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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

If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that 2020 is the year that is defined by change and uncertainty. And change doesn’t come slowly - it arrives swiftly, with very little warning, and demands immediate action. From a business perspective, it’s a reminder that we need to be constantly looking ahead; ready for innovation, ready for change. As Marketers, now is a good time to start looking at trends that will impact where the industry is going in 2021 and how these trends could be used for your future strategies. What does 2021 hold for Marketing?

In a recent LinkedIn Live hosted by Meltwater’s Enterprise Director, Julia Nill, the Chief Marketing Officer at Standard Bank Group, Thulani Sibeko shared his key insights on the top 3 things to know about when it comes to the Future of Marketing.

“None of us planned for COVID but what we can’t avoid is that COVID is with us,” Thulani shared on the impact that the current global pandemic has had on numerous industries, including marketing. Due to COVID, priorities have changed, causing a shift in the strategies we had in mind for 2020. What started out as a health pandemic soon turned into an economic one, as travel was banned, borders were closed and businesses were in jeopardy. This then ultimately led to COVID having social implications, such as living under lockdown regulations and working from home. 

So how will marketers navigate a post-covid world? Thulani shared how for marketers, they need to consider the implications of COVID on the economy and society, and how the core of marketing is meeting people’s needs in a profitable way. 

“Suddenly, the needs of people, driven by these social and economic drivers have changed in many ways. For example, if you are in the luxury goods space, people have deprioritised a lot of luxury products and don’t require those as much. But if you find yourself in the health-related products, the demand for those has shot up.” With the priority of consumers now different to what they may have been at the start of 2020, what can marketers do to meet their current and future needs? 

For one, marketers need to realise how the community has now taken on an important role beyond your target audience and core customer base. Think about Nike and how, at the start of lockdown regulations across the globe, they asked their customers to “play inside, play for the world” for a campaign that still encouraged people to keep active but to do so indoors instead. This, together with how premium fees for their Nike Training App were waived encouraged a sense of community in a world where social distancing was the sudden norm.

Marketers need to understand who their audience is and ensure that they personalise their customer journey. Creating buyer personas is still relevant, and will continue to be relevant, because of how it allows marketers to personalise at mass scale. Once marketers have refined their method of doing things that matter to their customers, the more likely they will succeed. 

However, while change in a post-covid world is inevitable for marketers, Thulani highlights that there is a difference between forced change and choiceful change. “There are certain things that have been forced on us because of current circumstances, and I believe that it will be a mistake if we assume that all of the change that we see will automatically translate into the new normal because as soon as people have choices, the things that were forced but weren’t meaningful to them will be dropped. So it is important that we stay on top of understanding our customers and their motivations.”

For many consumers, brand purpose has become increasingly important as the functionality of a product begins to fade away and brand experience takes its place. Brand experience not only encompasses how customers are made to feel about a particular brand but also what that brand stands for and their guiding principles. Where does marketing fit into this and will it play a bigger role in driving sales?

“In many ways, the elevation of brand purpose has brought marketing to the table, even in organisations that have not been marketing-centric, there has been a growing appreciation,” says Thulani, who seems brand purpose and brand promise as inseparable. Over time, we have seen customers make the change towards choosing brands who choose things that actually matter to them. This goes beyond catchy slogans and logo designs; consumers now want to put their money behind the brands that are doing the right thing and standing for something other than making a profit. 

This will tie into your brand purpose and refining why your organisation exists beyond this profit motive. Are you looking to source from local manufacturers? How have you protected employees during the current pandemic? These are just a few examples of what consumers could be asking themselves as they begin to support the brands that choose to support what matters. For marketers, this will be the competitive advantage that they need to tap into when it comes to distinguishing themselves in the marketing landscape from here on. Brand purpose affords differentiation and for marketers, this is the compliment you want to receive. Couple this tapping into creating an emotional connection with your customers and soon enough, marketers will find the sweet spot that will make them stick in the minds of their audience. 

“The importance of commercial value and connecting with customers, for me, is inseparable,” Thulani shared and sees that investing in marketing means doing so at the appropriate levels that depend on the objects that need to be achieved. According to a study from Marketing Week, 65% of marketers foresee a decrease in their annual marketing budget as a result of COVID-19 and the cost pressures that came with it. However, Thulani, much like many other CMO’s, remain optimistic about retaining the marketing budget spend because the rewards are still reaped but merely deferred for now. 

