is, clarifying it from the start will help you determine your approach and avoid time-consuming dead ends down the line.

2. What is the focus of your newsletter and your brand’s point of view?

Successful Substacks have a clear niche, perspective, and voice. Think about what your brand can offer. Is it expertise and exclusive insights? Storytelling and cultural commentary? And how does that all align with your broader brand identity? A clear niche and point of view is a launchpad for success, you can’t start without them!

3. What is your team or department’s capacity?

Creating a consistent, high-quality newsletter requires time, editorial direction, and continuous production. Make sure you have the resources to maintain a regular publishing cadence, or consider starting with partnerships before scaling into owned content.

The rise of Substack is part of a bigger shift in marketing where audiences are seeking out voices they can trust and going directly to them for their content and perspectives. Platforms like Substack are hubs for that shift in influence, where writers, creators, and brand leaders are able to directly access highly engaged audiences united by specific interests. 

Substack isn’t a replacement for current marketing strategies and channels, but it’s an attractive venue for brands seeking to build influence with intentional audiences over time. The goal isn’t viral surges of clicks, but rather relationship building in an owned community.


The newsletter route isn’t for every brand, but for those with a solid brand identity and voice, it’s worth a closer look.

Frequently Asked Questions: Brands on Substack

Substack is a newsletter publishing platform that allows writers, creators, and brands to distribute content directly to subscribers. Its growth is driven by demand for independent media and direct audience relationships.

Substack is gaining traction, according to Meltwater data, with over 5 million social media mentions from Nov 1, 2025 to Apr 29, 2026, representing a 30% increase compared to the six months prior. 

How are brands using Substack for marketing?

Brands typically use Substack in three ways:

Each one offers different balances of investment and audience ownership for brands looking to tap into Substack’s ecosystem.

Not necessarily. Substack works best for brands with a clear voice and consistent content strategy. Additionally, dedicated newsletters require investment in continuous content creation. For many brands, newsletter sponsorship is the more feasible route. 

How do brands find Substack newsletters to partner with?

Brands use influencer discovery and audience analysis tools to identify relevant newsletters. Meltwater’s AI Discovery feature streamlines this process by matching brands with influencers with Substack newsletters based on audience fit, content themes, and campaign goals.

What makes a successful Substack partnership?

Successful partnerships feel native to the writer’s voice and provide real value to readers.

What is the biggest opportunity for brands on Substack?

The biggest opportunity is building long-term, trust-based relationships with audiences. With Meltwater, brands can track how those relationships translate into engagement, sentiment, and overall brand impact.

What Is Substack Marketing? How Leading Brands Use It

Bill Gates wrote these famous words in a 1996 essay: "Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting."

This was back when the internet was still in its infancy. Businesses and consumers alike were still testing the digital media waters. The internet wasn’t yet on our phones, much less in nearly every household. So much has changed since 1996, but Gates’ prediction remains truer than ever — content is the king of digital marketing.

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online (DemandSage, 2025), it’s no surprise that many marketers embrace a content-first perspective.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever.

What Do Content Marketers and Content Managers Do?

What Are the Different Types of Content Marketing?

What are the benefits of Content Marketing?

Digital Content Creation and Content Marketing Examples

How Meltwater Can Help with Content Marketing

Tip: Stay on top of content marketing trends and make sure you learn about the most important content marketing metrics to measure.

Don’t BS your audience. Content marketing is supposed to be all about answering the audience’s questions. Giving them what they’re looking for.

Truth be told, the whole internet could technically be considered “content.” What sets regular content apart from digital content marketing is intention.

A hallmark of content for marketing purposes is that it steers away from traditional marketing messages. Rather than promote an item or brand in a sales-y way, content marketing focuses more on providing value to audiences and less on immediate sales.  

Content marketing is the intentional approach to creating valuable, useful, relevant content for online audiences that encourages a specific action from the viewer.

The idea is that when brands can promote value to the user above anything else, users will be more informed, and sales will naturally follow.

Marketers have a goal in mind, whether it’s to build brand awareness, improve lead generation, drive sales and other conversions, gather audience feedback, or similar goals. From there, a content marketing manager, also known as a content marketer, decides which type of content will help them achieve that goal.

Tip: Every content marketer should perform a content audit every once in a while to make sure their content is always up-to-date.

Regardless of how you market to your online audience, content plays a key role in your strategy. It’s the images, videos, and posts you share on social media. It’s the landing page people see after they click on your pay-per-click (PPC) ad. It’s the variety of links that show up on search engine results pages to match a user’s query and guide them to your brand.

