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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

It’s no secret that buy now, pay later (BNPL) services are transforming how consumers around the world shop online. While consumers may have once reserved pay-over-time options for large, occasional purchases, they are now using BNPL for everything from travel, electronics, and home goods to everyday expenses like groceries. According to our Digital 2025: April Global Statshot Report, 15.8% of internet users aged 16+ use BNPL services each week, up from 15.3% in January. But what are consumers saying, and how are they feeling, about this new wave in financial behaviors? We used our social listening and analytics solution to find out. 

How big is the online buzz around buy now, pay later?

Mentions of buy now pay later (BNPL) from January 1 to April 30, 2025 across 16 social media sources, including X, Reddit, and Bluesky.

In the first four months in 2025, there were about 94,700 social media mentions of BNPL and related keywords and phrases. This is a slight decrease from the four months prior, however online buzz about BNPL so far in 2025 is still more than 20% higher than it was over the same time period a year ago. (From January 1 to April 30, 2024, there were about 77,000 social media mentions of BNPL.)

This increase in volume reflects the growing popularity of BNPL services, with the discussion being a mix of excitement about new payment options and debate about what BNPL popularity means about consumer behavior, financial stability, and the state of the economy. All of this, plus the expected dose of online humor, has fueled mentions and engagement. 


The biggest day for BNPL buzz so far this year was on March 20 with the announcement of Klarna’s new partnership with DoorDash. Meanwhile, the social content that generated the most engagement came from X: a post using a screenshot of Christian Bale from the 2015 film The Big Short in reaction to news that 60% of Coachella general admission ticket purchasers used BNPL. 

For anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, The Big Short tells the story of several finance professionals, including investor Michael Burry played by Bale, who foresaw the 2008 housing bubble burst and took advantage of it for personal profit. The joke of the X post is that similar predation is due to happen again as young people’s reliance on BNPL services continues to grow, potentially sparking another economic crisis. This wariness is reflected in the sentiment of the conversation overall. 

Sentiment of mentions of buy now, pay later (BNPL) from January 1 to April 30, 2025 across 16 social media sources, including X, Reddit, and Bluesky.

About a quarter of the overall BNPL conversation is negative, driven by concerns about increasing usage for everyday expenses like groceries, high interest rates, and consumer debt. For some context, in January, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that about 60% of BNPL transactions came from consumers with subprime or deep subprime credit scores. Still, as costs and price sensitivity among consumers continue to increase, demand for BNPL payment options, partnerships, and integrations likely will, too. 

What is the most popular buy now, pay later service?

Mentions of select buy now, pay later (BNPL) services from January 1 to April 30, 2025 across 16 social media sources, including X, Reddit, and Bluesky.

Globally, Klarna is the most talked about BNPL service on social media, generating about 136,000 mentions from January 1 to April 30, 2025. That’s about five times more than the second-most talked about service, Afterpay/Clearpay with about 25,300 mentions.

Mentions of select buy now, pay later (BNPL) services over time from January 1 to April 30, 2025 across 16 social media sources, including X, Reddit, and Bluesky.

Klarna’s social media dominance over the four other services we analyzed is largely due to its previously mentioned partnership with DoorDash. On March 20, with the partnership announcement, Klarna’s social media mentions spiked 38x higher than average.

When we break the discussion down by the top 10 locations for BNPL service mentions, Klarna was the clear winner in the US, UK, China, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, France, and India. However, Afterpay/Clearpay was the most mentioned service in Australia. 

Social media conversations in 2025 solidify that BNPL usage isn’t a fleeting trend, it’s an expanding consumer behavior (particularly among young people) with several important implications. First, price sensitivity is high as consumers everywhere are feeling the crunch of the rising cost of living. Brands that offer BNPL need to be careful in their messaging, with transparency around terms, risk, and responsible use. Those that aren’t proactive in addressing consumer concerns risk blowback and reputational damage as public scrutiny continues. Next, expect to see increased regulation of BNPL services in countries and regions that haven’t implemented them already. Finally, brands should look into strategic partnerships with financial influencers and educators. These creators know the best ways to craft campaigns and messaging for finance-savvy and budget-conscious consumers looking to learn more about flexible payment options and financial security. 

