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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

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, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

These days communication departments are expected to handle a much more diverse range of tasks compared to 10 or 20 years ago. For example, teams now have to execute on business-critical activities such as rolling out CEO Communications strategies that build trust and transparency, deal with faster and more extensive information flows, and support top-management decision-making processes. Echoing this sentiment, the European Communications Monitor 2020 expects the following requirements to become top priorities for communication teams by 2023:

For the purpose of this article, we’re focusing on how CEO Communications can help build trust. We decided to focus here because this issue in particular is reaching boiling point. The Covid-19 pandemic well and truly put trust to the test – and it looks like it’s about to burst.

It’s not uncommon for various macro and micro factors to cause trust in corporations and public organizations to fluctuate. Covid-19, for example, accelerated a lack of trust in the media, government bodies, and NGOs due to the widespread perception that such organizations failed to respond effectively and 'do the right thing'. Naturally, when people no longer trust the media or politicians, they look elsewhere for guidance and call on businesses to step in and fill the void. As a result, the role of CEO Communication has never been greater.

According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, citizens now view corporations as the most credible institutions. Expectations around businesses not just stepping up and discussing today's challenges, but solving them, are growing. This shift is causing new demands to be placed on CEOs and the communication teams that support them. 

With nearly half (48%) of a company’s reputation attributed to a CEO’s reputation, the importance of CEOs building trust is paramount.

Before we delve into ways communication teams can help CEOs build trust, let’s first explore new demands expected from CEOs, since these have a direct impact on the messaging executives must lead with.

Understanding new demands from CEO Communications

Edelman’s Trust study revealed that 68% of consumers and 62% of employees feel they have the power to force corporations to change. This shows how stakeholders are now increasingly demanding a seat at the table, but in order for this new dynamic to be successful, two-way conversations between brand and stakeholders must be present.

Brand engagement, the process of interacting with stakeholders through varied channels, has never been more important. Some companies have created completely new jobs to fulfill this new demand, Volkswagen, for example, has hired a "Head of CEO Communications". 

Historically, most CEOs were pretty reserved when it came to discussing global challenges, but the days of sidelining this are over. Edelman’s Trust study found that 86% of respondents expect CEO Communications to not just address business results, but take a stand on at least one of the following issues: 

CEO activism significantly helps long-term growth, in fact, Weber Shandwick research found that 40% of consumers expressed they are more likely to buy from a company when CEO Communications resonate with them. Furthermore, 67% of communications and marketing executives whose CEO has spoken out about a social-political issue say the activism had a positive impact on their company reputation. And it’s not just consumers that want CEOs to take a stand, the EY CEO Imperative Study also revealed that investors and boards want CEO communications to highlight humanity’s greatest challenges too, commenting: 

Contrary to conventional wisdom, our survey of the CEOs, board directors, and institutional investors of the world’s largest corporations finds that institutional investors are not a brake to corporate action on global challenges. They endorse the corporate investments needed to make progress on these issues and will increasingly factor the corporate response to global challenges into their investment decisions.

CEO communications staying true to brand purpose

Korn Ferry's CEO for the Future study found 74% of interviewees cited a genuine sense of mission and purpose as a vital trait that all CEO communications should possess. 

Simply defined, purpose is the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc. A purpose-driven brand is one that openly puts its core values at the forefront of everything it does - and more importantly, stays true to that purpose rather than using it as a buzzword in CEO communications.

Doing things ‘on purpose’ is a hallmark of the most inspirational and successful leaders. These are the people who can lead their business with total clarity and commitment, secure in the knowledge of not just what they’re doing, but why they’re doing it. 

To ensure that this purpose is understood, CEO communications need social agility, empathy and an ability to connect meaningfully with employees, customers, and other stakeholders, both directly and via social tools and platforms.