The good news is that you don’t always have to start from scratch. 82% of marketers repurpose content across various social media channels (Meltwater, 2025). Repurposing content helps you get more mileage out of your best-performing assets, saving time and effort while keeping your messaging consistent across every platform and touchpoint so your brand shows up with the same story, no matter where buyers find you.

From SEO to inbound marketing, social media to PPC ads, brands rely on quality digital content creation to get seen and boost conversions. Here are some of the different types of content marketing you’ll want to explore:

<table class="table-primary">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Content type</th>
      <th>What it is</th>
      <th>What it’s used for</th>
      <th>Why it works</th>
      <th>Examples</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Blog posts</strong></td>
      <td>Written articles published on a brand’s website</td>
      <td>Education, SEO, thought leadership</td>
      <td>Builds authority over time and attracts organic traffic</td>
      <td>How-to articles, explainers, opinion pieces</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Infographics</strong></td>
      <td>Visual representations of information or data</td>
      <td>Simplifying complex topics, increasing shareability</td>
      <td>Easy to scan and understand, highly shareable</td>
      <td>Data visualisations, process diagrams</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Videos</strong></td>
      <td>Visual and audio content designed to inform or engage</td>
      <td>Awareness, engagement, education</td>
      <td>High engagement and strong storytelling potential</td>
      <td>Explainer videos, tutorials</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Ebooks</strong></td>
      <td>Long-form, in-depth written content</td>
      <td>Deep education, lead generation</td>
      <td>Provides high-value insights that justify sign-ups</td>
      <td>Topic deep dives, practical guides</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>White papers</strong></td>
      <td>Research-driven, authoritative documents</td>
      <td>B2B education, credibility building</td>
      <td>Positions brands as experts using data and analysis</td>
      <td>Industry research, solution-focused papers</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Case studies</strong></td>
      <td>Real-world examples of customer success</td>
      <td>Consideration and decision-making</td>
      <td>Builds trust through proof and results</td>
      <td>Customer success stories</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>User-generated content (UGC)</strong></td>
      <td>Content created by customers or users</td>
      <td>Trust-building, community engagement</td>
      <td>Seen as more authentic than brand content</td>
      <td>Social posts, testimonials</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Influencer content</strong></td>
      <td>Content created with or by influencers</td>
      <td>Reach, credibility with niche audiences</td>
      <td>Leverages existing trust and influence</td>
      <td>Sponsored posts, collaborations</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Reviews</strong></td>
      <td>Customer opinions and feedback</td>
      <td>Purchase influence, social proof</td>
      <td>Helps audiences make informed decisions</td>
      <td>Product or service reviews</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Checklists</strong></td>
      <td>Step-by-step actionable content</td>
      <td>Practical guidance, task completion</td>
      <td>Simple, useful, and easy to apply</td>
      <td>Planning checklists, process lists</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Slide decks</strong></td>
      <td>Presentation-style visual content</td>
      <td>Education, storytelling, idea sharing</td>
      <td>Clear structure and visual clarity</td>
      <td>Strategy presentations, educational decks</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

A content marketing blog is among the lowest-hanging fruit for brands. Blog articles provide customers and potential customers with relevant and useful information, and as a bonus, they provide a natural way to promote your products or services. For example, if you sell a software product, your blog might include articles about its unique features, tips on how to use it, or answers to common questions.

Blogs also boost your brand’s search engine optimization (SEO), which is essential for helping people find you via search engines like Google. Your articles help you reach people who are searching for what you offer. Do some keyword research to come up with content ideas that will resonate with your users. Build each blog around a unique keyword to keep your ideas focused and relevant.

To get even more mileage from blogs for your content marketing strategy, you can share posts to social media and in your emails. Sharing your articles with those audiences gets more exposure for your blog.

Tip: You can also leverage videos for SEO on YouTube

Infographics are like blog posts but more visual. Instead of sharing information in an article format, you can turn your ideas into graphics. These are light on text since the images do most of the talking. They’re ideal for turning complex or boring topics into engaging content.

These are especially helpful for tough subjects because the human brain processes images much faster than text. Information that might take a person several minutes to read and understand can be presented in an infographic and understood in a fraction of the time.

Infographics are 30 times more likely to be viewed compared to text-based content (DemandSage, 2026), plus colorful graphics can increase conversions by up to 80%. Finally, infographics are super shareable!

It's no secret that video content has taken the online world by storm. Video now accounts for 82% of all internet traffic and is one of the most popular content types (Synthesia, 2025). 

Videos help bring ideas to life, are easy to digest, and turn complex concepts into easy-to-understand topics. For instance, you might offer a step-by-step look at how to perform a specific task with your product.

