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Influencer marketing is evolving, and so is the way brands measure success. That’s why Meltwater is proud to announce a new partnership with YouTube, integrating YouTube’s Creator Partnerships API directly into our Influencer Marketing platform.

Introducing Verified YouTube Data in Meltwater Influencer Marketing

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

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

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

Chinese social media is a contextually vast and culturally rich landscape. Undeniably, there is a huge market opportunity. The country’s most downloaded super-app, WeChat, has a billion monthly active users and is widely used by people across the world including Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States.

Despite its massive native uptake and the amount of data these apps offer, Chinese social media are still a lesser known commodity to the west of Asia Pacific region. For example, there are more than 45 billion messages produced daily on WeChat. Tapping on that market data and learning what they say about your brand is immeasurably beneficial. 

Chinese social media represents a gargantuan opportunity for brands to capitalise. Extending a brand’s influence and reach within Chinese social media can boost your marketing strategies in the Chinese market. Each platform has its own definitive traits which cater to different social functions which the Chinese audience use them for. 

Depending on the content angle or demographics a brand is looking at, Chinese social media plays an influential role in consumer behaviour. The conversations surrounding a product or post-event discussions are critical because they set the tone of sentiment revolving around your brand. 

Infusing insights from Chinese social media data to your current array of marketing intelligence and analytics is a must-have if a brand wants to make their foray into the burgeoning Chinese market. Read on as Meltwater delves into the intricacies and unique marketing opportunities in the Chinese social media landscape.

Using the Right Strategy for Chinese Social Media

Brand Awareness in Chinese Social Media: Lululemon

Before launching that marketing strategy for your Chinese social media strategy, it is imperative that you understand the definitive apps in the market. With thousands of apps out there in the market, these are the four main social media players in China. 

As highlighted earlier, this is China’s super-app. This is the foremost social media app that has become a function for everyday life. From displacing physical money to creating micro-communities to housing end-to-end retail experience within its system, the app has become a necessity. 

With that being said, its user base ranges across demographics. Only WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have a higher user base than WeChat, but the breadth of their functions are far less comprehensive than the Chinese super-app. 

The best way brands can utilise this platform is to capitalise on how WeChat users share their location, send video messages, make voice calls, file complaints, and make appointments, among many other things. As a brand, your presence on WeChat is crucial because it’s the only messaging app that has the potential to directly reach and engage the Chinese market from the get-go.

Despite only being a fledgling social media app which only celebrated its fifth birthday, ByteDance’s Douyin is a behemoth in the Chinese social media landscape. The social media video app is primarily used for creating and sharing short-form videos with content ranging from lip-synching, comedy, and discovering talent. In short, Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, which is also owned by ByteDance. 

There are more than 600 million monthly active users in 2021 and hosting a similar architecture as TikTok, people are scrolling through an endless loop of content in the app. This has led to a boom in social influencers and brands are finding new ways to reach out to their consumers. 

Through Douyin, there is a shift in the way consumers respond to brands. They want to participate in the experience and brands looking to connect with the Chinese market should look towards Douyin. This platform is the best way to build your brand’s influencer marketing strategy in the Chinese social media space.

Being one of the forerunners of Chinese social media, Sina Weibo is the Chinese version of microblogging platform Twitter. Launched in 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 550 million monthly active users in 2021. Brands know that social listening is a powerful strategy to identify “hot” topics and emerging trends. This is more important when it is related to their brand. 

With the dynamic conversations evolving within the Sina Weibo community, it becomes an excellent tool for social media managers to use when they are looking for new ideas. Brands can engage directly with their audiences and people can instantaneously voice their opinions, attracting other opinions from the community. By focusing on a keyword search within the Sina Weibo data, this method allows brands to get insights into what people are talking about and the nature of the discussions. 

Brands can also see trends such as when is the best time to post, search through the results and see if there is any activity on relevant topics. The results will give you a good idea of what people might be looking for and how relevant they are to your brand.

Consumers love visuals and this is the core push for the next Chinese social media giant. Xiaohongshu or Little Red Book, is China’s topmost fashion and luxury shopping social media platform. Consumers and influencers flock to the platform to inspire and get inspired from visualising products in real-life presentations. 