How to use CEO communications to build trust with stakeholders

Before CEO communications can build trust, we first need to understand how our organization and CEO's personal reputation are perceived. An editorial and social media brand reputation analysis will uncover key characteristics associated with CEOs, for example, comms teams might discover that in certain countries the media takes a disliking to their board, and therefore choose to focus more resources on CEO communications and media relations to help improve local reputation. 

Frequently monitoring the media is critical for maintaining trust too. Time is of the essence when it comes to negative stories circulating, so be sure to keep an eye on the media for detrimental mentions and decrease the chances of them spreading. We can also use this insight to our advantage and build counter-argument messaging to show that we're both listening and addressing issues.

2 Encourage two-way dialogue through social media presence

Sociability of CEOs has risen dramatically over the past ten years, and with good reason. CEOs who are active on social media and have a strong online presence/ digital profile benefit from: 

Enhanced visibility amongst customers, prospects, and other stakeholders

Greater engagement, in fact, research shows that executives and leaders outperformed companies on LinkedIn engagement by more than 320%

Influencing macro agendas, Herbert Dies, CEO of Volkswagen commented “In 2021 we want to communicate more intensively with politics, Twitter is the medium.”

Leslie Gaines-Ross, Chief Reputation Strategist at Weber Shandwick further explains:

Building reputation comes in many forms today. One of the most underutilized ways is for CEOs to communicate online where they can efficiently signal that they are listening carefully to customers, are curious about how their products or services are being received, and that they are open and transparent. In a few years, the risk-reward ratio will shift and more CEOs will reap the reputational rewards that come along with being social.

Being present on social media means being there, being available, and being willing to hear what audiences are saying. That being said, if the CEO works for a large company, the noise on social media can be deafening. They’ll likely receive thousands of mentions each hour which makes it difficult for CEO communication teams to know when to respond (if at all). To overcome this challenge, many brands use media intelligence tools such as Meltwater. 

Media intelligence allows companies to cut through the noise by offering a high-level overview of the critical social media conversions they need to worry about. That way, CEO communication teams can see if there are trends emerging around certain issues. We’d also recommend setting up media alerts for certain influential accounts like United Nations so the CEO is not only aware whenever they post about certain topics that are aligned with their agenda, but they can also engage and demonstrate their subject matter expertise. 

Interested in setting media alerts up for your company? Complete the form below and we'll be in touch to discuss. 

Follow the below engagement tips to enhance communications:

Be transparent, honest, and open, but don’t over promise and under deliver

Use real-life citizens/user-generated stories. Case studies are important for all organizations as they align our talk with our actions.

Understand what different stakeholders and audience segments care about, then use this insight to direct messaging.

Create a CEO communications content calendar, this will help focus communications and ensure outreach is aligned with wider corporate goals. Fortunately, most social media management tools come with integrated content calendars and post-scheduling features.

Increase engagement by analyzing the times and days when the majority of followers are active. Sufficient social media management tools will analyze this metric on our behalf.

Cultivate a recognizable tone of voice, because let’s face it, sounding like a machine or a press release is anything but engaging. We need to show our audience that there are real people behind the profile who are just like them. Having an authentic voice on social media helps position and humanize our organization while making our posts more recognizable.  

With consumers wanting corporate action from CEOs, and investors expecting the same, companies need to put short and long-term action plans in place that accelerate engagement with and solve global challenges.

If a brand is looking to up engagement on societal issues, here are a few pointers to follow before starting.

Establish a link between the issue and the company’s values and business

First things first, when a CEO decides what issues they’re going to take leadership on, they must ensure it aligns with their overall business strategy. The action agenda needs to drive organizational transformation in response to the global challenges, so choosing an issue that’s relevant to the company’s operating area is critical. 

Examples of issues CEOs are now taking public positions on include:

Technology change stirring up issues around data ownership, privacy, ethics, and trust

Fully commit to the cause (and company purpose)

For CEO activism to be seen as credible, it's important to fully commit time and resources to the cause. Nowadays consumers don’t think twice about calling out companies for woke washing, so it's best to save face by practicing what we preach while also articulating why the issue is related to the company’s mission and values. 

