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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

Your brand is the hub of many moving parts, from visual elements like colors and fonts to nuances like smells, sounds, and values. You put a lot of work into developing these elements that will build and support your brand name. Your next priority is to proactively manage these brand assets so that your team can identify and use them.

The value of good brand asset management cannot be overemphasized. It’s the best way to ensure your brand values are always accurately represented, no matter who is working on your projects. Implementing rules and processes around where assets are stored and how brand elements are used are an essential part of brand management.

Want our branding solution? Here’s how you can improve brand asset management throughout your organization.

How to Leverage Your Brand Assets for Better Results

There are lots of elements you associate with your brand. But the real definition of branding assets is anything that is unique to your company AND is well-known and associated with your company.

In other words, your brand assets can’t be mistaken for something another company produces.

For example, when you think of a talking duck on TV, Aflac comes to mind. Or when you see a shopper carrying a distinctive robin’s egg blue bag, you know it probably came from Tiffany & Co.

Marketing material like business cards, letterhead, and collateral

Templates for webinars, sales videos, press releases, and other content

Color palettes (including the specific shade or Pantone for each color)

Every company has brand assets that dictate how other people perceive and interact with the brand. They reinforce the image and value of your brand, create consistency, and connect with your customers’ expectations.

Brand elements can be visual assets. These might include your main branding colors and accent colors, logos, typography, and product packaging, for example.

Many companies use color psychology when developing their brand colors and personality. For example, purple represents wisdom, sophistication, and royalty, which is why it's a common choice for luxury brands. Knowing the meaning behind each color lends to a stronger branding strategy because the visuals support the sentiments.

There are also marketing assets, such as audio branding, company mascots, or distinct scents or flavors.

An audio branding strategy might include an audio logo, jingles, theme songs, or even a podcast. 

Or, a buyer might associate a certain flavor or scent with your brand. If you've ever walked into an Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister, you know that you'll be greeted not only by a smiling sales associate but also by the smell of each company's signature scent, which they spritz on the clothing and throughout the store to provide a complete sensory experience. 

In the digital age, we’re seeing a new type of brand asset: viral content. Content that has gone viral can help with brand recall and boost engagement, traffic, and your company’s reputation.

Branding elements can become brand assets over time simply by using them consistently in your brand identity.

Branding assets can take many forms and functions.

Take Chick-Fil-A, for example. The fast-food chain has an impressive variety of brand assets, including a stand-alone chicken head logo, a logo in cursive script, and its adorable family of cows with the “Eat Mor Chikin’” tagline.

Each of these assets is unique but represents the same brand. The company’s tagline is a great example of how one brand asset can evolve into many over time. Chick-Fil-A’s cow mascots have been misspelling words for decades since their debut in 1995 and are now associated with the chain just as much as its delicious chicken.

But even if you don’t have a talking duck mascot or a one-of-a-kind shopping bag to represent your brand, chances are you already have many distinctive brand assets to use.

Prioritizing brand asset management starts with identifying all of your brand assets. The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science breaks it down into a simple three-step process.

Make a list of all your files, documents, logo design variations (e.g. full-color, black and white, grayscale, etc.), artwork, content, color scheme, audio brand, and other brand elements that could be valuable assets.

Be as specific as possible: for example, is your yellow logo more like the color of a canary or a lemon? 

You can also include historical items that you have used in the past to use to identify your brand, as well as any planned items for the future. Also, check your social media marketing analytics to see if any of your content has gone viral and could prove useful for future branding. 

Conduct market research with your audience to see which items on your list help them identify your brand. Is it music? Your way with words? Your bright orange lettering? The emotion you include in your content marketing?

What makes these items stand out? How are they different from competitors? What is the customer's brand perception of that item? How quickly do consumers make the association between a brand asset and your brand?

Strong branding isn’t just about how your company perceives itself, but rather how quickly a customer can identify you based on your branding elements. Your most prominent, well-known elements are most likely to be considered brand assets.

Examine your findings to see common denominators in how people recognize your brand. Their answers will point to the items that make you unique. Those are the items that should be considered brand assets.

You can’t manage what you can’t identify. Once you recognize the elements that make your brand unique and well-known, you can implement a brand asset management strategy.

What is asset management, exactly? In terms of brand management, it’s the systemized approach of organizing, using, and maintaining all of your brand assets.

