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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Guide

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

Media monitoring helps organizations stay informed about what’s being said across online news, print, broadcast, podcasts, and other media channels. Whether you're tracking brand mentions, measuring PR performance, monitoring competitors, or identifying emerging trends, our expert guides, best practices, and industry insights will help you build a smarter media monitoring strategy and make more informed communications decisions.

Discover expert media monitoring guides, best practices, and industry insights to track brand mentions, monitor competitors, and stay ahead of the news.

Media Monitoring: Guides, Best Practices & Industry Insights

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

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

AI adoption is no longer the challenge—trusted context is. Most organizations have AI tools, but many still rely on disconnected, stale, or unverified data, limiting the quality and trustworthiness of AI-generated outputs. Meltwater MCP brings trusted, real-time intelligence into AI assistants.

Your Best Context is Already in the Room

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

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

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.

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!

What Is Data Analytics?
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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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?

Wondering how to improve supply chain risk management? You’ve come to the right place. Supply chains are complex ecosystems to navigate. Their impact, both good and bad, ripples through the whole organisation, and it’s this interdependency that makes them extremely vulnerable. What starts as a small supply chain incident can quickly impact the entire network. Without full risk visibility at each stage of the supply chain, it’s impossible to mitigate risks and fully assess the likely consequences of disruptions. 

Due to the vast sources of potential risks that can impact supply chains, internal and external risk management plays an integral role in keeping them ticking over. While executives have become pros at detecting internal supply chain risks, external risks are sometimes overlooked. One way executives are plugging the external risk visibility gap is by equipping themselves with strategic media intelligence solutions that analyse external data types and signal when a potential risk is on the horizon.

During this article we’ll walk you through the basics of risk management, types of supply chain risks to be aware of, and how to optimise supply chain risk management with media intelligence.

What do we mean by supply chain risk management?

Risk, in an organizational context, is usually defined as anything that can impact the fulfilment of corporate objectives such as profitability, innovation, productivity and market share – all of which are critical for business survival. Companies must, therefore, have supply chain risk management strategies in place to stop them diverging from their key corporate focus areas.

Supply chain risk management refers to the identification, evaluation and prioritization of risks, as well as the application of resources in order to minimalize, monitor and control the probability of them developing. Supply chain risk management has multiple benefits including:

How do I Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management With Media Intelligence?

A large percentage of logistic disruptions occur due to external factors, for example, volatility of suppliers, weather events, political developments, cyber-attacks and more. Internal data types that companies typically monitor, like sales volume or stock availability, do not help professionals predict the arrival of external risks, therefore, only looking inwards at your company puts the organisation in a weak position. This is why executives are increasingly turning to media intelligence to enhance supply chain risk management. Let’s look out how in more depth.

Each day consumers and businesses leave a trail of online breadcrumbs, a litter of digital activity that provides valuable information which assists companies with corporate decision making, such as controlling, managing and mitigating risks.

From supplier acquisitions to customer complaints on social media, insights from digital breadcrumbs sprawled across the web can help businesses stay agile and protected by alerting them of danger signals long before they pose a risk.

Common methods used to identify risk exposure

The graph below demonstrates common methods used by companies to mitigate risks. The SCM World study from 2014 found one in five supply chain professionals leverage insights from social media monitoring (social media insights) for the purpose of identifying emerging risks. While this figure is relatively low compared to others in the chart, professionals are starting to transform their processes and introduce datasets seldom used before. According to SCM World, the use of social media monitoring for risk management will increase rapidly over the coming years.

So what risks can social media monitoring help identify? 

Examples of emerging risks social media monitoring can spot

Read on for some examples of risks we're seeing become more prevalent due to social media, and how social media monitoring can help you identify and manage them.

The speed in which information is disseminated across the web has reached new heights since the introduction of social media. Negative conversations, whether they’re true or false, travel fast. Messages become amplified from others engaging in the conversation until the conversation reaches boiling point and turns into a full-blown crisis. It’s this speed and reach that has strong potential to weaken corporate reputation and when customers lose confidence, it’s directly felt on the turnover of the company.

Risks impacting the reputation of an organisation can take many faces and emerge at different stages of the supply chain. For example, this could be down to bad product design, unethical practices of suppliers, lack of customer service or poor protection of customer data. While this means that we have to keep our eye on many signals during supply chain risk management, reputational risks do have the advantage of being easily identifiable – and therefore manageable.

