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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

Instagram is the king of visual social media. When it launched in 2010 social media was mostly meant for posting text, and even though Twitter and Facebook let you add images to your posts, they were considered less important than the actual written content.

Although image sharing sites existed, like Flickr, they were focused more on serious photography, whereas Instagram’s success came hand-in-hand with the rise of smartphones. Suddenly everybody had a good quality camera in their pocket, all of the time, so people were taking more photos of their daily lives than ever before, and a social media platform that made your photos the star of the show made a lot of sense. 

But even though the image is the most important part of your post, unique and creative Instagram captions are still powerful, and whether you use Instagram for marketing, you're an influencer, or just use the platform for fun, a good caption can help drive engagement and increase your follower count. 

How to Write Creative Instagram Captions for More Engagement

Why are Creative Instagram Captions Important?

Business and Entrepreneurship Instagram Captions

Why are Creative Instagram Captions Important? 

If your goal is to increase your followers and improve engagement levels, good captions make all the difference. 

Firstly, a caption makes your image more searchable, because Instagram’s search engine will use the keywords and hashtags in your captions to understand the content of your post and decide when it matches what a user is looking for. 

But captions are more important than that. 

If people see a picture they like in their timeline, maybe they’ll hit the Like button if it really stands out for them, but most of the time they’ll just keep scrolling. On the other hand, a compelling caption can do a lot to contextualize the picture, and encourage them to not only like it, but leave a comment, or even start following you. It’s about more than simply explaining the image, it’s an opportunity to elaborate on the story you’re trying to tell. 

Another important point about captions, especially for social media managers, is that they help to establish your brand personality, more so than an image alone can. Some companies have a distinctive tone of voice that is a key component of their brand, and it can be hard to express that entirely through images, so the caption is the place where they can add some of their unique flair. 

This holds true for influencers and creators as well, a unique Instagram caption will help you to convey more of your personality in your posts. 

Instagram captions are also useful for provoking action from your audience. If you want them to visit your website, make a purchase, or take part in some kind of promotion or other activity, a creative caption is going to help encourage that behavior. 

As with all social media channels, Instagram places certain restrictions on how you can add captions to your images. 

You might be surprised at just how generous the allowed character count is, at 2,200 characters, which is approximately 380 words. That’s certainly plenty of space for almost anything you might want to say on Instagram, and if you really feel like you need a higher word count it’s probably worth thinking about getting an account on a platform like Medium or Substack instead. 

It’s important to note that Instagram truncates captions, so on people’s timelines only the first 125 characters of your caption will appear under your image. Ideally you should say everything you need to say within this character count, or at least make those first few words highly compelling so that people are encouraged to click through to the full caption. 

Think like a headline writer - try to squeeze as much important information as you can into as few words as possible. 

Within the total character limit you are allowed up to 30 hashtags, which will impact how your post is promoted by the algorithm, and how people find it when they search. There’s no point clogging up the visible portion of your caption with hashtags, so it’s best to put your hashtags after the initial 125 characters, leaving you free to use that space specifically to get your message across. 

While it’s good to make use of hashtags to reach a wider audience, it’s important to strike a balance so that your posts don’t look spammy. Include a mix of hashtags that describe the overall category of your post (e.g. #food #foodie #instafood) as well as more specific tags to focus on detail (e.g. #veggie #vegetarian) and other useful information (e.g. #indianfood #curry) - this will help ensure you cover all of the bases and reach a relevant audience. 

Don’t forget to keep an eye on which hashtags are trending. Don’t spam irrelevant hashtags, but if something is trending that has some relevance to your post, there’s no harm in jumping onto it. 

If you consistently add great captions to your Instagram posts, over time you’ll see more engagement and follower growth. Use these tips to craft captions that inspire your audience: 

What’s a hook? It’s the compelling idea that captures a person’s attention right at the very start of the caption. A good hook can be an intriguing question, a thought provoking comment, or really funny joke - the most important thing is that it stops the audience in their tracks and makes them want to engage with your post or your profile. 