Consider the channels, messages, and tone of voice used

As Hubspot explains, the trustworthiness of CEO communications is measured on factors like the CEO's ability to provide audiences with a comprehensive understanding of key points and to take ownership of the message through personalized, active language. With this in mind, it's wise to conduct research into the topic your CEO communication is addressing. Gather facts, and keep up to date with current events.

Ensure messages are clear, transparent, and consistent. 

Several factors go into measuring the clarity of communication, but the simplest way to think about it is in terms of structure: a clear communicator uses simple sentence structures and everyday language to break complex issues into an easy-to-follow path of cause and effect. 

Media inquiries, social media activity, employee questions, and NGO backlash are all but guaranteed when CEOs speak up against politically charged issues because, unfortunately, alienating segments of our stakeholders is unavoidable since not everyone is going to agree with our stance. In light of this, we'd highly suggest having a crisis communications plan in place, especially for social media. 

4 Become customer-obsessed, not just customer-focused

Customer centricity is an approach that ensures the audience - and not profit-  is at the center of a business's philosophy, operations, and ideas. The aim of becoming customer-centric is to create a positive experience by maximizing offerings and building relationships. If this is done right, profit will naturally flow. When CEO Communications keep their customer as the true North, it shows the CEO understands the alignment between what customers expect and what their organization is delivering, and as a result of their obsessive pursuit of customer satisfaction, CEO trust improves.

Customer centricity tips for CEO Communications

Understand that not all customers are the same. Uses audience data to extract insights that help spark relevant engagement and foster meaningful relationships. Aim to 1 billion one-to-one relationships with consumers through hyper-personalised, purposeful dialogue.

Break down silos and make sure that customer data is easily sharable and accessible internally.

Understand what different stakeholders and audience segments care about, then use this insight in messaging.

Following the above tips will optimize CEO reputation management strategies and help your leadership team build relationships with stakeholders that can last these turbulent times. If you'd like to explore integrating media intelligence into your own CEO communications plan, reach out to us on the form below and we'll happily share more tips!

CEO Communications: Building & Maintaining Trust

Journalists are always on the lookout for a good story. They are the modern-day storytellers, seeking factual information and relaying them to the public. The public counts on them to deliver the news on various aspects of our lives and the events that affect our decisions. The public consumes this information as part of our ongoing need for knowledge to facilitate our action moving forward. 

Recounting stories like the original storyteller Homer, journalists have the ability to weave facts and firsthand experiences into a narrative that informs the audience to make wise decisions. In the era of fake news and an audience that demands participatory experience, there is a greater impetus in storytelling to provide integrity with facts and data,

The Art of Data Storytelling in a Social Media World

6 Social Media Metrics For Journalists to Tell Stories

The Context of Social Media in Journalism

Facts need to be the crux of storytelling to maintain integrity and build trust with an audience. With the right facts, there is a salience developed between journalists and their audience, creating a greater connection when they search for information in the future. 

A compelling narrative is one that is able to persuade the reader. This appeal will boost the credibility of the publisher as well as attract more readership.  Through their storytelling, journalists have honed their craft to inform with a mix of moral objectivity, emotional connection and factual reportage. 

With social media being almost intrinsic in our daily lives, there is an infinite amount of stories and storytelling material available for journalists to tap into. From finding creative news beats to breaking news stories, there is always something for a journalist to write about and discover new angles. 

Journalists need statistical analysis and metrics that reflect the sentiments of the public on social media. Surveys and interviews are exceptional forms of qualitative data but the nature of newsjacking and breaking news cannot afford the time to carry out these forms of data analysis. 

This is why journalists require the real-time power of social media data and analytics. Gathering information, getting a sense of public opinion and tracking the progress of a story are integral in journalism in this new world of viral videos, shock content and shorter attention spans.