Marketers will face the challenge of securing marketing investments to achieve their objectives but how can they overcome this? By accurately showing the return and impact that marketing has on the commercial aspect of an organisation. Creativity may shine in this regard but what marketers need to do is make the link between customer aspirations and translating that into commercial value. How? By looking into using the right marketing tools and software to accurately depict this. The global use of technology has increased this year and it has also become increasingly important that marketers have the right technology to help them meet their objectives. 

In Garnter’s 2019 CMO Spend Survey, marketing tools, on average, make up a quarter of the marketing budget because of the advantages that these tools bring. While fighting for investment in marketing may seem like one impossible task, the rewards reaped are priceless and echo Thulani’s sentiments on investing in marketing to help the organisation achieve commercial success. 

Where does this leave the future of marketing? 

"I've seen extremely encouraging examples of companies and brands all over the world giving their customers breathing space and being there for them even in times of trouble," Julia said in closing the conversation with Thulani on what brands have done during this crisis period, and what they need to do in the future. 

Marketers will need to get comfortable with being flexible and knowing how to think fast and act quickly to not just the current situation but to any situation that may come in the future. As we adjust to the new normal and a post-covid world, marketers will not only need to familiarise themselves with how COVID has impacted marketing now but ensure that they have an understanding of its impact for the future. Adjustment and innovation will be key for marketers but one thing that should remain constant is the brand purpose and making sure that taking the time to create valuable and meaningful connections with customers that will extend well beyond 2020. 

Watch the full LinkedIn Live to learn more from Standard Bank’s Chief Marketing Officer, Thulani Sibeko.  To stay up to date with more LinkedIn Live videos, follow Meltwater's LinkedIn page.  

The Top 3 Things to Know About the Future of Marketing

Social distancing, face masks, lockdowns, working from home, airborne diseases, sanitising yourselves - the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about changes to how we lead our lives these days. The pandemic has affected every industry and how businesses run their operations. The digitalisation of services in the banking industry has been around for some time. And now it has become a critical part of our daily lives. Meltwater dives into the social media data to uncover the latest trends in the virtual banking industry in Hong Kong.

So which bank came out on top in social media and has got everyone talking about it? Our data showed that ZA Bank, in the period between February 2020 and June 2020, was the most mentioned virtual bank in Hong Kong’s mainstream media. The bank’s media coverage exponentially increased from 52% to 65% between the periods of February-April and May-June in 2020. During these periods, Mox Bank and WeLab were the two next talked about virtual banks across Hong Kong news channels.

Since February, ZA Bank was already the most mentioned virtual bank across Hong Kong news channels, with a relative share of voice of 52.07%, followed by Mox Bank with 22.3% and WeLab with 14.82%.

Since early-May, the share of voice of ZA Bank has grown even more significantly to 64.67%. 

So what caused this focus on ZA Bank’s virtual banking experience? Mainstream media’s focus on the HKSAR government’s newly-introduced cash payout scheme boosted ZA Bank’s presence because netizens started to discuss referral bonus schemes for account openings. As ZA Bank had attractive offers for the cash payout scheme, this translated to more people talking about the bank. This was also reflected in the Social Keyword Cloud for virtual banking in the same period. Most keywords were in relation to ZA Bank’s referral scheme and invitation codes were also shared to increase the awareness of the bank’s promotions. 

Factors contributing to the Virtual Banking Buzz

News mentions of virtual banks at both peaks on June 2nd-3rd (96 mentions) and 8th (93 mentions) revolved around the cash pay-out scheme that was rolled out by the HKSAR Government. Interestingly, the articles by New Holiday Magazine and New Monday, which were shared/liked/commented on most during the respective dates, listed out the monetary incentives traditional banks and ZA Bank offered to attract account-opening under the cash pay-out scheme. New Holiday Magazine has generated 24412 social echoes on Facebook, whereas New Monday was shared/liked/commented on social media for 980 times.