So when you’re writing a caption, always think about the effect it’s going to have on the reader. Does it have an impact? Does it provoke action? How will it make them feel? If you haven’t got good answers to those questions, it’s time to write a different caption. 

A good way to connect with your audience is to give them a little something of yourself. For example, you could tell a personal story about the image you posted, and what it means to you. 

Equally, humor is a very personal thing, so making a joke in your own unique style is a way to show your own personality, although it should be handled with care because a poorly executed joke is just as likely to alienate some readers. 

Above all else, write in your own voice. Don’t fall into the trap of copying other people’s style, even if it works well for them. You need to focus on what makes you unique, and build an audience around that. 

Maybe you’re not naturally good at writing jokes, but you can employ a little wordplay to achieve a similar effect more easily. Alliteration is much simpler to pull off, you just need to write what you want to say, and then think of ways to rephrase it using words that all (or mostly) begin with the same letter - it can be tricky at first, but practice makes perfect. An easy hack for writing alliteration is to use an online thesaurus to find alternative words that start with the right letter. 

You can also use rhyming words to achieve a pleasing effect that will catch people’s attention. If you find you don’t have the knack for writing rhymes, there are plenty of websites which can help with this - just search for “words that rhyme with [whatever]” and you’ll find plenty of options. 

And then there are puns, simple jokes which often rely on the use of homonyms, homophones, or phrases which can easily be misinterpreted. Writing a good pun is an art form, which can be very satisfying when you get it right, and it’s definitely something which most people can learn to do with a little practice - here’s a great guide. 

Carefully picked emojis can add visual interest to your captions and help convey a message or idea in much less space than spelling it out. But remember that less is more, because if you spam your captions with too many emojis they will just look cluttered and busy, which will most likely cause the opposite effect and drive your readers away. 

Thank carefully about emoji meanings, and pick the ones which best match your tone and message. Used cleverly, emojis can add a little humor or subtext to your captions, elevating them beyond the ordinary and capturing your reader’s attention. 

Inspiring people can mean a lot of different things, but it generally boils down to giving them belief in themselves. It could be as simple as convincing them that they too could bake a cake that looks as amazing as the one you shared a photo of, that they could visit the exotic location you’re showing them, or that they could try the same workout routine as you.

The idea is to encourage them to have a go at something themselves, so use inclusive, reassuring language that makes people both want to try something, and believe that they are capable of it. 

Inspirational captions are especially powerful for building long term connections with your audience, because if somebody finds something new to enjoy, or achieves something they didn’t think they could, they will always remember the person who gave them that spark. 

Often when we post to Instagram, we hope to provoke action from our audience, especially if you’re using the platform for marketing purposes. In these situations, use the caption to provide a clear call to action. 

Tell the reader exactly what you’d like them to do and why they should do it, and it doesn’t hurt to inject a little urgency into the message to encourage a quick response. For example: Visit our website to get this product at a 30% discount just for our Insta followers - today only!

A call to action doesn’t always need to be a sales message. For example, if you’re trying to grow your audience, you might use the caption to encourage people to follow your profile if they want to see more of your content. Or you could drive engagement by asking people to leave a comment. 

Here are a selection of creative caption formats to give you inspiration for your own Instagram account. We’ve organized them into different popular topics, but with a little creativity you can adapt most of them to suit whatever subject matter your Instagram profile is focused on. 

"Crispy, golden, and oozing with flavor—can you guess what’s inside? 🍴👀 Swipe left for the recipe or hit the link in bio to recreate this magic at home!"

"Ever wondered what goes into creating the perfect pasta sauce? 🍝🌿 It’s not just about the ingredients—it's the love, the taste tests, and that secret dash of magic. ✨ What’s your secret ingredient?"

