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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

We’ve covered Instagram a lot on our blog, from the benefits of using Instagram Reels, to building relationships with Instagram influencers through Instagram influencer marketing, to Instagram monitoring best practices. However, one of the most common questions we get asked is “How can B2B companies, get the most out of Instagram?”. In this blog, we wanted to dispel the myth that Instagram can’t work for B2B brands or ‘boring’ industries.

Below you’ll find 7 great examples of B2B Instagram profiles across a range of industries from manufacturing to software, to healthcare, and why they work.

Instagram is a great medium for showcasing not only your products, but the people behind them. A number of the examples below do this to great effect, highlighting office culture and putting their employees front & center. 

It's also a great place to demonstrate your products in creative, engaging, or humorous ways which not only gives your brand a personality, but also illustrates how your target customer could get good use out of your services.

And then there's the numbers to remember!

2 billion monthly active users (Omnicore)

200 million businesses use Instagram (Omnicore)

One third of the most viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses (Omnicore)

15% of US shoppers say they start their product research on Instagram (Hootsuite)

Tip: Learn more about the latest IG statistics, about B2B influencer marketing, and about how to use Instagram for Business.

Which Are The Best B2B Instagram Profiles?

The stats speak for themselves. Use the examples below as inspiration to get your Instagram profile off the ground!

John Deere is a great example of how a B2B brand can use Instagram to their advantage.

The profile has 1M+ followers and garners an average of 13.4K likes per post (according to our Meltwater Social Media Influencers tool). This just goes to show that even manufacturing companies who are typically viewed as anything but “sexy” can create engaging visual content.

As you can see from the screenshot of their profile above, John Deere sticks to a green color scheme helping the brand become more recognizable. You may have thought having an ‘Aesthetic’ is just for celebrities like Kim Kardashian, who reportedly has her own signature Instagram filter. However, John Deere proves this isn’t the case.

Takeaway: Create a unified Instagram aesthetic

Choose a color palette, theme or filter and use it consistently. When someone views your profile as a whole, it’ll be more visually appealing and identifiable.

Mailchimp uses their Instagram profile largely to highlight clients, focusing on their stories and how Mailchimp helps their businesses grow. They have also focused inward, however, using their Instagram Stories to profile their employees.

Their ‘a day in the life’ series shows a typical day for an employee in the office. They also have ‘MailChimp has talent’ where they show off hobbies and talents of their employees.

Profiling your employees using Instagram helps attract new talent, showcase your brand and company culture. Not to mention co-creation and co-branding of content gives us a little more breathing room when it comes to the amount that we produce.

Shell posts about events they sponsor and also profile their employees. In addition, they have a focus on innovation and getting young people and women into STEM subjects.

To do this, they profile these kinds of people in inspiring and engaging ways. This enables them to humanize their brand and make it more relatable.

Takeaway: Look beyond your product
One of the biggest lessons to take away from all of these Instagram profiles is that the companies don't post exclusively about their product.

If you’re a B2B company, chances are your product won’t have the same visual appeal as some consumer brands. 

Many of us assume that because we’re not a food or clothing brand, our content won’t be interesting. However, creating a good Instagram profile is about thinking outside the box.

Using Meltwater's Social Influencer Tool, we found that Boeing gets on average 23.5K likes, and 150 comments per post. What’s their secret you may ask? High-quality images and video. 

Video is a great way to boost engagement across social media. Videos quickly get a story or message across and generate 1200 more shares than text and images combined.

If you haven’t got the time or resources to create professional videos like Boeing, create videos on Instagram Stories — you can show behind the scenes, profile employees, or events.

Tip: Get inspired by these 50 Simple Video Content Ideas For Your Business

Try and tap into the human interest element when thinking of what to post on Instagram as a B2B company. Food, traveling, art, music and animals are all areas that are likely to appeal to a large audience.

We also love that both Mailchimp and FedEx include their logo in almost every post, but find a creative and artistic way to do it. Even if your product isn’t ‘interesting’ you can still show your audience something cool with your logo on.

Intel boasts over a million followers, and their posts tend to focus on innovation and taking their audience behind the scenes of their brand.

A feature that Intel makes use of, is placing links in their bio and stories. As you may know, Instagram doesn’t let users post clickable links in actual posts. Utilizing this feature means users can easily further explore Intel’s content.