By monitoring trending themes associated with your brand, you can improve vigilance by quickly spotting unusual mentions, for example, words that suggest something is faulty or at threat. Filter the conversation further by selecting trending themes by their sentiment. For supply chain risk mitigation purposes, negative conversations are most important. To ensure you quickly react to risk signals, set up an alert that notifies you when something abnormal occurs like a spike in negative mentions or an increase of conversations in general since this suggests an event you need to be aware of is taking place.

To spark some food for thought, here are the 10 most-watched risks in 2017: 

Active monitoring of social media allows companies to anticipate a problem and react before it becomes uncontrollable or develops into a full crisis. Moreover, social media management also plays a key role in both improving and understanding long-term brand damage, for example, has the sentiment of your brand dived for a prolonged period after a crisis? Are there certain countries who have a particularly negative opinion on your company? What trends are associated with your brand – are they positive, how have they changed prior, during and after a crisis? Answers to such questions should be used for corporate decision making, guiding you on the next step to take.

Regulatory risks can lead to financial penalties, reputational risks and weak links in the supply chain in the case of non-compliance issues. By continuous monitoring online news mentions around regularity topics, businesses can understand the likelihood of future regulatory changes coming into play, giving themselves time to put alternative plans in place and ensure the smooth adoption of regulations with minimal disruption to the supply chain.

Social media is also a critical source of information when it comes to ensuring the compliance of your suppliers, employees and other stakeholders. A brand that’s affiliated with a company who are breaking the law can easily become bogged down in their mess too. Even if the brand didn’t break the rules themselves, audiences may believe they’re endorsing a company that does, purely due to the affiliation they have with the brand causing negative influences for supply chain risk management. 

Financial risks are those that directly affect the revenue of an organisation. Two common risks that often occur include the interruption of activity and breaks in the supply chain. A weakened link in the supply chain can be caused by many external factors including natural disasters, market evolutions, the financial health of suppliers, bad anticipation of the demand, obsolete technologies and an increase in costs of raw materials.

Here are the top financial risks companies are concerned with:

It’s interesting to see that back in 2018, only 14% of companies ranked human diseases as a concern for interruption activity. We’ve witnessed first-hand how COVID-19 disrupted almost every industry and I expect this percentage will rise considerably post 2020.

The emergence of social media has also given rise to new types of risks that are directly related to the public's use of social networks. One example of this is fraud. Over the last few years, numerous cases of social media fraud have come to light, however, the best known is undoubtedly that suffered by Associated Press. In 2013, one of their Twitter accounts was hacked. Messages announcing a double explosion at the White House were published and quickly retweeted by thousands of people. Although the truth in the message was quickly denied by the press organisation, by that point the damage had been done. The market fell by 150 points in minutes, representing a loss of about $150 billion dollars. This goes to show the importance of not underestimating the damage of fake news and the speedy response needed to minimize the damage.

Tip: Learn how to perform an influencer risk assessment.

Since this example, we’ve seen many other cases where companies that have fallen victim to fraud and fake news; many also subsequently saw a drop in their share price as a result.

Another challenge directly associated with the use of social media and supply chain risk management is loss in intellectual property.

The top 1,000 largest companies in the world have invest more than $45 billion a year in corporate intelligence. This practice has a bright future, facilitated in many ways by the growing use of social media and the insightful digital breadcrumbs users leave behind. For example, employees who post a message on Facebook or Twitter about their work may be of interest to competitors who are gathering information on other players in their field. One notable example to mention is that of a security consulting company who was able to predict the bankruptcy of a company based on tweets from employees complaining of budget cuts and the fact that the Vice-President Operations was looking for a new job on LinkedIn. Many businesses are upping the ante using competitive intelligence. While executives understand the importance of stakeholders being careful not to give away too much information since their competitors are listening, controlling this can be easier said than done.

Comprehensive supply chain risk management analysis

Monitoring external signals By looking outside of your companies walls and monitoring external data available online, executives can sleep well knowing they have covered all areas. From supplier acquisitions to customer complaints on social media, insights from digital breadcrumbs sprawled across the web can help businesses stay agile and protected by alerting them of danger signals long before they pose a risk.

External risks will develop whether you’re tracking them or not, however, keeping an eye on external insights will lessen the chance of them taking hold. Forward-looking companies already include outside insights in their supply chain risk management analysis, but we’re still seeing companies crumble as a result of risks they can avoid and manage simply by monitoring external signals.