Most of the trending keywords are associated with ZA Bank’s referral scheme, such as “定期存款” (Translation: Time Deposit) (87 mentions) and 活期存利率 (Translation: Demand deposit interest rate) (81 mentions). Clicking onto the themes, we can immediately see the invitation codes of ZA Bank linked with these keywords. “眾安銀行” (Translation: ZA Bank) (20 mentions), “ZA Bank 眾安銀” (13 mentions) and “ZA 銀行開左戶” (Translation: Opened account at ZA Bank) (82 mentions) also appeared frequently in the social discussions. It is likely that the referral scheme paired with several discounts has heightened the awareness and attracted an increasing number of customers for ZA Bank.

Discussions continued through early-June, given some obvious spikes on the chart. There were 184 discussions starting from June 1st, and more than 90% of discussions (134 in total) revolved around ZA Bank.

Riding on HKD10000 Government’s cash payout, ZA Bank’s decision to offer $1000 on top of the cash payout has accumulated 64 mentions, accounting for 35% of total mentions.

On the other hand, 36% (67 in total) are referring to the referral scheme of ZA Bank. Those who registered for ZA Bank were sending out invitation codes on the Internet, in order to get a 2% p.a. rate-up coupon, in different threads, particularly discuss.com.hk. 

Reluctance Towards the Virtual Banking Industry

A sentiment analysis on virtual banking showed there were almost 13 times more negative mentions than positive ones. There were a total of 57 mentions with negative sentiments within the period of 1st June to 9th June. Neutral sentiments were generally made up of invitation codes for the referral scheme. A few factors which drove away potential customers from virtual banking were notably found in discussion boards.

We noticed some negative keywords such as 小便宜 (13 mentions) in the keyword cloud. They were linked with LIHKG posts where netizens highlighted their security concerns of facial recognition required by ZA Bank. This unsettled potential customers who were worried that the biometrics requirements would be used to cross-check their identity when captured on CCTV. Also, these measures were only required by virtual banks, but not traditional banks. This led to some discouraging others from registering.

Top social post with negative sentiment around virtual banking


The tweet by @samhon852 that potentially reached 6.94K readers showed that some netizens deemed the referral scheme as a highly contentious move. The netizens complained about ZA Bank’s biometric measures when opening an account, suggesting that ZA Bank would “collect your personal data for China”.

Notably, the LIHKG thread titled as “ZA 虛擬銀行騙局” (Translation: ZA Bank Scam) was reposted on Twitter by @Hkers51 and several netizens. The discussion thread accumulated over 4 pages, 81 replies and 158 reactions. As expected, it addressed the concerns regarding the facial recognition and data security of ZA Bank. It is likely that these concerns contributed to potential customers hesitating to sign up for virtual banking.

2. Perception of E-Banking and Virtual Banking

There was a discussion thread on 21st May that generated a high volume of attention - “虛擬銀行既成立，係咪利多於弊？？“ (Translation: Do the advantages of virtual banks outweigh the disadvantages?). A worrying trend of the discussions in the threads revealed that netizens did not realise the difference between e-banking and virtual banking. Many highlighted that the two services were the same and this contributed to them not signing up for virtual banking services as they felt it was redundant.

Undoubtedly, discussions about offshore accounts saw a boost since the first mention of the recent turbulence in Hong Kong on May 21st. There was a 4928% surge in discussions regarding offshore accounts (including both News and Social) during the period of 21/5 - 9/6 in Hong Kong, compared to the last period. The trending themes regarding offshore accounts within the period are mostly associated with the recent legislation.

There were 191 news articles on offshore accounts in total during the monitored period. In early June, there were some spikes on the topic of offshore accounts, peaking on June 1st. Interestingly, the SCMP publication, with the highest potential reach of 21M, and the article by Headline with top social echo (4575 Reposts; 1 Retweet) both mentioned how netizens’ worries regarding the recent turbulence in Hong Kong  and the United States’ decision to revoke preferential treatment led to offshore account openings and panic-buying of US dollars.

There is an apparent increase in discussions about offshore banking as well as overseas banking. It suggests that netizens are currently looking for new banking options with offshore banking. As no offshore banking services were available in Hong Kong virtual banks, it may be seen as a competitive disadvantage against overseas virtual banks. 

Naturally, netizens began discussing alternative options on virtual banks and conversations on overseas-based institutions gathered steam during the recent turbulence in Hong kong. Netizens gravitated to this option as traditional banking presented an economic stumbling block. This however posed stiff competition to Hong Kong’s virtual banks.