News organisations know the power of social media these days and understand the growing complexities of public opinion in the online space. Every organisation now has an online presence with corresponding social media presence — be it on Facebook, or Twitter. Editors and journalists are publishing their stories faster than ever before. At the same time, journalists are also multitasking to get on the latest event breaking at another location. 

So how do journalists stay on top of their beats? What can they do to gain that extra edge in their storytelling to the audience? These are the six metrics journalists can use to accentuate their stories.

Journalists always seek to understand their audience and how they are interacting with their stories. Before the advent of social media, news teams did not have a direct way of studying how their content is performing. However, audiences these days require a participatory experience with online content. Through social media, this is possible and news teams can gauge through its engagement rate. 

Engagement rate highlights the interactivity between the journalist’s stories and their audience. The number of likes, shares, and comments is a reflection of how much a piece of content is resonating with an audience. By looking through the posts with the highest engagement rates, a journalist can sieve through the comments to identify audience sentiment and common topical interests being discussed. 

These insights provides the news teams with valuable opinions from the audience they are engaging with. This online sensing can also be viewed as a new form of gathering public feedback. By using a social media analytics tool, journalists can quickly get a broad overview of public sentiment on a particular topic and identify the factors affecting public opinion. 

Journalists writing for print and online news are typically assigned to a news beat where they are expected to cover a wide array of related topics and events. They have to constantly find news stories or angles to write about. Keyword clouds are extremely handy in finding what the audience are discussing and designing a story to address it.

Take for example, a journalist who is assigned to cover news stories about transportation, there is a wide scope of topics to be covered. From private hire vehicles to road taxation hikes to a public transport mishap, all of these topics can happen at the same time. With a keyword cloud, the most discussed topics as well as buzzwords found in social media will appear more prominently and this may give an extra boost to journalists in finding their next news story. With keyword clouds, a journalist can react faster to cover the day's events and emergencies. 

Keyword clouds can also identify the top entities that are associated with a specific topic or event. To follow on the topic above, if there was a specific event such as a public transport mishap, the social media data can uncover the various entities which are mentioned the most. In this case, the officials who have made an announcement or the most vocal critic commenting on the catastrophe.

It is undeniable that social influencers  are playing a prominent role these days because of how embedded social media is in everyday life. The younger generations of Gen Zs and Millennials are living in the hyperconscious state of social media and influencers play an imperative role in deciding what is particularly interesting to talk about.

In this social media landscape, journalists are increasingly becoming influencers themselves too. Using platforms like Twitter, they can reach a wider audience and raise awareness on an issue as much as other influencers online. For every topic out there, there are particular influencers who populate that space and their opinions are highly sought after by their followers. For example, a sports writer will definitely benefit from gathering insights from sports personalities on social media. These high-profile influencers receive massive engagement rates with their followers and writers can get a new angle from this highly-opinionated pool of commenters.

Knowing what makes these influencers tick and the topics that their audiences are listening to may help journalists refine their stories while at the same time, locate the subject matter experts in the field they are covering. Finding these influencers and analysing their content can raise awareness on the various issues at hand. Meanwhile, they can also analyse their own profiles to see the key demographics of their audience based on the social media data.

Audience demographics are vital to news outlets. With print publications suffering from a decline of readership and more investments being pumped into developing their online presence, news outlets need to quickly grasp the demographics of their readership to fully understand their audience. 

Using an analytics tool to study social media data, news teams can learn which demographics are tuning in and interacting with their articles. Increasingly, readers are switching to social media to receive their news alerts as well as scouring for more information on a certain topic than ever before. 

For example, a quick search on Meltwater's platform revealed that almost 77% of the gaming audience in the Philippines were male. This insight is gained through social media data discussing the topic of gaming in the country. On the other hand, a scan of the influencer landscape showed that a predominantly female lineup led the social media conversations. Using a combination of these insights, journalists can connect better with the target audiences who are reading their stories.