3. Descriptive Imagery + Food Emoji Pairing

"A bowl of creamy, dreamy heaven. 🥣💛 Think velvety smooth pumpkin soup topped with crispy sage leaves. Comfort food at its finest—who’s digging in with me? 🍂 #AutumnVibes"

"Pro tip: When your brownies need that extra fudgy edge, add an extra tablespoon of melted dark chocolate to the mix. 🍫✨ It’s been my go-to hack for years and never fails!"

5. Engagement Question + Relatable Moment

"Late-night snack attack! 🌙🍪 Do you ever find yourself whipping up something delicious at midnight, or is that just me? What’s your go-to midnight snack?"

1. Wanderlust Inspiration + Destination Highlight

"Chasing sunsets and new horizons. 🌅✨ This week’s adventure? [Destination Name]—where the skies are endless and every street feels like a postcard. What’s your dream travel spot? 🌍 #Wanderlust"

"After days of exploring hidden gems in [Destination Name], I discovered the best way to enjoy the city: take the scenic route. 🚶‍♂️🌿 My tip? Skip the tourist spots and explore the local neighborhoods for a more authentic vibe. #TravelLikeALocal"

"✔️ Bucket list item: Hike to the top of [Mountain Name] and soak in these breathtaking views. 🏞️ Have you crossed off any bucket list spots this year? Drop yours in the comments below!"

"Close your eyes and imagine... the sound of waves crashing, the scent of fresh sea air, and sand beneath your toes. 🌊🌴 Dreaming of my next getaway. Where’s your happy place? 🗺️ #TravelDreams"

"Travel is more than just visiting new places—it’s about finding pieces of yourself you never knew existed. ✨ Have you taken a trip that changed you? Share your story in the comments! 🛤️ #TravelChangesYou"

"From desk to dinner ✨👗 Here’s how I styled my favorite blazer for a day at the office and then added some statement jewelry for after-hours chic. Swipe left for a breakdown of each piece! What’s your go-to day-to-night outfit?"

"‘Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.’ — Bill Cunningham 🖤✨ Today’s look is all about embracing bold patterns and textures. How do you use fashion to express yourself? #OOTD"

"Obsessed with the 90s vibe making a comeback? 😎✨ This season’s trends are giving me major throwback feels. From chunky sneakers to high-waisted jeans—what’s your favorite 90s trend? Drop your thoughts below!"

"A little behind-the-scenes magic from today’s shoot! 📸✨ Creating the perfect look takes more than just good lighting—it’s all about the details, like that pop of color or the perfect pair of heels. Can’t wait to share the final shots with you all! #BTS"

"Minimalist or maximalist? 🖤💫 Today I’m embracing a clean, simple aesthetic, but tomorrow it’s all about bold colors and prints. What’s your style vibe this season? Comment below with an emoji to describe your fashion mood! #StyleChallenge"

As social media channels go, LinkedIn stands out from the crowd as the professional’s platform. It caters to the career-driven, the consultant, and the corporate. It provides opportunities to job seekers and a space for those at the top of their field to share their knowledge and expertise.

While different from more typical social media platforms, LinkedIn does still have an algorithm that favours best practices around what and when to publish. In this blog, we cover the ideal times to post on LinkedIn in South Africa for maximum reach and engagement, with a couple of extra tips to optimise your content.

When is the Best Time to Publish on LinkedIn in South Africa?

Publishing on LinkedIn From South Africa for an International Audience

Optimising LinkedIn Content for Maximum Reach

Leverage Meltwater to Find the Best Time to Post on LinkedIn in South Africa

LinkedIn activity is on the up in South Africa: 99.1% of South African internet users say they use social media platforms, 37.5% have looked at recruitment platforms, and 20% of the national population use LinkedIn, according to the report on social media statistics in South Africa. In addition, 52% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 use LinkedIn each month. As a destination website, LinkedIn falls just outside of the top 10 sites visited in South Africa, closely following behind Netflix.com and WhatsApp.com. 

Its status as one of the fastest-growing platforms in the country underlines its importance to the business community at large. With myriad networking opportunities, recruitment potential, and a wealth of thought leadership content, LinkedIn is the most dynamic and user-centric professional platform.