Buy Now, Pay Later: How Big Is the Online Conversation in 2025?

It was an electrifying two days at Summit, jam-packed with stellar speakers, thought-provoking talks, and game-changing announcements.

So as we look forward to the coming months, what does all this mean for marketing and PR pros? We’ve distilled some of the top recurring themes and trends we heard repeated at Summit into an actionable framework for you to continue the momentum with your teams and leaders.

Trend 1: AI is Not Taking Your Job (But it Can’t Be Ignored)

Trend 3: Embrace Authenticity & Human Connection

Trend 4: Influencers Are Essential for Growing Market Share

Trend 5: Misinformation Drivers are Growing in Sophistication

43% of marketers don’t know how to get value out of AI. (Forbes)

Given this, we saw a strong desire among Summit attendees to get a practical view for how AI can be used to have more impact for their organizations, and make teams more efficient. 

Our speakers were more than ready to oblige, with a variety of sessions offering fresh ways to approach AI.

In particular, the audience was captivated by Stephanie Cohen Glass, Senior Director, Communications Strategy & Insights at Microsoft, who gave an in-depth look at using Microsoft Copilot for improving efficiency. She noted that, for those intimidated by AI’s prevalence or not sure where to start, “AI increases how positively today’s professionals feel about their roles, making them more informed and productive. Encouraging a feeling of happiness and confidence intensifies as they use AI tools more and more.” It might seem fluffy, but finding ways to up satisfaction at work is not just for the feels. 

In fact, Microsoft has conducted a Work Trends Index annually since 2020. They’ve found that:

80% of global workforce lacks the time or energy to do their jobs

53% of leaders say productivity must increase

82% of leaders are expected to use AI agents to meet demand for workforce capacity

Leaning into AI is the way to stem the tide of burnout and stress that marketing and comms professionals are feeling on the daily. As one of our other speakers put it: “AI isn’t coming for your job, it’s coming for your busy work.”

Of course, one of the biggest stories out of Summit was the launch of Mira AI from Meltwater.

Mira is more than just another dime-a-dozen generative AI tool. It’s designed to be a true extension of your team, built to answer your questions, write your recaps, summarize coverage, and help you understand what’s happening now. 

This latest innovation, integrated into the Meltwater Suite, learns from Meltwater’s 20+ years of data and expertise in the PR and marketing space, fitting seamlessly inside your current workflows, elevating your insights and reducing strain on your team's time.

New enhancements powered by Mira include:

Mira Studio: This chat-based interface within our social listening solution does everything from uncovering consumer insights to compiling media lists, all with a quick prompt.

Mira Companion: Integrated throughout the Meltwater Suite, these context-specific, pop-out companions streamline and accelerate existing workflows.

Meltwater Copilot: Available for Microsoft-enabled organizations, this chat-based AI assistant within Teams brings Meltwater insights to broader internal audiences.

TIP: Want to learn more about Mira? Check out our Mid-Year Release 2025 blog for more information about Mira and the other innovations we've added to the Meltwater Suite!

The AI discussion is a natural lead-in to our next key trend. Even with AI helping ease burdens on time, teams are still being asked to do more with less. Agility is going to be a key asset for companies looking to grow, expand, and remain competitive.

Orgs are not starting from square one in this regard, however. Marketing and PR teams are getting more and more savvy with using social media and social listening for leveraging powerful insights and we’re seeing much more sophisticated and complex use cases. With that, teams will need to continue upleveling and taking advantage of the insights available. 

In a time of continually shifting news cycles and narratives, organizations can remain agile by compiling more useful reports that are easily adaptable. Additionally, we heard that teams and individuals have to be able to say no. And they have to understand the potential impact of both saying no, and be able to present their case for why another direction will have more impact, sooner. 

Do what’s going to drive business forward and rely on data to inform your use of the word “no”. If you can only do a few things, use data to guide you toward what’s really meaningful as a next step for your brand or business.

TIP: Don't miss our on-the-ground coverage of Meltwater Summit 2025! Check out our Day 1 and Day 2 recap blogs for even more insights and takeaways.

Authenticity and human connection in marketing were major themes at Summit this year, and we expect these to continue gaining momentum as we move closer toward integrating AI into our everyday lives.