Hopefully by now you better understand how media intelligence can help you improve supply chain risk mitigation. Want to discuss what this might look like for your organisation? Fill out the form and we'll be in touch:

Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management with Media Intelligence

We've covered a few of the PR crises that have hit brands this year and the timing to reenter this discussion is important as a new app, Bodega, received condemnation on social media last week. This post on how brands should apologize can help you be prepared for a crisis, rather than scrambling after you're in the thick of it. Download our ebook, Media Intelligence for Crisis Communications and ensure that you'll be able to control the damage, no matter the situation.

2017 has brought us more than its share of communications disasters. Pepsi’s controversial Black Lives Matter ad featuring Kendall Jenner, Adidas’s Boston Marathon email campaign (“Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon”). And, of course, United Airlines, which made a series of missteps in its attempt to appropriately apologize for the forced removal of a passenger. And these are just but a few of the corporate communications faux pas we've seen in recent times. 

When these misfires occur — and of course, they do — it’s vital that brands are prepared to make amends. The first step in this process is the apology. And, it had better be a thoughtful apology. It’s not enough to simply apologize—it’s HOW you apologize that matters.

“Companies need to think carefully about their policies and their crisis communications, so they can quickly move from a defensive crouch to honest, heartfelt apologies,” says Andrew Winston, author of The Big Pivot.

“The biggest mistake is for brands to hedge their apology with phrases such as, ‘We’re sorry to those who were offended,'” says Brad Phillips, president of Phillips Media Relations and author of the Mr. Media Training Blog and the Amazon PR best seller The Media Training Bible. “Such language places the burden on the offended person and stops short of accepting full responsibility.”

Brands should also avoid denying any wrongdoing when they apologize.

“Denial is the simple thing to do, and people grasp wildly at the first straw to occur to them,” said William Benoit, Ohio University Communications professor, and author of Accounts, Excuses, Apologies: Image Repair Theory and Research.

Denial can hurt subsequent apologies. Sincerely owning the mistake is at the heart of an effective apology. There’s an appreciation for laying it all out there by simply saying, “We messed-up and we’re sorry.”

In the case of United, CEO Oscar Munoz did eventually offer a heartfelt apology. After his first two apologies created a backlash, he finally took full responsibility, promising to make it right with the passenger and pledging to put new procedures in place.

“The problem for Munoz is that he bungled the first two apologies, undermining the impact of his third one,” says Phillips. “Had he started with that apology, the incident would have played out far differently.”

The Situation Helps Determine the Tone of an Apology

Another factor to consider is the nature of the incident. “For example, it’s much easier to apologize in cases in which you, too, can be perceived as a victim,” Phillips said. “A medical supply company that couldn’t get vital medications to customers due to an unexpected snowstorm is unlikely to face long-term reputational damage, whereas that same company failing to make deliveries due to incompetence would.”

In some cases, explaining what exactly took place can help clear the air and help folks be more forgiving. For example, at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, PricewaterhouseCoopers made a mistake with the Best Picture envelope, causing the presenter to announce the wrong film. Because the company offered an immediate apology with an explanation of how the mix-up occurred, they were able to keep the client.

So, what exactly should be in an effective apology? According to Dr. Beth Polin, an assistant professor of management at Eastern Kentucky University and co-author of The Art of the Apology, an apology should include one or more of six components:

An expression of regret — this, usually, is the actual “I’m sorry.”

An explanation (but, importantly, not a justification).

And what words should you choose when you apologize? Simple language is best. No need for flowery prose. An example of this is Adidas, who immediately took responsibility for its insensitivity with this apology from spokeswoman Maria Culp: “We are incredibly sorry. There was no thought given to the insensitive email subject line we sent Tuesday. We deeply apologize for our mistake.”

Need more examples? On a site called SorryWatch, you can find examples of apologies that worked—and those that didn’t. The founders, Susan McCarthy and Marjorie Ingall, write a weekly post that reviews poorly handled public apologies, giving tips on structure and language.

Their best advice? In the end, don’t make excuses. “Apologizing well means acknowledging that, at that moment at least, you were not good,” says Ingall.

After all, even good people (and brands) can make mistakes. 2017 Has had more than its share of communications disasters and as big brands like Pepsi, United, and Uber make big missteps, a simple statement that brands should apologize becomes a loaded PR strategy. If you’d like to be prepared for the next time you need to apologize, download our crisis ebook.

This Strategy in Practice: Wins versus Fails

By now it's clear that when a very public mistake or mishap occurs within your organisation, a public apology – and a commitment to right the wrong – is in order. 