Meltwater Marketing Tip: Learn more about the South African Digital & Social Media Statistics 2024.

If you’re active on LinkedIn, you’ve probably noticed posts from days or even weeks ago on your news feed. This is because LinkedIn has a heavy skew towards content that drives interaction rather than simply showing the newest content first.

However, it is still important to post at a time that encourages early uptake. This initial engagement is important for the algorithm to determine the quality of your post and display it on your contact’s feed. A social media management tool will provide you with detailed audience analytics that reveal the optimal times to post. By analysing engagement patterns and follower activity, it will ensure your content reaches the maximum number of users at peak times, boosting visibility and impact.

Because the LinkedIn audience uses the platform more professionally than personally, users tend to be active during working hours more so than in their downtime. With this in mind, the best time to post on LinkedIn in South Africa is between 07h00 and 08h00 during the week. The least effective times to post are late at night, as well as over weekends. 

Interestingly, the top performing posts on a Monday are published later, between 10h00 and 11h00. This is likely due to users catching up emails or admin, or attending those common 09h00 Monday morning meetings.

The best time for immediate engagement on a Tuesday and Wednesday is between 06h00 and 08h00, targeting the time that businesses open and professionals log on.

Early morning is still the ideal time to post on a Thursday and Friday, but early afternoon posts also see high engagement. As the work week winds down, many corporate professionals spend their mornings on more deep focus work before looking to engage on the platform. After the 06h00 and 08h00 time slot, 14h00 is the best time to post on LinkedIn.

While the weekend typically sees less engagement, there are still users that interact on LinkedIn. This is normally between 05h00 and 06h00, as the early bird professionals log in before the day starts.

While it’s helpful to know the best time to post in South Africa, it’s important to bear your international audience in mind, particularly for relevance and engagement. If your content is designed for a broader target market, scoping out the time zones of your professional network can help you optimise your scheduling. 

Posting at different times in the day and monitoring engagement and performance is a great way to determine the best time for you to post. Again, making use of a social media management tool is essential. With analytics, strategy optimisation, and intuitive scheduling features, you can be sure that every post will reach the right audience at the right time.

LinkedIn is one of the only platforms where organic reach isn’t restricted. Instead, quality content is promoted as opposed to just paid promotions. Simply put, engaging content creates engagement. 

There are a few ways you can optimise your LinkedIn content for that extra interaction:

There are just three ingredients needed for a good LinkedIn post. 

Firstly, a “hook” or attention-grabbing opening sentence to bring a reader in so that they want to read more.

Secondly, valuable post content. It should be informative, insightful or instructional. Your audience should feel like they’ve gained knowledge through reading or engaging with your content. Anecdotal, industry-specific posts that deliver authenticity and insights go far in performance.

Finally, draw attention with a strong image (or images), or a video.

Adding trending hashtags in South Africa that your target audience is most likely going to be looking for helps expand your reach. While general and relevant hashtags support your content, using a keyword research tool is an ideal way to optimise your posts for maximum exposure.

Meltwater Marketing Tip: Hashtags also help drive engagement and reach, as they allow content to fall within a popular search term. They increase and amplify content visibility - especially in South Africa where social media is used for sales, marketing, entertainment, and business. Learn more about the top trending hashtags in South Africa. 

Adapting to the LinkedIn algorithm keeps your content relevant and top-of-feed. One of the easiest, most effective ways to do this is to use a variety of post formats. Diversify your content by creating video, carousels, and single-image posts (portrait usually performs better than landscape).

The best way to know when to post on LinkedIn in South Africa is to continuously monitor and analyse your audience’s behaviour. By using a social media management tool, you can analyse your audience’s behaviour as well as track and monitor the performance of your content in order to further optimise for the platform. 

We understand that developing a social media strategy for each platform requires significant time and effort. So we’ve compiled a social media toolkit packed with resources, inspiration, templates, and guides to streamline your social program, improve your reporting, and help you stay ahead of the competition.