Brands are under continued scrutiny by consumers, particularly younger consumers, to interact authentically, especially when jumping on trends. 

And, perhaps ironically, technology can help organizations improve how they connect with broader markets and find new audiences. Using consumer insights to augment surveys and other ways of gathering information, expands your understanding of who your customers and potential customers are on a deeper level. These insights can serve to help you craft more relevant campaigns.  

Emphasizing human connection was paramount to astronaut Dr. Jonny Kim’s approach to leadership — he returned to it often during our live Downlink with him from the ISS. He noted that the ability to work as a team, to be vulnerable, and to act with integrity are precious skills that we will need to continue to develop, especially with the proliferation of AI. 

David Oksman, Vice President of Marketing and Direct-to-Consumer at Samsonite also offered a powerful case for how marketing campaigns that appreciate the value of human connection have longevity, even if (or perhaps because) they don’t focus on product-first. Instead having a perspective on “what’s really important” can go a long way toward inspiring powerful brand loyalty.

Speaking of brand loyalty, building it through influencers is another extremely useful channel. This is especially true if your audience spans multiple age ranges or other demographics, or if your brand struggles with finding ways to expand your social presence due to strict guidelines for your corporate account.

Influencers have a unique ability to help these brands and organizations tap into new audiences, easing the burden on brands to stretch their content thin, trying to appeal to different groups — thus allowing them to maintain a much stronger identity. A great example of this came from Gareth Crew, Social Media and Digital Communications Lead at Canon, who noted that an initial challenge the company faced when trying to grow their social media presence — and drive new purchases — was the wide range of skill levels interested in Canon products.

Canon serves everyone from complete amateurs new to photography to professionals, but their social media pages skew toward pros and serious hobbyists rather than beginners. So they decided to tap into an influencer network to bring more newbie practitioners into the fold.

Influencers know their own audiences better than brands, full stop. And it’s important that brands understand this if they want their influencer partnerships to be successful. Insisting on a particular style or format that the influencer knows won’t appeal to the following they’ve cultivated means engagement will be low as will conversions. 

And brands should be thinking long-term when approaching potential influencers — as Wendy Nguyen on our Content Creator Panel noted, organic posts almost always perform better than sponsored, so if brands want to extend their ROI, they need to consider the ripple effect that comes from more organic posts around their products or services. This kind of longevity can inspire more purchases, followers, and other important success metrics.

The threat of misinformation has unfortunately remained a fierce one, and it’s only growing in sophistication. Thanks to AI, narrative attacks are becoming more complex, going after the very fabric of human perception, creating fissures in trusted sources, and taking on lives of their own. These attacks result in real-world consequences for businesses and their stakeholders, such as sudden drops in stock prices or threats against individuals. There now exists tradecraft and a framework behind the manipulation of emotion, said Wasim Khaled of Blackbird.AI on our  Future of MarTech Panel. 

There are a few key strategies that large organizations need to consider to combat these bad actors and prevent future attacks. Increasing user trust in data is a big one. With more unstructured conversations becoming structured, more advanced technology use-cases are emerging, reducing complexities in automation — and AI solutions are getting better at understanding sarcasm and slang. But no matter how accurate data insights become, organizations need to remain vigilant and proactive with a range of strategies, from fostering employee advocates to mapping out crisis plans.  

From a technology standpoint, it’s important to have a framework that looks specifically at risk. Use investigative tools and models to show which actors or agendas are the drivers behind groups who are propping up that narrative. And be aware that sometimes it's knowing when not to react at all. Having these frameworks in place can assist you in identifying these times  — maintaining trust with your stakeholders.

Summit is where the best and brightest in PR, comms, and marketing gather for important insights on the big ideas impacting our industry, perspectives on new technology shaping our workday, and to network with peers. We got some wonderful feedback from our attendees! 