There were 199 mentions since May 21st. The peak on May 22nd, highlighted an article that potentially reached 327K readers and garnered 927 reactions on a how-to guide on opening offshore accounts through traditional banks, securities and overseas virtual banks, published by U Blog. Benefits of overseas virtual banking such as low deposit requirements were mentioned in the article. Similar news articles can be found in late-May and early June, as the discussions continued to rise in June.

The largest volume of forum discussions (50 in total) occurred on June 9th. Many posts discussed offshore account openings in overseas virtual banks. Specifically, LIHKG’s forum discussion threads relating to opening offshore accounts with a lower to no deposit requirements have garnered 5807 comments and 850 reactions. Additionally, the discussion thread was retweeted and accumulated 1.25K reach.

This brief overview on what netizens have discussed on virtual banking and its related topics in the past five months revealed that more awareness is needed to inform people about the service. The misinterpretation of e-banking and virtual banking services needs to be clarified so that people can make better informed opinions which would inevitably lead to better take-up rates. ZA Bank’s competitive rates and promotions may be a driving force in its coverage but a better awareness campaign of the benefits of virtual banking and dispelling misunderstandings on security should benefit virtual banking providers, especially local ones. 

Despite the recent turbulence in Hong Kong being a leading motivator of potential customers opting for overseas banks, local virtual banking providers such as ZA Bank, Mox Bank and WeLab can refocus on developing better outreach programmes to give assurances to its current customers and engaging with netizens as they are a potential pool of future leads. Finally, virtual banking is a highly beneficial service which customers can fully optimise to fit into their everyday lives, especially during a pandemic. And this is where banks can step in to fulfill the fiscal needs of Hong Kong residents.

Trends shaping the virtual banking industry in Hong Kong

As you develop your digital marketing plan, you'll need to address how to incorporate an omnichannel marketing strategy, especially if you want to deliver exceptional customer experiences across different channels. As you do, you'll realize that omnichannel is not just another marketing buzzword. 

This article discusses the definition, purpose, and best practices for incorporating omnichannel marketing in your business. 

Each channel has individual objectives and metrics, and they function independently. The major distinguishing factor between omnichannel and multichannel marketing is that omnichannel marketing prioritizes the customer over the brand.

What Is an Omnichannel Customer Experience?

How to Develop Your Omnichannel Marketing Strategy (6 Steps)

What is the Difference Between Omnichannel Marketing and Multichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel Marketing and Personalization

Omnichannel marketing aims to deliver brand messaging and a customer experience that is unified across multiple channels to existing customers or potential buyers.

While some marketing tactics are focused on single-channel engagement, omnichannel marketing is a cross-channel tactic orchestrated to reinforce your brand message in a context-sensitive way. 

No single channel carries the burden of acquiring a new customer. Instead, all channels are synchronized to make the right impression—at the right place and right time—and carefully build on each other. In an omnichannel strategy, all of your marketing channels, messages, customer service, and brand touchpoints are working together in harmony to deliver a customer experience that feels consistent with the potential buyer throughout the customer journey.

This can be a challenge for marketing teams given that the modern customer is shopping or researching services and products across multiple channels. From in-store displays to in-app promotions, marketing, PR, social media, sales, and even customer service teams must not be burdened down by silos if they want to deliver a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels.

Imagine reviewing your Instagram feed only to see an ad for a product that piques your interest. After clicking on the ad, you end up on the product's landing page. After reading about it, you might search the web for reviews or check in with your social circle to ask if anyone has used that product. 

Upon verifying that it's a good product, you return to the e-commerce site and buy it. Alternatively, if it's convenient and available, you might go to a brick-and-mortar store and make your purchase offline. 

Once the purchase is complete and you are using the product, you may then see personalized display ads on your mobile phone for the same brand. At that point, you may revisit multiple platforms to check out those products but not necessarily in the same order as before. That’s because you are now familiar with the brand and don't need to ask your social circle for recommendations or read reviews.  

This example demonstrates the main purpose of this type of strategy: create a relevant, consistent customer experience that emphasizes personalization and engagement that is channel-agnostic. A retail shopper engaging with your brand in-store should an experience that mimics the one they would experience when browsing through your products on social media. In this sense, omnichannel marketing is changing the retail landscape. 