A swift mea culpa, coupled with some affirmative action to make good and ensure that the likelihood of such an event occurring again is minimised, is the correct approach and will generally help an organisation win back the favour of its customers. Moreover, if the response can be injected with a little humour (where appropriate of course), so much the better. 

Here we have highlighted examples of winners and losers when it comes to public apologies in the aftermath of a PR crisis. 

Last year, KFC went through a highly publicised crisis when “operational issues” with new delivery provider DHL caused a mass shortage of chicken at its fast food outlets across the UK. One of the most bizarre consequences of this was police forces in London and Manchester having to issue statements urging the public to stop contacting the emergency services about the shortage, as it was “not a police matter”! 

KFC responded by taking out full-page ads in the national press, featuring one of its famous buckets with the company name rearranged to read ‘FCK’ instead of ‘KFC’, to reflect the mood of its chicken-deprived customers. It also acknowledged that “a chicken restaurant without any chicken is not ideal.” This humorous response to what was a serious situation for the company was very well received, and no lasting damage was done to the brand. 

One of the highest profile cock-ups to take place anywhere in the world in recent years was the Oscars blunder in 2017, when an envelope mix up resulted in Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly announcing ‘La La Land’ as Best Picture winner, when the actual winner was ‘Moonlight.’

Beatty had a duplicate card with the winner of Best Actress, which had been awarded to Emma Stone for La La Land immediately prior to the Best Picture announcement. Beatty paused as he read the card out but continued anyway, wrongly announcing La La Land as the winner. The La La Land production team and cast were already on stage collecting the prize and delivering their speeches before a representative from accountancy firm PwC came onto the stage to inform them of the error. 

PwC was in charge of supervising the counting of the ballots for each award, as well as the presentations on the night. Following the error, which could scarcely be more public, given that around 30 million people were watching it live in the US and many millions more worldwide, PwC issued a statement saying “We sincerely apologise to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture.” 

PwC added that it deeply regretted that the incident occurred and said it appreciated the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, and the host Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation.

Adding to the embarrassment felt by PwC in the wake of the blunder was the fact that in the week leading up to that year’s Oscars ceremony, PwC’s Martha Ruiz and Brian Cullinan, who were responsible for overseeing the counting of the votes and are the only two people who know all the winners before they are announced, gave an interview to the BBC in which they outlined its “watertight system” for ensuring that the awards presentations pass without a hitch.   

Following the ceremony, PwC assumed full responsibility for the blunder and promised to fully investigate what went wrong with the system to prevent such an error occurring in the future. Given that the profile of the event could barely be higher, that PwC have emerged from it with their reputation fairly intact is a credit to them and the steps they took in its aftermath.     

One of the most valuable case studies for comms professionals comes from Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal. When it emerged early in 2018 that a political data firm had harvested the personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge or consent, consumer backlash was immense. 

When the scandal first broke, Facebook vigorously and indignantly defended itself, arguing that people had consented by virtue of their privacy settings. But the backlash only intensified when it was reported that Facebook’s privacy settings were buried across 20 pages of the site, and that Cambridge Analytica were one of many organisations guilty of exploiting that by harvesting Facebook users’ data without their knowledge. 

Eventually, Facebook’s chief privacy officer said Facebook would move all the privacy settings into one place (without offering an explanation as to why they weren’t in the first place), something Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to do “within weeks” of another privacy breach eight years previously but failed to follow through on. 

The lesson? Be wary of launching into defence mode without addressing the grievances of your community; also, ensure to follow through on any corrective measures issued alongside your apology.   

In 2017, Pepsi drew a barrage of negative publicity for an ad featuring Kendall Jenner, in which she quelled a riot by offering a police officer a can of Pepsi, a gesture which elicited cheers from the onlooking protestors. 

Given that the US was at the time (and still is) mired in controversy over the killing by police of African American youths, and the Black Lives Matter movement was gaining momentum with protests over perceived unlawful killings happening all over the country, the idea that a protest could be quelled by a can of soda was not well received to say the least. 

Following the ad’s release, Pepsi was eviscerated on social media, as they were seen to be capitalising on the Black Lives Matter movement to sell soft drink. The daughter of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Bernice King, even weighed in, posting on Twitter “If only daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi.” 

Pepsi eventually pulled the ad, but a few months later, Pepsi’s CEO, Indra Nooyi continued to defend the ad, demonstrating that the company still didn’t get what all the fuss was about. The lesson? Purpose driven marketing and CSR are increasingly important for today's consumers, but authenticity is key here. Brands need to ensure that if they're involving themselves in political and social conversations, their message is not only culturally sensitive, but also aligned with their internal corporate business practices and values. 