Don’t miss out on 2026 — early bird tickets will be announced soon!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My question for <a href="https://twitter.com/ReeseW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ReeseW</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/Meltwater?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Meltwater</a> SUMMIT was one of 2 audience questions selected! Forgive the video quality, I was a little star struck!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeltwaterSUMMIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MeltwaterSUMMIT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Meltwater?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Meltwater</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WalkWithPurpose?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WalkWithPurpose</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYC</a> <a href="https://t.co/PgC0KHdwG8">pic.twitter.com/PgC0KHdwG8</a></p>&mdash; David Clarke (@WriterClarke) <a href="https://twitter.com/WriterClarke/status/1919777467654357328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/POV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#POV</a>: You’re walking alongside our Director of Communications, <a href="https://twitter.com/kris_wiese?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kris_wiese</a>, to the <a href="https://twitter.com/Meltwater?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Meltwater</a> Summit event in NYC. 🗽 Big conversations, bold ideas, and meaningful connections start right here. Let’s make an impact, together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeltwaterSummit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MeltwaterSummit</a> <a href="https://t.co/C16d0ef5U3">pic.twitter.com/C16d0ef5U3</a></p>&mdash; United Way of Greater Nashville (@UWNashville) <a href="https://twitter.com/UWNashville/status/1922300554832969775?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZ0rFQRh9g/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by kaylee muchow (@kayleemuchow)</a></p></div></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Loved seeing <a href="https://twitter.com/ReeseW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ReeseW</a> at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/meltwatersummit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#meltwatersummit</a>! Her enthusiasm and drive are truly inspirational! 🩷 <a href="https://t.co/WNKeCigHka">pic.twitter.com/WNKeCigHka</a></p>&mdash; Amy Earl (@amylearl) <a href="https://twitter.com/amylearl/status/1920074726791073870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">...I am a simple man, &quot;floating microphone&quot; will impress me every time. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeltwaterSummit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MeltwaterSummit</a> <a href="https://t.co/rPbrSmLD30">pic.twitter.com/rPbrSmLD30</a></p>&mdash; Michael Andersen (@mjandersen) <a href="https://twitter.com/mjandersen/status/1920104448640114872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Our biggest-ever Meltwater Summit would not have been possible without the support of our many valuable sponsors. Please join us in thanking our Premier Sponsors, Cyabra and Snap Inc., as well as the following sponsor organizations:

Meltwater Summit is more than another conference. It’s a highly catered event for those leaders and rising stars in PR and marketing who know that success and longevity means staying in-the-know and ahead of the constantly evolving trends affecting our industry.  

We’ll soon be releasing the first ever Summit Playbook — a detailed overview of the top sessions and takeaways from our most impactful speakers. 

We’re also looking ahead to Summit 2026! Stay tuned for more information including early bird tickets, keynote announcements, and more. See you next year!

The Top 5 Trends from Meltwater Summit 2025

At Meltwater, we believe in making insights more accessible to everybody, not just data analysts. That’s why we’re pleased to announce Meltwater Agent, bringing the power of Microsoft AI technology to our unparalleled data and analytics. 

The Meltwater Agent for Microsoft is an AI teammate that works in Microsoft Teams and Office apps, allowing your entire organization to access insights from the Meltwater platform through the tools you’re already using in your daily workflows. 

The best part is that you don’t need to be a Meltwater expert or learn any new skills. When you want to pull data from the Meltwater platform, you can ask questions in plain English as if you were chatting with a coworker. This empowers your teams by streamlining workflows and providing fast, easy access to the answers they need whenever they need them. 

Explore how Meltwater Agent for Microsoft can give your team greater access to insights.

Too often, insights that could benefit the entire organization and drive real business impact have been siloed in a single team. This means that other departments either have no ability to use the data or must direct their requests to an over-stretched insights specialist and then eagerly await their response. 

So, instead of insight, many businesses are left to rely on hindsight. They’re often given information about what happened in the past, whether it’s how their campaigns performed, how their messaging resonated, or how their brand was discussed.

This kind of historical data can be useful for analysis and help inform future strategies, but a modern, agile business also needs to understand what’s happening right now, in real time. And, more importantly, teams need to be able to decipher real-time data so that they can draw insights that can quickly assist them with making informed business decisions, responding to changing conditions, and staying competitive.

Speaking at Meltwater Summit in 2024, Microsoft’s VP of Communications Strategy, Steve Clayton, said, “We’re bombarded with information. Nobody is asking for more information. What we need is more insight.”