So, how to create an omnichannel marketing strategy? To do this successfully, you need to focus on acknowledging the buyer's unique preferences, interests, and tastes.


Planning and implementing this digital marketing strategy requires a complex and thoughtful approach. Your goal is to create lifetime value with your target users, helping them through multiple purchase journeys. Even as shopping experiences change over time, focusing on customer retention tactics can drive lifelong relationships.


Step 1: Understand the Your Customer and the Customer Journey

To start, research buyer touchpoints, develop buyer personas, and carefully assess the shopping experience in detail. 

Your omnichannel strategy should define how you can address the needs of both potential customers and existing customers as part of a customer-centric program. To gain an understanding of your target customer, begin by identifying their wants, needs, behavior patterns, demographics, habits, preferences, motivators, goals, and so on. You can analyze your existing customers as a starting point for this research.

After conducting this research, you may need to alter your perception of what each buyer’s journey looks like. Spending adequate time studying customer behavior, including why they abandon shopping carts or leave a website altogether.


Meltwater's monitoring and analytics software gives marketing teams numerous ways to segment and analyze audiences based on user data. To learn more, explore or consumer insights & analytics tool. 


Step 2: Involve Multiple Teams and Departments

Remember that you want to deliver a unified experience both pre- and post-sale. Therefore, the success of omnichannel marketing relies on the collaboration between your marketing and sales teams, so be sure to integrate people from each department in the development of your strategy. 


Step 3: Select the Right Marketing Channels

Utilizing the research you conducted earlier, define the channels that important for your omnichannel strategy. Remember, there are multiple touchpoints that a customer can have with your brand throughout the customer journey, and you need to ensure you are delivering a consistent experience at each touchpoint. Whether it is word-of-mouth marketing or point-of-sale displays, an omnichannel experience is seamless for the customer.

When developing an omnichannel strategy, you want to prioritize the channels your audience(s) is present on. Now, maybe your target audience group includes Gen X and Gen Z shoppers, which means you'll need to consider your channel mix for each target group based on their preferences. 


Next, determine and minimize the number of MarTech tools that you plan to use for omnichannel marketing. With thousands of tools available, it's important to not go overboard here. Focus on tools that address key aspects of the buying experience, including customer relationship management (CRM), content management, marketing automation, SEO, social media management software, social analytics tools, media monitoring solutions, competitive benchmarking capabilities, and so on.


How are you supposed to understand if your omnichannel marketing strategy is working, if you are not tracking the performance of your social ads or in-store promotions? Using UTMs, promo codes or cookies, you should be able to measure the conversation rates of your ads, landing pages or social media posts. It is considerably easier to track the performance of digital channels, but you will want to analyze each touchpoint that a customer may have with your brand. 

Often your main goal will be revenue-based, but other goals could include brand awareness or brand sentiment. 


Step 6: Test, Refine and Optimize Your Strategy

The retail store's shoppers are visiting and digital ad formats available online are always changing, which is why it is important to constantly be reviewing your strategy. As these channels evolve, so too should your marketing strategy. By testing different channels with different, you may discover new ways to cross-sell your products and services. 

Often, marketers use the terms “omnichannel marketing” and “multichannel marketing” interchangeably. Yet, these are distinct tactics. Multichannel marketing focuses on independently addressing as many channels as possible. Omnichannel marketing puts users and their experiences at the center of marketing throughout the customer journey.


Omnichannel Marketing and Personalization 

Your omnichannel strategy should also address segmenting and personalizing all marketing communications directed at your target audience. Here, you'll need to go beyond the more generalized main message to call out your users’ specific needs. Look for ways to add personal touches to all your content, from ads and emails to landing pages and social media posts.

One of the most important actions to take with your omnichannel work is to make it as easy as possible for users to reach you on their preferred channels. That means you have to do more than provide a social media profile URL or a generic email address. 

Other digital channels to integrate into your omnichannel campaign include an app for mobile devices and a responsive website that works on all devices, including smartphones and laptops. Provide clear assistance that leads to your online stores, retail stores, or pop-up shops. Also, harness the power of conversational marketing and self-service features like FAQs, a user forum, instructional videos, and an automated help desk. 


Applying these best practices to your omnichannel marketing strategy can boost your retention rate and strengthen customer loyalty. In crowded marketplaces, this marketing approach can also enhance brand recall so that consumers keep you top of mind when they are ready to buy. 