Want to find out more about managing Crisis Communications? Get in touch with us below.

How Brands Should Apologize

Maintaining a hard-earned business reputation is one of the primary duties of the PR pro. That's why listening to what your community is saying about you—to protect your brand—is as important as the messages you broadcast.

You may have heard about reputation as a child, or maybe it fell on deaf ears during those precarious teen years. It’s the age-old adage, “it doesn’t matter what other people think of you, but only what you think of yourself.” It’s the easiest advice to give, the hardest to take, and one of those life lessons that gets repeated in nearly every coming-of-age story. It’s also false.

Crafting a positive reputation is different than simply leaving it up to the opinions of others. For an individual, developing self-esteem is an essential milestone for sanity and survival. It’s self-esteem that protects you when a stranger treats you like you’re stupid because you have tattoos, or as a criminal because of your skin color or because your religion has a bad reputation in some circles. You can’t control the biases of other people, but you can nudge positive or negative sentiment to a greater or lesser degree.

Reputation stems from a person’s judgment then blossoms into a cloud of darkness as it poisons the collective judgment levied on an individual or business. This new “identity” (reputation) becomes overlaid on like a blanket, becoming all someone sees. Today, this identity, others perceive, exists both in real life and online. Everyone, from teenagers to entrepreneurs to entire corporations, has a reputation— whether that is good, bad, or somewhere in between.

It Does Matter, to an Extent, What Others Think

So despite what your guidance counselor said in high school, it does matter, to an extent, what others think, what they say, and what they promote online. Because of the importance of reputation, as a society, we wouldn’t survive without the opinions of our peers. As a social species, we are hardwired to care about the opinions of others.

The fastest way to a good reputation, whether at home or in the workplace, is to behave in a way that benefits your social circle. According to a US News article, traits like kindness, generosity, and honesty help to foster a good reputation in the workplace. It seems that group-oriented behaviors, especially, pay dividends when it comes to bolstering your reputation. This is true for people and businesses as well.

In fact, research has demonstrated that your closest social circle may be the main thing holding you accountable to actions. Without the impending threat of losing your good reputation among friends, there’s little to hold you back from doing the “wrong” thing. The reason it works is simple: a bad reputation among peers often leads to exclusion from the group. We know what it feels like to be left out, but in our ancestors’ circumstances, group exclusion could equate to death.

1. Do what you say you’d do and do it when you said you would.

This is step one and should be top of the list. The easiest and simplest way to grow a good reputation and maintain it. At the end of the day, if you can’t or won’t do something then people will find someone else who can, and will. Take every moment as an opportunity to highlight your skills and your reliability. 

2. Success and humility should go hand in hand

Never let ego get in your way. Nobody likes an overly puffed chest, it belittles you and people don’t like being made to feel less than they are. This doesn’t mean you can’t have passion and ambition and drive, just don’t be that person who thinks they are better than everyone else. Remember the quote that somebody at some point said – “If you think you’re the smartest person in the room, then you’re in the wrong room”. 

3. Own your mistakes, don’t point the finger at someone else, then solve them.

Accountability shows that you are prepared to fix a problem and as a result ensure it doesn’t happen again. Nobody is perfect and admitting that you are not will ground you.

4.  Eliminate misunderstandings through transparency. 

If you are open, it means you have nothing to hide and if you have nothing to hide then people know exactly where they stand with you. This can be risky and there are many case studies where transparency has come back to bite many people and organisations. In the long run though, not being transparent can be even riskier. 

5. Go out of your way to help/mentor/reduce the workload of/offer advice to others. 

This develops relationships and highlights your integrity, not to mention the fact that you will feel good about yourself as you pass your knowledge onto someone else. Some of the most successful people in the world regularly speak about their mentors and mentees and how they have helped shape them to become who they are. If you don’t have time for this it means that your priorities aren’t right and it’s time to re-evaluate your schedule. So any excuse about not having time won’t fly here, make the time.

Not only will this give you’re a warm, fuzzy feeling, but it actually in turn makes you look good. Now this might sound like point five, but it’s not. I was once asked to describe what I do for a living(in the world of PR and Communications) and after some thought, my response was ‘I make people look good. If they have made a mistake, I help them look good again. I make sure people hear about it. If they haven’t done anything, I help them find opportunities to look good.’ This is all about allowing other people their time in the spotlight or supporting other causes. From an individual perspective, this could be as simple as volunteering for a charity or pointing out someone else’s success, and from a business perspective, it can be as simple a well-executed CSR plan or strong, honest internal culture.