So, while having access to a comprehensive array of online data sources is a good thing, it’s equally important to be able to identify what subset of that ocean of data is relevant to your business. That’s where AI can help — it’s able to extract the most relevant data, organize and rank it by importance, and present it to you in a format that’s easy to understand. 

“At Meltwater, our goal is to ensure technology serves the needs of our users. Our focus is on empowering our customers to achieve remarkable outcomes with solutions that truly simplify their workflows and effort levels.” — Chris Hackney, Chief Product Officer, Meltwater. 

This democratization of insights can lead to greatly improved decision-making and better outcomes, not just in the PR and marketing teams but across the entire business. It also frees up the data analysts to focus on more sophisticated, valuable work. 

We can’t wait for you to start using Meltwater Agent with Microsoft Teams. Find out more on the product information page here: www.meltwater.com/en/meltwater-agent.

Bringing Insights to Everybody - Meltwater Agent for Microsoft

Bluesky dropped its invite-only approach in 2024, paving the way for brands and businesses to add the network to their marketing mix. With more companies experimenting with the Twitter-like competitor, we’re gaining more visibility into what works with Bluesky marketing and why it’s a platform you should use.

What started as a niche community has exploded into a powerful contender for social media marketing. Accounts on Bluesky have skyrocketed to over 33.8 million users, with more than half of its users in the United States. 

Brands can tap into the growing interest in Bluesky and get in front of their target audience in a whole new way. Let’s dive into several effective marketing strategies that will help you grow your presence and build strong connections.

Understanding Bluesky’s Important Features

Leveraging Bluesky’s Features for Marketing

Building Your Bluesky Strategy with Meltwater

Users liken Bluesky to Twitter/X. It thrives on rapid-fire quips and a similar interface. It’s intuitive by design, and since it feels familiar to Twitter users, brands can easily ramp up their posting and start using the platform right away.

But the platform isn’t a carbon copy of the OG microblogging platform. A few key features differentiate it from Twitter/X.

Accounts can include their own labels and content warnings to help users avoid content they don’t want to see. For example, you might label a post with a sports team name or flag it as adult content. It’s a different take on the hashtag and may help you avoid offending users (while retaining them as loyal fans).

Users can choose who can reply to their posts, helping to moderate content and maintain respectful engagement. You can choose to allow everyone, only followers, or no one to comment on posts.

New to Bluesky? You can use a “starter pack” to quickly find lots of users with shared interests. Think of it as a curated collection of users with a common thread, and you can follow them all (or block them) with a single click. For brands, being part of a starter pack can help you quickly gain lots of new followers.

TIP: Whether you're creating content for Bluesky or any other social platform, AI can help with ideation, strategy, and even channel growth! Download our Ultimate Guide to AI for Social Media Management to learn more.

For an extra layer of branding, you can set your website domain as your Bluesky user name. This makes it easier for your audience to find you off the platform.

One of the biggest ways Bluesky is different from Twitter is its decentralized nature. This gives users more control over their experiences, including the types of content they see. 

Users can sort their feeds and threads by most recent or most popular content, join other custom feeds, and hide posts they don’t want to see again. They can also set up notifications, such as alerts when they get new likes, shares, or followers.

Bluesky includes an in-app music and video player. You can import content from Spotify or YouTube to support your Bluesky content and play it directly in the app. 

Users can navigate to the “Likes” tab to see all of the content they’ve liked. This makes it easier to find content they’ve engaged with and go back to it when the mood strikes.

Being a decentralized platform, users gain more control over their experiences on Bluesky. This includes being able to moderate content themselves, such as hiding unwanted content, muting other accounts or content, or flagging content for review.

Starting from scratch on social media feels daunting. You have no audience (yet), which means your posts likely won’t gain much traction in the beginning. 

Your objective is to create and engage a community, not just accumulate followers. Here, users value transparency, connection, and conversation. Algorithms take a backseat to user-driven control. 

These strategies can help you build up a Bluesky presence that will sustain you for the long term.

Leverage hashtags to appear in users’ custom feeds

Hashtags are a common feature on social media channels, including Bluesky. They make content “searchable” so that users interested in a particular theme or topic can easily find more of the same.