A marketing asset management strategy may include:

What to include in your resource library (e.g. white papers, blog posts, case studies, audio branding, etc.)

A palette style guide that includes primary colors, secondary colors, typefaces, color combinations, tint, tone, and other colors that have been approved

The technology you use to organize and access assets

How assets are used in campaigns, in the media, and other marketing

How often brand assets are inventoried, updated, and archived

Communication guidelines for using brand assets

Successful long-term brand asset management strategies typically include having someone in-house dedicated to the role. This person serves as the gatekeeper to brand assets and is the point of contact for marketers, artists, and other stakeholders who may need to connect with specific assets for projects. This should be someone who is closely familiar with your brand strategy and digital marketing goals.

Your brand is your company’s identity, and your assets help to shape and support its image. Having access to these assets ensures consistency and clarity throughout all of your marketing projects.

The rise of digital assets has also necessitated proactive management. Digital asset management is a subcategory of brand asset management and focuses solely on digital media and content.

The reason for this is because digital files can be so easily copied, shared, altered, and misused. For example, a lesser-known company might create a lookalike logo so people will associate them with your company.

To prevent these instances of brand abuse, a digital asset manager might invest in media monitoring services. Media monitoring keeps a tab on digital channels to see whether other brands are copying or stealing your content or otherwise doing damage to your brand’s reputation. It also helps you find any branded content produced by your company to ensure your brand is authentically represented.

Proper brand asset management ensures that ALL of your brand assets – digital and physical – are identified and used in the right way.

Now that you’ve identified your brand assets, it’s time to use them to grow your brand! Here’s how you can leverage your brand assets to drive better results across every campaign:

Invest in Brand Asset Management Software

Part of every successful brand asset management strategy includes some form of third-party organization. This is typically a purpose-built brand asset management system or software that stores all files and documents in a centralized database.

Asset management software is designed for marketers and related teams. It’s a place to store all of your brand elements, grant access privileges, make files searchable, and share guidelines on how to use branded content.

Tip: Take a look at the best brand management software, platforms, and tools on the market.

Consistency is key to building familiarity. How would you feel if Coca-Cola suddenly started using blue cans or McDonald’s suddenly ditched its iconic shoestring fries in favor of crinkle cut? Would those brands feel different to you?

Best-in-class brands have mastered the art of consistency. They remain true to their customers by setting certain expectations and upholding them.

This also means using the same branding elements across all your channels, digital and physical. For example, the logo on your product packaging should be the same logo on your website and social media profiles.

Remember, branding is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time for people to start associating your brand elements with your company.

Don’t give up! Use your brand assets in every marketing campaign, commercial, PR event, social media post, and other touchpoints to get the point across.

There’s an old saying that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Unfortunately, all that flattery can cause brand damage if it’s your competitors copying your brand assets.

This is a very common occurrence in advertising and marketing that companies should monitor closely. The stakes are higher if you have brand assets that aren’t protected by trademark or copyright. 

Take the extra step to protect all your hard work. This way, if a competitor does decide to flatter you, you can take legal action and preserve your brand image.

As your company grows, so will your brand asset library. But before you introduce new brand assets to the public, each asset should undergo some testing to ensure it aligns with the brand you’ve already established.

What is Brand Asset Management and How to Leverage It?

The term "customer experience" has been gaining more and more attention in recent years. But is this just another marketing buzzword, or does it actually carry some merit for your brand image and bottom line?

Given the latest research, we can confidently say it’s the latter. Studies show that customers are willing to pay more for an item or service if it means getting a better experience. Customer-centric companies are more profitable than companies that aren’t invested in the customer experience. It helps them retain customers, increase referrals, and maintain an edge over competitors.

It’s no secret that customer satisfaction is one of the main factors that determine a company's success. A great customer experience at every touchpoint can make a huge impact on a customer's perception of a brand and whether or not they will return.

There are several key elements to creating a great customer experience, but the most important is simply understanding your customers. Here’s your guide to customer experience and how to apply it in your business.

Definition: What is Customer Experience (CX)?

Common Customer Experience Misconceptions

Customer Experience as a Competitive Advantage

The Challenges of Creating Good Customer Experiences

How to Measure Customer Experience - 5 Ways

Customer Experience Management Tools to Support Your Strategy

Let’s start with the definition of customer experience (CX) — what exactly does it mean?