Furthermore, a study on the Australian media landscape also showed that Australians are consuming news primarily online or through watching television while print has been declining in the past five years. With such high readership online, gaining access to audience demographics such as socioeconomic status, online habits, and personality profiles, is another tool in the journalist’s arsenal in developing stories which are more relevant to their focus groups.

A breaking story is always a boon for journalists. With the help of Twitter and the analytics within the social media platform, journalists can report almost instantaneously on an event. Using the various metrics above such as volume trends, engagement rate and keyword clouds, journalists can extrapolate a range of information which reflect the conversational beat of their audience online.

For example, when there was an earthquake in the state of Victoria, Australia, many turned to social media to express their concern. Tweets of wreckage in the Melbourne metropolitan area suddenly became the hot topic of the day even before news outlets could start reporting them. In this instance, like many other events in our lives, social media has become part of what a news report entails. Undoubtedly, part of a journalist’s scope should include following a news lead by getting on social media and finding out what is trending. 

The Social Echo metric highlights the impact of news content on social channels based on the total number of interactions such as shares, reactions, and comments. Social Echo also highlights to news outlets the type of content that is most shared on social media. News teams can more tangibly identify the content with the best audience engagement via social channels. On an operational level, news editors can also use this helpful indicator to focus on stories and trends which have intrinsic value based on the rate of engagement with the audience and readers.

For example, in the week between 20-26 September, Singapore’s main broadsheet The Straits Times published an article about Panasonic’s retrenchment of its workers. This article was the news outlet’s most shared story with more than 10,300 interactions across social channels. This article resonated with Singapore readers as it highlighted the plight of the workers as well as the jobs market. Using this insight, the editorial team can further analyse the way their audience consume their content as well as hone their strategies moving forward.

Social media is part of news now and many online articles refer to social media for stories. These stories usually highlight the vanity metrics of likes and shares. To gain a deeper contextual understanding of what people are talking about in relation to the news beats, journalists need to quickly analyse and evaluate the currency of these trending topics. 

With social media data easily available on various platforms, editorial teams can gain interesting insights into the minds of the audience they are writing to. Being contextually synchronised with the audience will deliver better articles which are attuned to the reader. With social analytics, influencer reporting and audience demographics, journalists and editors can make better informed decisions in finding the niche beats which garner more readership numbers.

In a sphere of untethered public opinions, journalists need tools which can help pull in all these insights from various channels on social media. With the threat of fake news and misinformation, news outlets need the veracity of their information as well as the integrity of fact-checking procedures. In the realm of political reportage, journalists have near impossible deadlines to meet when a scandal breaks on social media. 

With these social media metrics (and many more others), journalists can add that extra layer in their stories and breaking news. If you ever wondered how you can make your article more impactful with data journalism and insights, do fill the form below and Meltwater can help you gain that extra edge in delivering audience-centric articles.

6 Metrics Journalists Need To Know For Data Storytelling

Arab News recently announced the Saudi Arabian editions of international luxury and lifestyle magazines, Harper's Bazaar and Esquire. The news brings much excitement within the world of fashion publishing, as this is the first time that these magazines will be published not only in the region but in a bilingual format as well. With 33% of social media users in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) feeling positive towards this announcements, and 5 news media mentions on what the luxury magazines could bring to the region, going public with big news to the media may seem like a daunting task for public relations professionals. 

However, that task can be made a little less daunting by using a media database. By finding the right journalists, the announcements and news you have to share - no matter how big or small - will reach the right audience.

In this blog post, we'll take a look into how you can use a media database in the Middle East as a tool to supercharge your PR efforts.

Tip: Learn more about media in Saudi Arabia.

In essence, a media database is a list of journalists, reporters, and other influencers, like bloggers and social media personalities. This list contains the contact information of these journalists and reporters, and allows PR and communications professionals to search and find the right people to reach out to when seeking earned media coverage.