Another key benefit is the ability to fuel revenue growth across these communication channels. The better you can segment and personalize your omnichannel campaigns, the more prospects you'll reach in each target area. In turn, that means you can convert more new customers and better nurture their lifetime value.

Now that you understand the basic tenets—and power—of omnichannel marketing, you're ready for our comprehensive guides to mapping customer journeys, even when they’re unpredictable, so you can create a messaging ecosystem that drives prospects to your brand.

You might also be interested in current Customer Experience (CX) Trends.

If you want to learn how Meltwater's Media Monitoring Solution can help you to easily track your omnichannel marketing success, fill out the form below.

What Is Omnichannel Marketing?

29%
The percentage of women who hold Senior positions in Africa.

7%
The percentage of female Executive Directors with Board positions in Africa.

63%
However, companies with women in senior positions deliver 63% higher returns than those without.

To drive change through technology and innovation, we cannot just have 50% of the world focused on it. 

At Meltwater Africa, we are proud to boast a 50 / 50 split between men and women across the management layer, with the overall operations being made up of 65% women. As an organisation, we are fully committed to the advancement of women in business and we remain optimistic that it won’t be long until all other companies in Africa can say the same.

When a woman is empowered it changes absolutely everything in the community,” Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle stated recently during her royal tour to Southern Africa. But, with a recent, growing societal movement towards women empowerment, we need to ensure that the few women who have made it to the top aren’t the only ones, but that every other women has the opportunity to make it, too.

And so, we sat down with a couple of high-power, successful, inspiring women in Marketing and Communications across the African continent, and asked them about their career growth and success, the state of women representation in their industry and what they predict the future will hold in technology, marketing and innovation in Africa.

A common thread was the importance of “rising by lifting others” – each interviewee credited powerful mentors for their success, and stated how passionate they are about mentoring, inspiring and empowering other young women in their fields to reach the top.

As you read this article, begin to see the tapestry that validates that hard work and big dreams matter, and that the next generation of fierce females have advice that will help them go beyond the barriers that these women have boldly broken.

Nontokozo Madonsela: Refusing to Apologise For Her Success

The “#NoApologyForMySuccess” Campaign in August 2019 proved to be effective as women across South Africa shared their success stories, inspired by this campaign that went viral. The idea for the campaign stemmed from the personal experience of Nontokozo Madonsela, Momentum’s Group Chief Marketing Officer. She realised that women who had done well in business, generally underrated their success. She set out to change this attitude and the impact was immense.

An undeniable problem-solver with a curiosity to challenge conventional thinking, Nontokozo has been at the forefront of transforming big brands with marketing campaigns. She was personally responsible for creating and driving marketing campaigns such as the Standard Bank “What’s Your Next?”, the change of brand name from MMI to Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, and the “Womentum” Campaign for South Africa’s Women’s Day in August.

Nontozoko is a woman who not only makes no apologies for the successes she has worked hard for, but she also truly knows how to own them too. 

Rayhana Erasmus: Always Up For a Challenge

Rayhana Erasmus – a visionary and strategic thinker – heads up marketing for Africa’s largest private equity infrastructure investment house, African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM). Marketing comes naturally for this marketing maven, who finds herself drawn to the industry because of how it encompasses her personality, creativity and innate ability to solve problems.

Rayhana knows how to build and grow multiple brands, including the likes of AIIM and now, Old Mutual Alternative Investments. If there is one thing you should know about Rayhana, it’s that if you throw her in the deep end, she will find a way to rise – “and then some.”

Having been in the industry for over 20 years, current Communications Director for Viacom International Media Networks Africa, Fathima Beckmann has established herself as a global thought leader within Communications across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

With a heart for creating mentorship and finding ways to give back to women who are coming into the industry, Fathima has a passion for understanding the need to create and facilitate a process of including more women in, especially, the tech industry.  She knows how crucial women and children development is, and works closely with UNICEF to help host mentorship programs like International Day of the Girl Child.

Stephanie Stoneham: Breaking Boundaries and Smashing Glass Ceilings Comes Naturally

Stephanie Stoneham personifies a passionately paramount woman who currently heads the Marketing department for Stanbic Bank in Botswana. Her career cycle includes achieving success working at Saatchi & Saatchi and BancABC. 