The abbreviation for customer experience is CX.

We define customer experience as the totality of how customers interact with your brand or company. This includes everything from engaging with an employee to using a product to getting support to exploring your branded content online.

In terms of the customer journey map, the customer experience includes every touchpoint, from how they discover your brand to purchase to what happens post-purchase.

Marketers often use CX interchangeably with similar terms, such as customer service, user experience, customer success, customer engagement, customer relationship, or brand experience. There’s some overlap with these terms, but their meanings differ slightly.

Customer service is proactive. It involves someone representing your brand actively serving your customers. It’s part of the bigger customer experience picture.

On the flip side, customer experience can be active or passive. It “happens” regardless of whether your employees are involved.

Tip: Learn more about social media customer service.

User experience (UX) is a term usually reserved for digital experiences. It might refer to someone using your website. Or, in a case like Meltwater, it could refer to a platform or digital product.

UX is measured with metrics like abandonment rate, on-page time, time to complete a task, and the number of clicks required to complete a task, among many others.

Like customer service, user experience is a slice of the bigger CX pie.

Customer success has some overlap with customer service and is also part of the total customer experience.

Customer success usually involves help from an employee to learn more about a customer’s goals and create an optimal solution or outcome.

Customer Experience vs. Customer Relationship

Customer relationships are built over time.

It’s the connection you build with each of your customers, starting with the initial discovery and lasting long after the sale or conversion.

In comparison to CX, a customer relationship is often defined by the quality of their experience.

Customer Experience vs. Customer Engagement

Customer engagement helps to strengthen a customer relationship, which ultimately shapes the customer experience.

We define customer engagement as the proactive effort to keep customers connected to your brand.

This might be via loyalty programs, social media content, email marketing, or user-generated content, for example.

Customer experience and brand experience (BX) share many characteristics. The main differences are the feelings they create and how each is measured.

For brand experience, the main goal is to make customers feel a certain way about your brand.

BX is measured through engagement metrics. CX is designed to make customers feel satisfied with your brand and is measured through customer satisfaction surveys, customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, and NPS.

Customers are more informed than ever before. They’re entering the buyer journey at various stages of the traditional sales funnel, not just at the top. Digital technologies and the ability to discover, research, and compare brands have given buyers more power over their buying decisions.

Consumers now have more choices than ever. With so many brands competing for the same audience, a good customer experience can speak volumes.

By offering a great customer experience, you can help buyers take control over the customer journey. Make it easy for customers to explore their options, compare pricing, get answers to their questions, and discover new products and services. Being forward-thinking in this process can help you meet customers wherever they are in the journey and be ready to serve them before your competitors are.

Customer experience is also the key to earning repeat business and referrals. It’s no secret that customers share their great experiences with friends and family. But they’ll tell even more people about a bad experience. Bad news travels fast, and that doesn’t do you any favors when it comes to growing your business. When you intentionally create good experiences, you’re not only able to meet customer expectations, but also their glowing reviews and referrals!

Did you know? According to our latest Global Digital Report, getting recommendations from friends and family is one of the most important decision drivers for customers.

Things like pricing, product quality, and customer service might come to mind when you think of your competitive advantages. But customer experiences should be part of that list, too.

That’s because CX can (and should) control the entire customer journey. Brands need to take charge in guiding customers to the desired outcome. Being intentional about this journey, including the emotions it triggers, can help brands reinforce why customers should do business with them.

Given that CX is the sum total of all of a customer’s interactions with your brand, there are plenty of objectives for marketers to focus on. Some of the areas that affect customer experience include:

We'll talk about each of these points more in detail:

Price affects experience because it immediately communicates the value of your product or service. It’s not the only thing that signals value, but it does set the tone for the experience. That's also why it is part of the marketing mix.

For instance, if you were to walk into a store and notice all the handbags costs hundreds of dollars, you’d know you were in a high-end luxury goods store even if you weren’t familiar with the brand. In this case, you might expect personalized service, refreshments, gift wrapping, or large dressing rooms, for example.

If you walked into a large mass merchandise store with sale signs everywhere, you would expect to find some great deals on everyday items. You’d trade expectations of personalized service and refreshments for self-service and convenience.