In most media databases, you search for the right people by a variety of filters—like location, reach, media channel or topic of interest—to find the media contacts that would be most relevant and best suited for the news or campaign that you intend to share with the public. 

Before the likes of digital and online media came along, journalists were the primary source of information the people would turn to, as they were deemed credible and trustworthy. However, with the rise of fake news, the trust that people once had in journalists has started to decline, and instead, have turned to influential figures for information. But, it's important to note that while journalists can be influencers, the same can't be said vice versa.

When you think about what an influencer is, people often think about social media influencers, and the influential figures on social media platforms who have a large number of fans and followers. While influencers have the power to impact the purchasing decisions of their followers, journalists gather and present information in a news story to the general public. Each has their own allure and purpose as an advocate for your brand, and having the right influencer or journalist to spread information about you to their audience can make all the difference.

Why You Need a Media Database in the Middle East

Whether you are aiming to send out a press release or share an exciting company update, trying to execute a public relations campaign successfully, without the use of a media database, will feel a lot like talking to an empty room. Having access to a media database, however, will fill up that room with people who can spread your message to the public.  

Meltwater's Media Database helps you find the journalists within the Middle East who are writing about topics that are most relevant to your brand. You are able to build media lists and manage relationships by corresponding directly through the Meltwater platform to get the most out of tool. To add to this, your message gets delivered to audiences with credibility and authority. 

How to Use a Media Database in the Middle East

It's important to note that not all media databases will look the same or have the same list of journalists and influencers. Media databases tend to vary in size, locations, and available media channels. Meltwater's media database has an extensive list of global media contacts, the Middle East included, to provide PR professionals with the right contacts to help spread their message. 

When you log into Meltwater's media database platform, you’ll see a search dashboard where you can begin your search and start building your media contact list. Make sure that you select the particular country in the Middle East that you are looking to target first, before building your search via beats or topic of interest. 

Then, you can search for journalists by "beats" or a topic of interest that the journalist specializes in.  When you search for journalists like this, you essentially are able to find those journalists who primarily write about a certain topic e.g. Marketing and PR, Fashion and Beauty, or Information Technology. These journalists would be considered experts on the topic, and its very likely that their audience would listen to them on the particular topic. 

You can also search for journalists by the outlet or specific publication that they write for. Perhaps you are looking to share information in a national publication such as the Khaleej Times, or something that is a little more niche, like Martech Vibe Middle East. Either way, you can search for journalists on Meltwater's platform by choosing the outlet or publication that you want your message to be spread in. From there, you can take a look at all the journalists listed for that specific publication, and find the right one for you.   

Distributing to a Media Database in the Middle East

Getting proper media coverage will depend on getting your pitch right. Journalists receive a number of emails in their inboxes with varying media pitches; yours needs to stand out from the rest, and PR and communications professionals know just how much a tailored message will have a better chance of resonating with a targeted audience. If you want to learn more about pitching to journalists, read this blog post on How to Pitch Your Press Release to Journalists. 

A media database makes it quite easy to create multiple media lists that you can use for different types of pitches or having the same pitch shared differently in order to appeal to a more focused list of journalists. Just remember that segmenting your media lists into the niche topics that you are trying to cover will give you a better chance of getting media coverage. You always want to tailor your message so that it makes sense to your target audience, and the same applies to the journalists that you are trying to pitch to. So in essence, you want to craft unforgettable pitches that your media list will want to share almost immediately.

Meltwater makes it easy to distribute your pitches to the right journalists. After you have created your media list, you'll select "Outreach" to compose a new email to send to your selected media list. You can also create an "Outreach Template" so that you have a pre-existing email template to use every time you want to send a pitch to a particular media list, instead of creating one from scratch. 

Here you can find more information about our Media Monitoring Solution in Arabic.

Craft your Middle East Media Database Today

Hopefully, this post has made using a media database a little less daunting, because at the end of the day, it is important to have one if you want to get your message out there through credible journalists and reporters. Without one, engaging in public relations and ensuring success for your PR campaigns might prove to be the real daunting task. 