Takeaway: Give your followers more to explore

Either add your website in the bio or post a link from your Stories to more content that your fans can enjoy.

You may have expected to see images of medical equipment and drugs when searching for Abbott Global’s Instagram feed. However, this is not the case! Abbott posts images of people living #lifetothefullest as part of a campaign to encourage going after your dreams. It celebrates people young and old achieving dreams like learning ballet, play the piano, or swim.

They’re also another B2B brand using stories in a really engaging way. Their profile highlights causes such as poverty, International Women’s Day, International Day of Women and Girls in Science and more.

Takeaway: Highlight social causes or initiatives related to your industry that your brand supports or is involved with on your profile

Hopefully, these Instagram accounts will provide you with some inspiration for your B2B Instagram profile. 

Curious how Meltwater can help you with your social media management strategy? Fill out the form below to schedule a demo!

Best B2B Instagram Profiles

We understand that business-to-consumer brands can produce vastly different results in and within every region of the globe, and what better example than the beverage industry. Separated into various subgroups, the global carbonated market is projected to generate approximately $412.5 billion USD by 2023.

Soft drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi hold the largest market share but are increasingly under threat from a new generation of smart consumers. Millennials and Gen Z, as well as older consumers, are increasingly exposed to the dangers of sugar consumption and the environmental impacts surrounding this industry. But in every challenge... lies opportunity. 

How does the beverage industry keep up, remain relevant and adapt to changing consumer behaviors? With consumer insights! In our ever-growing digital landscape, the most innovative companies build a well-rounded picture of their consumers through an infrastructure that allows them to be heard. The days of traditional market research aren’t over, they’ve just been enhanced with the power of real-time data insights.

In this post, we'll use the world’s largest carbonated drinks company Coca-Cola, as an example. Pay attention to the different ways they use campaigns as a way to collect consumer insights and identify emerging trends.

Using AI-powered soda dispensers to understand evolving consumer preferences

Using the data collected to improve product and user experience

Launching new products and flavors based on AI-collected data 

A marketing campaign to identify trends: #MakeYourMixContest

Coca-Cola markets and sells its products in over 200 countries, but despite developing a global and universal image in 127 years, the brand like any other, needs to address different regional preferences such as flavor, calorie count, sugar content, consumer behavior and of course competition.

Tip: Learn more about consumer insights for the fashion industry

One of their innovative responses to these challenges has been the reinvention of the fountain beverage machine. Originally created in 2009 as a functional drinks dispenser, Coca-Cola has recently unveiled the newest Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100. It includes optical and motion sensors, Bluetooth technology, real-time cloud connectivity and most importantly, artificial intelligence.

Introducing Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100

John McCarthy, an earlier pioneer in the field of AI, defined artificial intelligence as “the science of making machines that can perform tasks that are characteristic of human intelligence.” This might include understanding language, translating content between languages, recognizing elements in images and speech, or making decisions. This means vending machine data can be processed in real-time to analyze purchasing decisions.

“Artificial intelligence is the foundation for everything we do. We create intelligent experiences. Artificial intelligence is the kernel that powers that experience.” Coca-Cola Global director, Greg Chambers.

Each individual machine conducts real-time analysis of consumer data, responding in various helpful ways to improve customer experience. The AI algorithm means every establishment can use their machine to promote unique, bespoke beverages and trending flavors in relation to their consumers.
AI also allows these machines to adjust to the “mood” of their environment. In gyms for‌ ‌example, the display screen will focus on performance-based sodas, the promotion of water and healthier beverages. Machines in shopping malls will display lively, colorful, trending sodas, and hospital machines will appear more functional.

Globally, Coca-Cola has installed over 50,000 machines, serving over 14 million, 8-ounce servings of drink per day, creating a gargantuan amount of actionable data.

Launching new products and flavors based on AI-collected data

In 2017, consumer data from the Freestyle machines displayed considerable consumption levels of Sprite and Cherry flavors. As a result, Coca-Cola released Sprite Cherry and Sprite Cherry Zero products in stores. It was the first permanent product to come out of the Freestyle machine data.

Coca-Cola believes the element of choice and customization are here to stay, contrary to the one-time fad belief. In February 2019 they released a new mélange of classics in the form of Orange Vanilla Coke and Orange Vanilla Coke Zero. This was the first new Coca-Cola product to be innovated in almost a decade and is also suspected to be a creation of AI.