A brand’s service and support options can help a customer feel confident about their purchase and even encourage them to pull the trigger. They know that if they have questions or issues, there’s someone they can reach out to for help.

In some cases, the presence of free support is a competitive advantage in its own right, but the type of support available can also create good or bad customer experiences.

For instance, brands may offer support via phone, live chatbot, email, or a self-help resource center. Each of these set unique expectations for customers, and each has the power to reinforce a brand’s commitment to customer centricity.

Is a product available to order, or it is often out of stock or on backorder? If it’s a digital product, such as a website or platform, is it available 24/7 or does it frequently crash? Does your e-commerce site offer fast shipping options?

When a customer needs an item, they want it to be available to them immediately. A lack of availability at critical moments can lead to a poor customer experience.

Convenience refers to how easy it is for customers to take advantage of your offer, product, or service.

Do they have to jump through hoops or meet several criteria, or can they quickly access your product?

Generally speaking, the less friction and fewer access restrictions, the more customer-focused the experience.

Quality impacts the customer experience by making customers feel they either got their money’s worth or completely wasted it. Price is often a sign of quality to customers, so they can feel even more disheartened when they pay a premium price for an item whose quality doesn’t line up.

Likewise, customers might feel pleasantly surprised when they spend less on an item that’s high in quality and lasts a long time. When customers feel like they got their money’s worth, they’re more likely to share their experience with others.

Similar to customer service and support, response time can quickly change a customer’s perceptions for better or worse.

For instance, if a customer has a question and reaches out to your company, following up in a timely manner can boost your image. But not responding or waiting days or weeks to offer resolution can do the opposite.

Customers like having options when it comes to purchasing.

From sizes to colors to styles to price points, having different options allows you to meet individual customers’ needs at the right time. These choices allow customers to feel more in control over their purchasing experience.

No amount of customer service, pricing, or quality can compare with user-friendliness.

A poor user experience can delay customers from reaching their ultimate goal. If a product is too complicated to use, customers are likely to search for better options.

All brands carry value that make customers feel confident in their buying decisions. A high brand equity is usually the result of all of the above factors. Consistency helps you build your reputation and makes it easier for customers to say yes.

When brands focus on the customer journey, customers are automatically put at the heart of every decision. From messaging to processes to services to marketing, the customer is at the center of your business strategy. Customers know when they’re being treated as a priority, and a high level of service stands out compared to brands that aren’t as customer centric.

Tip: Read our full guide about branding and brand management to learn more about this topic.

What is Customer Experience? Definition, Challenges, Importance

The customer experience (CX) has long been emphasized in business-to-consumer (B2C settings). But CX plays just as important a role in business-to-business (B2B) environments. Anytime you want to earn a customer’s business, maintain their loyalty, and transform them from customers to brand advocates, their experiences with your company come into play. 

Even if you’re already delivering a top-notch customer experience in B2B, there’s always room for improvement. Let’s explore how you can enhance your B2B customer experience management and stand out from your competitors.

Why Is Customer Experience Important in B2B?

What Is Customer Experience Management in B2B?

5 Steps to Improve B2B Customer Experience

The Best B2B Customer Experience Examples

What are Good B2B Customer Experience Solutions?

We define B2B customer experience as the sum total of how a customer interacts with your brand and its products and services. 

Customer experience B2B sounds a lot like customer experience B2C. There’s not much difference between the two, the main one being the target audience you’re serving. 

But consider that a B2B audience may have vastly different priorities than the average consumer. What’s more, the buying journey is usually longer in a B2B setting, involves more decision makers, and may face unique challenges that aren’t seen in a B2C setting.

The Meltwater Blog

What is Brand Asset Management and How to Leverage It?

What is Customer Experience? Definition, Challenges, Importance

How to Improve B2B Customer Experience [5 Steps]

5 Best Practices for Customer Experience Analysis

What Is an Omnichannel Customer Experience? Meaning, Benefits, Examples

How To Measure Social Media Campaign Success - 5 Steps

What Is Customer Experience (CX) Design?

Customer Experience Dashboard Basics

How Influencers Are Changing The Affiliate Marketing Game

What is Bilibili and Why Should You Care?

The Ultimate Guide to Competitor Monitoring

How To Measure Customer Experience — Metrics, KPIs, Analytics