It’s the age-old axiom – ‘If you want to be professional, you need to look professional’. This refers back to my point regarding calling yourself a ‘Social Media Expert’ when your social media accounts tell a different story. I am a big believer in personal presentation whether that be the way you dress, the way you talk, the way you act in the lunch area, etc. It is all about presentation. Would you trust a real estate agent who was in a shabby suit and with unkempt hair? Would you trust your architects if they didn’t have a nicely presented office with models and drawings around the place?

There are many things in life and work that you can’t control, but your reputation is something you can absolutely be in control of. When all else fails it is worth remembering the wise words of Warren Buffet – “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you remember that, you’ll do things differently”.

Brand reputation isn’t very different from individual reputation in its importance. It’s been studied quite a bit in recent years, in light of the ease with which information is transmitted and falsehoods spread online, as well as the effect of reputation on commerce. At the beginning of 2017 everyone was talking about “fake news” because of its effect on political reputation. According to Davies and Miles in the 1998 Corporate Reputation Review, reputation in business terms involves three things:

What the business communicates about itself

Managing a business reputation requires the alignment of these three elements. When even one of them is out of balance, the company’s entire reputation can come crashing down. Here’s a closer look at the factors that shape a corporation’s reputation.

Visual cues. Name, logo, and all of the imagery related to your company or brand.

Mission, vision, or philosophy. The guiding light of a company’s internal culture, these elements have a ripple effect when it comes to corporate reputation.

Behavior of members within the organization. What people are saying or writing. Articles, word of mouth, news, social media, and online reviews.

The success of the business. A spot on the Fortune 500 list will contribute to a positive reputation, for example.

Clearly, brand reputation is a complicated machine. So who is in charge of it? According to a 2005 study by Rosa Chun, senior lecturer at Manchester Business School, it’s unusual to find an internal reputation management department that’s directly responsible for managing corporate reputations. Instead, it’s often a shared effort, with marketing and communications handling the external perceptions, while human resources manage internal culture. Many companies even outsource their reputation management to firms that specialize in this field.

Creating, curating, and maintaining a positive reputation for a corporation is no easy task, but one of the most important facets regarding human psychology is to be consistent. Research by Roger Martin of the Rotman School of Management has shown that a customer’s loyalty to a company or brand relies more on familiarity than organic “trust.” Customers love to do what feels comfortable, so companies that are quick to change their identity in the face of a PR disaster may be more likely to lose customers in the long run. The better approach is often a slow and steady one, focused on rebuilding trust through multiple channels.

As we’ve explored, a positive reputation can provide group inclusion, while a negative one can ostracize you in a social setting, or lead to job loss or employment problems in a professional environment. The business outcomes of reputation are even more far-reaching, impacting how all stakeholders, from customers to shareholders to executives, behave toward the organization.

Curating & Maintaining a Positive Reputation

The digital era has invited a whole new way of showing ourselves to the world, one that’s rife with complications for both individuals and businesses. When you’re doing business with someone on the other side of the globe, sometimes your reputation is all you have — so it’s in your best interest to make it the best it can be and to strive to curate a positive reputation.

Reputation Management

Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management with Media Intelligence

How Brands Should Apologize

Why is Reputation Important?

Online Reputation Management: The Basics

Crisis Response Across Channels—Best Practices for Social Media

How to Appropriately Respond to Negative Reviews Online

5 Reasons Why Your PR Team Could Save Your Company’s Image

Corporate Sustainability: What’s Trending?

Managing Brand Reputation in an Online World

Mastering Brand Crisis and Reputation

5 Signs of Greenwashing—And How to Avoid Doing It Yourself

5 Things to Do When Your Business Gets a Bad Review

Reputation Management

Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management with Media Intelligence

How Brands Should Apologize

Why is Reputation Important?

Online Reputation Management: The Basics

Crisis Response Across Channels—Best Practices for Social Media

How to Appropriately Respond to Negative Reviews Online

5 Reasons Why Your PR Team Could Save Your Company’s Image

Corporate Sustainability: What’s Trending?

Managing Brand Reputation in an Online World

Mastering Brand Crisis and Reputation

5 Signs of Greenwashing—And How to Avoid Doing It Yourself

5 Things to Do When Your Business Gets a Bad Review

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