Including hashtags in your content will allow your posts to show up in users’ feeds who are interested in those same hashtags. You can charge up your organic growth and have your content seen by relevant users. 

Consistent engagement on Bluesky is essential to building authenticity and maintaining connections. Make it a point to respond to comments and direct messages to show your audience you’re listening and welcome their feedback.

Collaborate with influencers and key opinion leaders

Working with influencers and established Bluesky accounts may help you gain quick visibility and start growing your following. Tools like Meltwater can help you identify and vet Bluesky influencers based on share of voice, content topics and types, and engagement rates.

Did you know the Meltwater Suite now allows you to harness audience insights from Bluesky? Click here and fill out the form below for a demo with one of our specialists!

Content anchors every Bluesky social media strategy. It gives users a direct path to your brand by offering something to discover and engage with. 

Creating effective content for Bluesky can take some fine-tuning. Use these tips to jumpstart your content calendar and find what works for you.

Explore the full range of Bluesky content types

Bluesky’s platform gives you multiple ways to create and share content within the platform:

A new platform means new opportunities to experiment with content and see what your followers want and respond to. Even if you haven’t had much luck with certain formats in the past, Bluesky is wild west territory that’s worth exploring to all corners.

Create content that promotes conversation and engagement

Bluesky isn’t inundated with advertisements, promos, and shameless plugs. That’s a big part of its charm, and it’s something that users value. 

This takes a different turn from traditional social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, which are heavily driven by ads and product discovery. To win on Bluesky, your content should inspire others. Create discussions, not sales pitches.

Broad targeting is a no-go on Bluesky. Authentic connections are key, which means you need to know who you’re creating content for and ensure it speaks directly to them. 

Add hashtags or tag relevant accounts or influencers to help expand your reach to the right people. Staying in your niche lane will contribute to an authentic image and help you become a go-to for your chosen topics.

Traditional social media management has a pretty straightforward process: Establish a profile, grow your audience, start running paid ads, and post content. 

There’s no clear way to monetize your brand on Bluesky (yet). But the platform’s growing audience and reputation as a place for conversation make it a worthwhile marketing channel.

Here’s how you start marketing your business on Bluesky without ads.

You’ll want to claim your brand’s name as soon as you think you might use Bluesky, even if you’re not ready to go all in. This prevents others from claiming your brand handle before you do.

Choose a name that’s consistent with your brand identity. You can use your website domain name as your Bluesky handle, which helps users find you outside of the Bluesky platform.

Optimize your profile with branding and verification

As with other social media profiles, you want your Bluesky profile to be easily recognizable. 

Once you set up your profile, start optimizing it with your brand’s imagery, colors, taglines, and other content. Add a clear description of your brand and what you do. Include a profile image, such as a branded logo, and your contact information. 

Treat your profile as an extension of your brand so people can associate your content with your company.

Content is at the center of your Bluesky marketing strategy. Your goal shouldn’t be to post content, but rather find out what topics your audience is talking about and how you can add to the conversation. 

Post content that will encourage your audience to interact with you. This can take many forms, including:

Infographics and other helpful information

Engagement is key to winning on Bluesky. The more you can pull your audience in, the more you’ll be seen as a leading voice in your niche.

The Meltwater Suite can help you quickly tap into Bluesky conversations at scale. Click here and fill out the form below for a demo!

The number of followers you gain on Bluesky isn’t the only indicator of success. This platform is still fairly new, and while a new user joins every second, it may take some time before they venture your way.

The Meltwater Blog

Buy Now, Pay Later: How Big Is the Online Conversation in 2025?

The Top 5 Trends from Meltwater Summit 2025

Bringing Insights to Everybody - Meltwater Agent for Microsoft

Bluesky Marketing Guide: Tips for Effective Marketing Strategies

Effective Snapchat Marketing Strategies for Business Growth

Ushering in the Era of Intelligent Teammates in Social Listening & Media Monitoring

Major Moments from Meltwater Summit 2025, Day 2

Major Moments from Meltwater Summit 2025, Day 1

Social Media’s Favorite Insurance Mascot

Bluesky vs. Threads: What’s the Difference?

How Early You Should Get to the Airport, According to Social Media

How Brands Are Responding to Dating App Fatigue