Get in touch with Meltwater by filling out the form below. You can request a free demo and learn how to get the most out of your LinkedIn content.

The Best Time to Post on LinkedIn in South Africa

Every year, as the summer winds down and we dig out the long sleeves to prepare for the cooler months, the “Song of the Summer” — all of the earworm-y tracks that became staples of your poolside hangs, your backyard cookouts, or your beach vacations — becomes a trendy topic online.

Maybe you enjoyed the neon-green hedonism of Charli XCX’s “360”, the lead single off of her summer-conquering album Brat. Perhaps you preferred the playful, chilled-out disco of Sabrina Carpenter’s viral hit “Espresso”. Whatever your personal preference, Summer 2024 had no shortage of contenders for the Song of the Summer championship belt.

That’s why we used the Meltwater Media Intelligence Suite to find out which Song of the Summer candidate generated the most global buzz. Using a list of 10 of the most popular tunes from the last three months, we examined the online, social media, and news conversation from May 15 to August 15 to see which of them made the biggest impact. 

“Mamushi” by Megan Thee Stallion feat. Yuki Chiba

“Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish

“Million Dollar Baby” by Tommy Richman

Our data shows that Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” generated by far the most buzz of the summer. Stemming from Lamar’s ongoing feud with Canadian rap mogul Drake, the song was covered and discussed extensively by fans, critics, influencers, and traditional media. This is likely why “Not Like Us” generated almost 3 times the number of mentions as the next most popular track, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”.

Lamar also built on the initial buzz of the song throughout the summer, giving it staying power in the public discourse and the press from early May all the way through to early July, as you can see from the spikes in mentions of “Not Like Us” on News and Broadcast channels.

Peak 1: June 20, 2024 - This first spike in mention volume is due to Lamar's performance of his Drake diss track multiple times during a pop-out concert in his hometown of Los Angeles. The show (and the many performances of the track) sparked interest and speculation about their ongoing feud. The presence of high-profile celebrities like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook at the concert also contributed to the spike in coverage. This BBC news article was the top piece by reach, while the AP’s report from the show was the top post by engagement.

Peak 2: July 1, 2024 - The song spiked again in broadcast and news mentions during controversial and politically charged moments at the BET Awards involving Taraji P. Henson and Vice President Kamala Harris. As host of the awards, Henson opened the show with a parodied version of “Not Like Us” and proceeded to make a number of political statements over the course of the evening. On top of that, Harris appeared in a skit during the awards and even quoted the song, sparking discussion and criticism on social media, especially X. This article from the Daily Beast generated the most reach, while a broadcast from News18 India had the most engagement.

Peak 3: July 5, 2024 - “Not Like Us” recaptured the zeitgeist once again and caused a spike in mentions when Lamar released the music video for the track. The video features a number of celebrities and persons of interest in the feud, including Lamar’s fiancée Whitney Alford and NBA star DeMar Derozan, an LA native who started his career in Drake’s hometown of Toronto. The video’s release was covered extensively by the traditional and broadcast news, including this NBC News article that generated the most reach, and this Social News article that saw the most engagement.

Although Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” may have generated the most buzz, our analysis shows that it did not enjoy the most positive sentiment. In fact, Shaboozey’s country hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” generated the most positive sentiment globally. 

“Not Like Us” actually generated the most negative sentiment of any of the songs we analyzed. This may not be surprising, as the song is a targeted diss against one of the biggest pop stars in the world. It also generated negative press when other artists played it, like after a fight broke out when rapper Rick Ross dropped “Not Like Us” during a festival set in Vancouver.

It’s no surprise that “Not Like Us” garnered the most mentions in the United States, but it was also the most popular song in Brazil, South Africa, Canada, France, Nigeria, and India. Elsewhere, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” was the most mentioned track in the UK and China. Finally, Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi”, featuring Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba, was the most popular song in Japan.