In light of growing awareness on health and wellness, and increasing sales of diet beverages, the Freestyle 9100 was also adapted to include 117 low calorie/ no-calorie options and 130 no-caffeine options. Before the Freestyle machines were used, Coca-Cola offered a caffeine-free diet coke in less than 1% of dispensers in the US. After being installed data showed caffeine-free diet coke was in fact in their top five dispensed drinks during the afternoon.

What's more, the new dispenser also invites customers to download a 'pre-order app' allowing them to create drink mixes prior to collecting orders. The strategy appeals to Gen Z and Millennials in response to the rising use of smartphones and tech-savvy consumers. The app is suspected to produce more accurate decision-making data since customers have more time to make their choices.

Coca-Cola Freestyle App -- Official Trailer

The latest marketing campaign to be produced in line with the new Freestyle 9100 was the first-ever “Make Your Mix” contest. The contest invited fans and consumers to create a winning custom combination for a grand total of $10,000. 

Fans were limited to two or three mixing choices and were required to share their creations on social platforms Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #MakeYourMixContest. The winning combinations will be served to customers for a limited period in September 2019.

This type of marketing campaign helped Coca-Cola increase their online brand visibility and share of voice. The aim was to incentive a broad audience of consumers instead of targeting specific tribes.

“We’re empowering and potentially rewarding our fans for something they’re already doing – making Coca-Cola Freestyle beverages that are 100% their own,”  says Sarah Greenberg Sachs, marketing director.

Coca-Cola remains the world's largest beverage company through continual innovation such as their latest adoption of AI. They understand that each local market holds specific consumer preferences in terms of flavor, sugar content, calorie count and consumption and adapted to this challenge using a reverse sales strategy.

Going against linear methods of collecting consumer data, Coca-Cola optimized their product and sales processes. The dispensing machines have become real-time sources of market research, allowing them to identify opportunity and weakness before taking to the shelves. As consumer preferences evolve, winning brands will continually innovate to stay one step ahead.

Would you like to understand more about your own market? Fill out the form below to get access to your own consumer insights that will help you succeed.

How Coca-Cola Collects Consumer Insights

If you’re not already acquainted with Gen Z, where have you been? After millennials, they’re the demographic cohort born between the mid 90s to mid 2000s. In 2019, that means anyone between the ages of 7 and 22. The majority of this generation is still well below voting age and considered pretty uninteresting in terms of societal influence, but it appears that Gen Z is being wrongly overlooked for many reasons.

There's a new kind of shopper in town and despite their young demeanor, they’re disrupting brand and business strategies across the globe. This influential group is growing in number and spends more time than ever online, providing a clear indication of what's hot and what's not. 

Similar, but far more extreme than Millennials, Gen Z is over traditional advertising. Instead when it comes down to consumer choice, they’re placing trust in their peers and tribes to find the best products. This is where influencer marketing comes in, how should you approach this new cohort?

Who are Gen Z and what makes them important?

2. Have your influencers produce raw, honest, visual content

3. Select influencers based on your target tribes

4. Experimental marketing, turn your audience into advocates

We want to explore the right way to engage this group through influencer marketing, so you can engage the consumers of tomorrow. But before we begin, let's take a look at Gen Z and what they stand for.

Tip: Learn more about millennial cringe: What it is, who's talking about it, and what it tells marketers.

Having crawled straight into the 21st century, Gen Zers are the first generation to grow up with no distinction between online and offline reality.

Since birth they’ve had access to social media, digital entertainment and smart technologies, while growing up alongside major modern innovations. So despite their young age, this is actually the generation with unprecedented influence.

IBM calls them self-reliant ‘digital natives’, and rightly so. In 2017, their global survey of 15,600 Gen Zers, aged 13 to 21 produced impactful results on their true economic influence.

Source: Uniquely Generation Z. What brands should know about today’s youngest consumers, IBM report.

Gen Zers are found to influence in all areas of family spending on both small and large consumer decisions. 

Alongside their individual influence, this generation is also taking lead in numbers. By 2019, Bloomberg predicted Gen Zers to surpass Millennials for the first time, accounting for 2.47 billion of the world’s 7.7 billion inhabitants - a whopping 32% of the global population. Thanks to these statistics, brands and businesses in recent years have hailed Gen Zers as the 'next crop' of consumer.  