With Meltwater's extensive database, let our team help you get in touch with the right journalists for your brand.

Did you know? Meltwater's interface is now available in Arabic!

How To Create and Leverage Your Media Database in the Middle East

No two stories are alike when it comes to careers in PR. That’s because a career in public relations offers so much variety.

Every year, colleges around the country unleash new communications grads onto the job market. They’re smart, great with technology, and eager to set out on stellar PR career paths.

For new PR grads, often the best way to get a taste of the various areas of specialization is to work for an agency. But how do they discover where their true passion lies? What area of specialization do they love—and which are they truly skilled at?

It’s important to remember that public relations job descriptions today barely resemble those of previous years. What PR skills do today’s job seekers need to have to stand out from the pack and succeed?

Careers in PR Are No Longer Just About Media Relations

12 Skills the PR Pro of the Future Will Need

PR Collaboration: Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Lead

PR Careers Are No Longer Just About Media Relations

When we look at the job descriptions for PR pros, what do we see?

“It’s not just the standard one-two punch of writing and media relations,” says Lou Hoffman, CEO, The Hoffman Agency.

“While great writing is essential, today’s PR practitioners are expected to do a lot more than preparing releases and media relations,” said Martin Waxman, President, Martin Waxman Communications, and a social media and PR professor at Seneca College. “My students tell me employers want them to have design, photography, and video production skills. They need to be multimedia storytellers.”

They should also know how to set up and manage digital platforms and build relationships on social media, Waxman adds.

“And they require an understanding of strategy and how to link the results of their communications programs to business goals,” Waxman says.

Hoffman agrees. “More than building a media footprint, companies today want to see PR directed to solve specific business challenges.”  

And to do that, critical thinking should be one key skill possessed by those seeking a PR career, Hoffman says.

These 12 public relations skills will be needed in the future.

1: Social advertising copywriting skills and an ability to manage social media advertising campaigns

While the ability to write social ads on networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram hasn’t changed, the skill set to manage complete campaigns on these platforms has evolved. In today’s climate, PR folks are asked to manage social ad campaigns all the time. That means learning how to use Power Editor, LinkedIn’s ad platform, and Twitter ad products. It means understanding how to manipulate different components of ad campaigns. It means understanding how to bill clients. All of it. Those who grasp social media, enjoy the fast pace and think quickly on their feet can help shape a brand’s presence in the digital world.

PR & Communications

CEO Communications: Building & Maintaining Trust

6 Metrics Journalists Need To Know For Data Storytelling

How To Create and Leverage Your Media Database in the Middle East

PR Career Paths: 12 Skills You Need

What Is Purpose-Driven Marketing?

Transforming PR Campaign Management

How to Ensure You Never Miss a Media Mention

Boost your Media Coverage? Ideas for Creating News Stories Journalists Will Love

Toolbox Tips: Everything You Need to Avoid & Plan for a PR Crisis

6 Top Tips for Writing a Crisis Statement

5 Reports Every PR Pro Needs to Prove PR ROI

Top 5 PR Campaigns of 2019

PR & Communications

CEO Communications: Building & Maintaining Trust

6 Metrics Journalists Need To Know For Data Storytelling

How To Create and Leverage Your Media Database in the Middle East

PR Career Paths: 12 Skills You Need

What Is Purpose-Driven Marketing?

Transforming PR Campaign Management

How to Ensure You Never Miss a Media Mention

Boost your Media Coverage? Ideas for Creating News Stories Journalists Will Love

Toolbox Tips: Everything You Need to Avoid & Plan for a PR Crisis

6 Top Tips for Writing a Crisis Statement

5 Reports Every PR Pro Needs to Prove PR ROI

Top 5 PR Campaigns of 2019

Interested in learning how Meltwater can help you? Fill out the form to learn more.