Because of their widespread appeal and ability to share lots of details quickly, videos are a great way to bring more value to your audience.

Tip: When creating videos, make sure to follow the correct social media video sizes and specs! Get inspiration from 50 ideas for video content.

Ebooks are excellent tools in any content marketing strategy focused on generating qualified leads. Pick a topic that relates to your brand and requires a more in-depth explanation than the average blog post can offer. Then let your audience download the ebook in exchange for a small fee or their email address. That way, you’ll generate leads who are truly interested in the topic, and you can continue helping them learn more about your brand and product or service.

For middle and lower funnel leads, case studies can pack a powerful punch. Case studies give an in-depth look at a customer who has used your product or service and the results they gained. They rely on real stats and figures to illustrate the story and usually contain quotes from the customer about their experience.

Similar to ebooks, white papers offer another way to build trust with your audience. The difference between a white paper and an ebook is that white papers tend to be more data-driven. They’re filled with research and present information factually. They are a great way to highlight original research you have that other brands don't. Because the data does the talking, you can use white papers to promote your brand in a non-salesy way.

User-generated content (UGC), is content created for your brand by real users or customers. It might be a video or photo of them using your product or a tutorial showing others how something works. UGC carries a lot of weight because it’s made by real people, not your brand. Users trust UGC and see it as raw, honest, and unbiased.

Tip: Check out these user-generated content examples.

Influencer content is similar to UGC. The difference is that influencer content is usually commissioned by the company or brand, whereas UGC happens organically.

You can hire influencers to promote your product or service to their audience. This helps you expand your reach and adds a layer of authenticity to the process because you’re not creating the content yourself. It's one of the most effective content formats because it's like getting a personal word-of-mouth recommendation rather than a typical marketing message. 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations, and 69% trust what influencers say and recommend (Meltwater, 2024).

Another form of UGC, online reviews and customer testimonials, is an example of high-converting content. They give direct insights into your product or service, are created by your customers, and shed light on their personal experiences.

For instance, someone might leave a star rating and review on your Google Business or Facebook pages. Or, you might ask a customer to record a video testimonial that you can post to your brand’s home page.

Online reviews and testimonials are like getting celebrity endorsements for your brand, but from your customers instead of celebrities. People don’t want to attach their name to a recommendation if they don’t fully support a product. That’s one reason why most people trust online reviews as much as they trust referrals from family members or friends.

Another opportunity to collect qualified leads, checklists are easy to make and offer lots of value to your users. Instead of putting together the nuts and bolts of a particular topic or task, you can save them the trouble by making a checklist. They have something concrete to follow since you’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation for them. And similar to an ebook, you can require your audience to sign up for your email list to access the downloadable checklist.

Another growing type of content asset is online presentations. Using tools like SlideShare, brands can create on-demand slide decks to share information in a presentation format. This is a great way to break topics down into bite-sized chunks and let the user go at their own pace.

To understand the full role of content marketing campaigns, look no further than the declining value of traditional marketing. Billboards, direct mail, and print publications just don’t have the same appeal or impact that they once did.

People learn to ignore ads — we’ve had to, given that the average person sees thousands of ads per day. When we get overwhelmed by companies competing for our attention, we learn how to tune them out.

That’s what makes content marketing different. Its primary goal isn’t to sell or promote, but rather to offer real value to the viewer. This helps remove some of the internal ad-block reactions consumers have developed and helps brands get noticed. Once you earn some visibility through your online content, you have a chance to make a lasting impression on your audience.

There’s also been a shift in the buying process that marketers should note. In the past, buyers would follow a fairly predictable path: discover an issue, explore various products, and then make a buying decision. Today, that process isn’t as linear as it once was.

Buyers are doing more and more research on their own. They’re using Google to find information about different solutions to their problem. They’re reading online reviews of companies before they buy. More than half of internet users research brands and products online before buying (Meltwater, 2026).

Brands need to accommodate this new buying journey, and content is a viable way to support it. Brands can present content to users that speaks to wherever they are in the process.

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Content Marketing

What Is Substack Marketing? How Leading Brands Use It

How to Become a Successful Content Creator and Influencer

The Power of Content Marketing: A Complete Guide

The Best Content Marketing Tools for 2025

YouTube SEO Tips: How to Optimize Your Videos for Search

How Gen Z Consumes Content

10 Ways to Increase the Visibility of Your Online Content

8 Content Marketing Trends You Need to Know For 2025

UGC Guide: What is User-Generated Content?

How to Write Creative Instagram Captions for More Engagement

The 13 Best Retail Podcasts 2025

Repurposing Content: Definition, Software, Examples

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