One of the best ways to tap into this generation is via their own peers and communities. This generation is all about relationships and now more than ever, it's important to relate with tribes and influencers, before they align with you.

Let's explore 4 potential keys to successful Gen Z influencer marketing.

The key to any successful marketing campaign is using the right platforms. Looking at the top mainstream video platforms, Gen Z have increased their usage of all three compared to Millennials in 2018. Naturally, they've evolved into a mobile-dominated generation and this rise in usage is guiding future digital trends in terms of marketing, branding and advertising.

Source: VidMob report. State of Social Video. 2018

Aside from these mainstream channels, Gen Zers are increasingly adopting non-mainstream platforms.

If you haven’t already turned to TikTok for influencer marketing among a younger audience...now is the time. With its simple UX, TikTok is predicted as the next big hit and because it’s still under the radar, brands can leverage its under-priced potential.

Tip: Learn about why TikTok has become so successful, understand how to find the best times to post on TikTok, how you can use TikTok for your business, check out the most followed accounts on TikTok, see more TikTok statistics, and check out some TikTok scheduling tools.

The same age as Snapchat, is live streaming and chatting platform Twitch, built predominantly for gamers but also other recordable activities. Statistics around Gen Zers on the platform aren’t very accurate but when you look at eSports in general, 44% of consumers are aged between 14 and 21, giving a good indication of Twitch’s popularity. 

What sets Twitch apart is an 80% male user base, in contrast to Instagram’s heavily female-oriented users. But unlike Instagram, Twitch is made up of many groups of tight-knit communities that stick to a strict code. They reinforce Gen Zer needs around trust and authenticity and won't advocate any old brand that comes their way. 

If brands can bring value to, and align with Twitch tribes, it could give them a great advantage over mainstream influencer channels. In the video below, Doritos sponsored four Twitch streamers in a competition showcasing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s new Blackout mode. Thanks to Doritos further cross-platform marketing, the Doritos bowl gathered over 16,000 viewers for the event, and probably a few more Dorito sales along the way: Doritos Bowl. TwitchCon Esports Stage

Since we're discussing platforms, there's one in particular that revolutionized storytelling features on social - Snapchat. It introduced the concept of disappearing photos and videos, which was highly popular among young audiences.

It's a generation born to swipe so quick snapshot storytelling works better on Gen Zers when its raw and simple. They're a cynical bunch moving away from flashy professional campaigns, wanting real people to tell it how it is.

One teen influencer doing it right is Emma Chamberlain. The 18-year-old keeps it real and scored some 8 million YouTube subscribers and 7.7 million Instagram followers in less than two years. Her persona is just the right mixture of Instagram and reality, portraying fashionista style, without the airbrushed, overproduced deception. You’ll find her lounging with her friends, kicked back with no makeup on, or at home snacking on a pizza slice. She's relatable with all the style of a teen icon, unafraid to show her flaws.

We can talk about authenticity all day. The time of mass marketing is over and micro-influencing is in. Gen Zers, more than their predecessors, are embracing individual differences in their various tribes, collectively breaking one-size-fits all marketing. They expect brands to prove their credibility through transparent communication and are more likely to buy from brands promoting a cause. If you can align with their cause, interests and tribes, you’ll find insider advocates willing to work with you, and more importantly bring you customers.

Tip: The Meltwater social influencer tool is perfect to help you find the right influencer for your brand.

One of the most effective ways to promote meaningful messaging is the use of micro-influencers and peers in targeted tribes. Gen Zers are a generation seeking new creative opportunities that they can share online. An IBM study found 22% of Gen Zers make extra money online and a further 16% work for themselves. They want to shape their own experiences and are keen to advocate brands on their terms. 

Florence Given is a 20-year-old artist and champion of gender equality. With a humble but impressive organic following of 192K on Instagram, using the world of social to promote her illustrations and views on feminism.

Being an outspoken writer, activist and bisexual, she scored publications in the likes of Cosmopolitan. And thanks to her powerful, uncompromising views she appeals to multiple tribes across social media that ultimately caught the eye of global brands. She appeals to singles, lgbt+, feminists, young females, entrepreneurs, retro fashionistas and more. The umbrella of interests around an influencer is an indication of the types of tribes you're trying to align with. In 2019 alone, shes already fronted campaigns with Tinder, Converse and Revlon.