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” generated the most discussion on Pinterest and broadcast news. It was also neck-and-neck with “Not Like Us” in terms of mentions on podcasts. 

“Not Like Us” generated the most discussion on Reddit, and was also extremely popular in comments sections, news sites, and on X. In fact, from May 15 to August 15, “Not Like Us” was mentioned on social media 950,000 times.

Similar to the song’s spikes in broadcast and news mentions, its biggest spikes coincided with his LA pop-out concert on June 20 and the release of the song’s music video on July 4. 

This year featured a strong slate of Song of the Summer candidates, and we already can’t wait for next year! 

Want to see how the Meltwater Suite could help you do your own deep-dive online analysis? Request a demo today!

Song of the Summer 2024: A Meltwater Analysis

Gaming influencers might not be the most obvious choice in influencer marketing. But there’s no question that they can help put your brand under a national spotlight. They’ve turned a popular pastime into a lifestyle brand, a practice that has captivated the attention of millions. They can put their popularity to work for you in the best possible ways.

Gaming content creators serve a wide spectrum of audiences. That’s because gaming is a hobby that knows no bounds. People from every interest, subculture, and walk of life connect over video games, which can help you cast a wider net and build a loyal following of your own.

Here’s a closer look at the top five gaming influencers and how to work with them and other gamers in your influencer marketing strategy.

Benefits of Collaborating with Gaming Influencers

Find More Gaming Influencers with Meltwater

A gaming influencer is someone who plays video games and shares their experiences with an online audience. They often live-stream their video gaming so their fans can follow along in real time.

Typically found on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, gaming influencers are known for their skills, entertaining commentary, and personalities. They attract a large, loyal following who enjoy watching them play.

What makes them influencers is their ability to impact their followers' opinions and choices — about which games to play, gear to buy, or trends to follow. Influencers can range from casual gamers who play for fun to professional eSports players who compete at a high level.

Because of gaming influencers’  large and engaged audiences, brands often partner with them to promote products.

Check out our influencer definition to learn more about what to expect when working with influencers.

Tip: Check out our blog about the top Twitch influencers right here.

Brands, businesses, and even other influencers can benefit from partnering with gaming influencers. 

Authentic promotion. Influencers promote products in ways that feel natural and relatable to their audience, which can help you build trust and credibility instantly.

High engagement. Gaming influencers interact with fans in real time, which creates immediate feedback and can build a sense of community around your brand.

Brand awareness. Working with top gaming influencers can significantly boost your brand’s visibility because of their large followings. Our influencer marketing statistics support the success of using influencers for brand awareness.

Unique content. Gaming influencers are well known for creating diverse and entertaining content that resonates with their audience, removing the guesswork of what people will respond to.

Diverse platforms. You’ll find gaming influencers on TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and more, helping you reach different segments across various channels.

Gaming influencers are a unique subset of influencer marketing. Their audiences are highly diverse and can help you capture unique niche markets you might not have targeted otherwise.

Going by audience size, PewDiePie (whose real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg) is arguably the best gaming influencer. He’s amassed an impressive 104 million subscribers. 

Even many people who aren’t gamers have heard of him.

Finding a gaming influencer to collaborate with takes a little effort given the massive size of the gaming communities. Here are some tips to streamline your search.

Use Meltwater to find top gaming influencers

Meltwater's Influencer Marketing Platform, gives you the quickest route to find gaming influencers. You can search for gamers based on your criteria, such as:

Audience size (e.g., gaming micro-influencers)

Social media platform (e.g., TikTok gaming influencers)

Meltwater gives an Influencer Score to each gaming influencer, which is like a stamp of approval. It shows you which creators have engaged and growing audiences and a high level of trust among the public.

You can find and vet influencers and also reach out to them directly through Meltwater. Create and send influencer briefs and track your communications.

When you’re ready to collaborate, Meltwater also includes influencer campaign tracking. You can view metrics for each campaign so you can track content and engagement. See how your partnership is paying off.

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