Coming from a big family, Stephanie’s love for people have brought her to an industry where she not only draws inspiration from the very people that she is inspired by but knows how to draw parallels with her personal life and work life. As a forward thinker, Stephanie is already looking to 2020 with aspirations of personal development and understanding the way that technology is impacting the customer experience within the Marketing industry. 

Storytelling is naturally embedded in us as. We learn from stories and as marketers, we use this in our strategies to help businesses and brands become more authentic and relatable to their audiences. But there is a beauty about hearing the stories of these women and how they came to be who they are in their Marketing careers.

Mentorship manifested as a clear story arch for each of these women, with each one sharing how being mentored by someone set them on the course they find themselves on today. “I see myself as a facilitator of change,” says Rayhana, who reflected on how she flourished in an environment that enabled her to operate freely while having mentors that helped her think entrepreneurially. This was an environment where learning was encouraged and her employers wanted to nurture her leadership. From there, Rayhana saw the value in knowledge, and how it could take you from being ignorant to being empowered. The age old saying “Knowledge is power” is exactly what Rayhana has achieved with self-empowerment.  

Fathima speaks with a gentle appreciation for the male mentors she had during her career, but also understands the value of having women as mentors too. “It’s a different narrative to the mentees,” Fathima says, echoing how this dual dynamic to mentorship provides a holistic experience to mentorship. But this isn’t a competition of having more female mentors than male, or vice versa. There is value in having both, something that Fathima recognises and appreciates. And so does Nontokozo. “Isn’t not about being anti-men. We are simply, for women.”

Sipping coffee like a casual catch up, Nontokozo continued her story of her career path in Marketing, recounting how she was recruited by British American Tobacco. It was here where she learned about experiential learning. “This is where I learned how to be stretched,” she shared, describing how she now sees marketing as a simple formula: Solving a Problem + Being Emotional + Understanding People.

I see Marketing as problem-solving, and I’m clear that my role in Marketing is to solve problems, ask questions and disrupt thinking to shape ideas. Because generations need to find a way of accepting that the future is digital. – Nontokozo Madonsela

People, and the growth and development of people, was at the heart of this topic for these women. Mentorship is the guided movement of going from one point of your life to another, and Stephanie expressed her sense of gratitude to the women who had mentored her. “It has been women rallying and supporting me,” she warmly echoed during her interview, and it’s her words that defy the common narrative that women don’t want to help each other succeed. We do, and we will. It is only a matter of creating these opportunities for more women to be led by women.

Nontozoko exudes an energy that you can’t help but be captivated by. Throughout the interview, she’s friendly, lively and emanating a warmth that you feel will reignite career passions within yourself as you listen to her own career journey.

We have seen the stats – more women get into higher education institutions and job streams than men, and women generally outperform men. Yet few women actually find themselves in senior, executive positions within these spaces, particularly in South Africa. So what could we, as a nation, do to challenge this?

“Women must sell themselves,” was a point that Nontozoko raised. Moving up the corporate ladder is often a tough and lonely journey for women in South Africa. According to research by the Sirdar Group in 2018, only 21.8% of South African boards have a female director. While a number like this may sound disheartening, it certainly shouldn’t stop us from going into the spaces that we are called into.

“Sometimes, there will be resistance to this,” Nontokozo continued as she spoke about the challenges women face when wanting to advance themselves in their careers. And while some current narratives emphasise how women need to empower themselves, Rayhana posed a question directed more to men: “How do you, as a man, empower and create the change?” It was a question that lingered languidly in the air for a moment. Rayhana affectionately refers to herself as a “facilitator of change” and urges both men and women to do the same. 

We need to create platforms where women, across industries, can come together to learn from each other and talk honestly about the challenges we face. – Fathima Beckmann

Coming from Botswana, Stephanie enlightened us on the level of maturity the country has. It is one of the few African countries with a stable democracy, a high adult literacy rate and a nation rich with resources. She said it is also country where the number of women who are succeeding in the workplace is increasing. “But we still need more women in industries that have been traditionally male-dominated, like technology, and finance. This will help us balance the scales.”

We not only need more women in these industries across Africa – more importantly, we need them to succeed. And how this is accomplished is through constant and consistent collaboration.