Here is an example of experimental marketing. Brands are increasingly turning to live events to create unique immersive experiences with their customers. A great example is the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Karaoke Eye Test at Glastonbury festival. Their aim was to highlight the importance of regular eye tests through a fun-filled karaoke-themed activation.

RNIB at Glastonbury 2017 - Eye Test Karaoke

Desigual partnered with Sónar festival and produced a creative interactive space for festival goers.

“We wanted to play a meaningful role within Sónar and not just have a stand selling product,” explained Desigual’s CMO Guillem Gallego.

Giant projectors cover the walls, accompanied by a complex camera set up with sensors that illuminate physical movement. They also created active meditation rooms for people to come and relax.

While trends come and go, we believe the relationship between Gen Z and influencers is here to stay. They’re a generation pushing for creative innovations and authenticity that can only be found among trusted members of their own tribes.

These empowered consumers have immense influence on their inner circles and with countless options available, they have the power to say no.

Influencer Marketing for Gen Z: 4 Keys to Success

A competitive advantage is what gives a business its “edge." It’s what a company does better than its competitors and helps them to have a stronger market position. It is part of a strong competitive intelligence strategy.

Some competitive advantages can be considered sustainable — advantages that sustain a company’s success. These advantages are what make a specific set of products or services stand out to customers compared to their competitors. 

Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter wrote the widely utilized textbook “Competitive Advantage.” In it, he details what is required in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. 

Let’s explore the role of developing and promoting your competitive advantage and how to apply Michael Porter’s three strategies for your gain.

What You Need to Create a Competitive Advantage

Porter’s Approach to Competitive Advantage

The Significance of Establishing a Competitive Advantage

How to Find Your Competitive Advantage with Meltwater

We define it as the way companies provide goods and services to achieve larger margins, greater market share, and sustainable success.

Examples of competitive advantage include a vast range of factors:

Access to advanced, proprietary, or new technology

Competitive advantages allow a company to maintain brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.

It’s important to understand that competitive advantage is not simply a list of your strengths. While recognizing your strengths can contribute to your success, your competitive advantage is greater than this.

Competitive advantage isn’t easily created or duplicated. If it could be easily copied, then it might be considered growth opportunity rather than competitive advantage. Your competitive advantages focus more on long-term success, meaning it will take a competitor longer to replicate what you’re doing.

To build a strong competitive advantage, a business must have a thorough understanding of a few key things:

Value: The goods and/or services of a company should provide real value to its customers.

Target audience: A company must know who its primary customers are and how to cater to this specific group. 

Competitors: A business must understand who its direct and indirect competitors are in the marketplace. 

A company must understand and convey the unique value it provides to a specific audience that another competitor cannot. This message must then be communicated effectively through advertising, social media, brand messaging, and other marketing.

Tip: Learn how to perform competitor analysis using competitor analysis tools and understand the importance of competitive benchmarking.

To figure out your competitive advantage, follow the What + Why formula:

(What your business is really good at) + (Why you're good at it)

Google: "We are the best at finding relevant content online and providing access to knowledge + we continually invest in our technology, test new ideas, and hire digital-native employees.”

In his book, Porter reviews in detail how a company must establish clearly defined goals, business strategies, and operations in order to construct a solid competitive advantage. It’s not a matter of plucking a strategy out of a hat. 

For a competitive advantage to be sustainable, it must play to your organizational strengths AND be valuable to your clients. You need to build systems and processes around your advantage. This means building relationships with vendors whose services can support your advantage.

In addition, the overall company culture and the team members of the company must be in alignment with these things. Your employees play a role in upholding and promoting your advantage. It gives your employees direction and purpose when making decisions and helping to move the company forward.

Porter conducted an intensive research process of several hundred companies that eventually helped him contrive his sustainable competitive advantage strategies.

The Meltwater Blog

Best B2B Instagram Profiles

How Coca-Cola Collects Consumer Insights

Influencer Marketing for Gen Z: 4 Keys to Success

How to Gain a Sustainable Competitive Advantage with Porter's 3 Strategies

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How To Do Customer Profiling | Guide

The 10 Most Followed TikTok Accounts

UK Social Media Statistics [Updated 2023]

UAE Social Media Statistics [Updated 2023]

What are Online Tribes (and Why Should You Be Targeting Them)?

Linkfluence is Rebranding as Meltwater