“I remember being seconded to the office of Litha Nyhonyha, the Chairman of Regimans. He is my second, and most influential, mentor,” Rayhana recollects as she reflected on the individuals who guided her in her life. You can see the shift in her eyes, a fondness that takes over as she shares the pivotal part Litha played. “When I sat in front of him, he asked me if I was ready for the challenge that his demanding office was. And I told him that I would exceed his expectations – and then some!”

While women still face gender disparities at work, there are other common challenges that women encounter – from striking a balance between work and family to feeling the need to tone down their success in boardroom scenarios, how can women be more empowered and given the platform to grow into leadership roles?

“Firstly, women need to help each other,” Nontozoko answered. It’s true – we need more women at the top of corporations and businesses in South Africa, and Nontokozo calls on men to not just take a chance on us but to focus on inclusion, especially in the diverse thinking that women have to offer. “Women need to put their hands up,” Stephanie echoed, and you can almost feel the need to physically raise your hand as we sat with her in the boardroom during her interview. Doing so felt like an empowering expression of doing exactly that – owning the boardroom.

Botswana, for me, has given me all the tools I’ve acquired in my personal capacity to raise my hand and level the playing field. – Stephanie Stoneham

Rayhana spoke passionately about this burning issue. “There’s not enough women rising to the top in the Finance industry,” she shared, highlighting that we, as women, should not compete with one another. “Let’s transfer skills to one another,” was her challenge, along with her call for men to accept the undeniable fact that women will rise – no matter the pace – and those in leadership should do what is necessary to empower these women.

Tip: Learn more about financial services marketing trends in South Africa

The women we interviewed are, without a doubt, powerhouses in Marketing. They are breaking borders and barriers across Africa while still maintaining their own identities outside of the boardroom. Because at the end of the day, even Superwoman hangs up her high heels and cape to call it a day. 

“So, I’m 41.” This is how Nontokozo began her introduction. And she owned it unashamedly. As the room reverberated with her laughter, those three simple words paved a path for us to learn more about Nontokozo outside of being Momentum’s Group CMO. She’s proud to be a mother of two boys, and craves cuddles on Sundays, much like how the rest of Twitter does. But you can tell how comfortable and content Nontokozo is with herself and the woman she has become.

Much like how Stephanie has a passion for connecting people, so does Nontokozo, who loves to do this by hosting dinners in her home. And while you can find her indulging her inner Nigella Lawson for those close to her at home, she also values the time she takes to discover new wines and interesting places, like Cape Town’s very own Bombay Bicycle Club. 

I love to read! And study! I keep saying to myself ‘After this, it’s the last one! But it never really ends. I’m starting a leadership course, because ultimately, the world opens up to you when you have knowledge. – Rayhana Erasmus

With the utmost pride, Stephanie also indulged us on her love for running with us, particularly half marathons. She’s found a way to combine her love for people and running, and has even co-founded a running club that, today, has 60 people as members. But when she isn’t getting gold in the office or delivering keynotes, Stephanie fuses her love for unofficial mentorship and making an impact in people’s lives through coffee catch ups with aspiring marketers. It’s in creating these informal moments for young women to be themselves where Stephanie truly enjoys the help that she can provide.   

Fathima took us back to her part of her childhood that unlocked her love for literature. “I found that reading took me into incredible worlds and discoveries, and it was fascinating for me.” Books and learning – even Rayhana echoed how she empowered herself like this is a part of her passion. It isn’t all contracts and strategy meetings for these women. Their passion outside of the workplace only emphasise the greatness and well-roundedness of who these women are.

Marketers know how powerful, or pointless, hashtags can be in marketing strategies. Inspiration can strike from anywhere. For Nontokozo, “#NoApologyForMySuccess” stems from her own personal experience, an experience that perhaps many more women in Africa face. “Women apologize too much,” Nontozoko began, as she unpacked the process of coming up with the successful “Womentum” campaign.

But her passion for creativity and strategic thinking led her to start asking the question of “What’s that got to do with us [Momentum]? How can we connect this question to our proposition of connecting this to success?” What an important question to ask because it speaks to the very heart of Marketing – solving a problem. Any brand can ask themselves what does this particular experience have to do with us, but as soon as you can start connecting dots that begin to solve problems, you are doing Marketing.

Tip: Check out the most trending hashtags in South Africa.

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