The content sharing site allows brands and users to post pictures of products while at the same time curating visual experiences of what they are doing with a certain product. Reviews, tips and criticism are collated within the platform and huge followings are established for trendy products and influencers. The widely known Pinterest app shares similar characteristics and Little Red Book is the Chinese market equivalent.

With insights drawn from an app such as Little Red book, which draws about 30 million interactions per month, brands can better target their audiences in the Chinese market. Brands can boost the sales of their best-selling products as well as optimise strategies according to their popularity. 

A social media strategy is key for any brand these days. Undoubtedly, a comprehensive social media presence gives brands an extra boost to their reputation and business. This is not new knowledge.  However, in China, the social media landscape is different in so many ways. To better understand social media in China, you have to realise that a different set of rules applies there. 

Social media networks that are popular with users in China, such as WeChat, Sina Weibo, Douyin and the Little Red Book, wield widespread influence in the country’s economy. The vast opportunities to be found in these social media networks make China’s social media landscape an highly relevant place for brands to explore. 

With Western social media apps such as Instagram, Snap and Twitter focusing on the networking and monetising their platforms to generate ad revenues, Chinese social media apps have taken a different approach. These apps are aimed to become part of their networks, the first port of call for how the Chinese market behaves and lives. These apps have become synonymous with everyday life, especially WeChat. 

It is no secret that social media has become an integral part of Chinese society. It is used to create connections, build communities, and share experiences, but it is no secret that these networking sites are also being used as a platform for brands to reach out to their customers, grow their reach, and promote themselves.

Social listening then becomes a key component of how brands connect with their customers and audiences. With Chinese social media, brands can roll out their campaigns in a less prominent way, but highly effective, and involve the interaction of a loyal customer base. 

Niche and upcoming brands should also capitalise on the powers of Little Red Book because the platform is a great way to establish a digital presence in the market without incorporating a physical space. Through analytics, they can find out which influencers are driving their brand growth and focus on that area to develop a cult brand status.

Making a splash in the Chinese social media landscape is a big task but it is not an impossible one. Armed with well-researched market strategies and a nuanced understanding of what makes the Chinese audience tick, brands can make that leap into the Chinese market.

Brands can use Chinese social media to accelerate their brand recognition in the market by simplifying the consumer journey. Consumers these days are ultra-curious and the ease of searching information within Chinese social media is the first step of that journey. Incorporating an e-commerce aspect is also imperative as well as a comprehensive influencer or Key Opinion Leader (KOL) strategy in place. 

Here is a brand which has made a huge impact in the Chinese social media landscape with the help of media intelligence and analytics.

How Lululemon Cornered the Athleisure Market in China

Founded in 1998, Canadian yoga-inspired activewear brand Lululemon have found a niche in the Chinese social media landscape. Creating a positive buzz on their products, Chinese social media users have started raving about the brand’s relatively quiet but exponential growth in the Chinese market. Positive reviews and community-driven content have been an excellent jumping board for the brand to launch their strategy in the highly competitive sportswear industry. 

With more than 68,000 mentions across the biggest Chinese social media apps, Lululemon is building an engaged fanbase. Fitness enthusiasts are parading their products in Little Red Book and conversations are driving interest in the brand through Sina Weibo and WeChat.

What is most impressive is that most of these mentions began in the second half of 2021. The company became the talk of the Chinese market and conversations buzzed with excitement in the Chinese social media apps. These trending conversations on Lululemon drove the brand’s popularity in China.  

Recent reports show that China was Lululemon’s biggest growth market in its international operations. Results in the third quarter showed that revenue doubled in China and drove the best growth in overall sales in the international arena. This super-fast growth mirrors the trending social conversations in the graph above, emphasising the correlative relationship. 

With 59 stores across China, the brand is doubling its efforts in Chinese social media and focusing on community-based marketing. Diversified approaches include empowering local teams to reach out to their customers as store ambassadors and engaging customers on online community boards with product launches and events. With athleisure wear becoming the norm for work, Lululemon has cornered this market to its advantage in China. 

This correlation between brand mentions and an uptick in revenue highlights the importance of understanding the Chinese social media landscape. Increasing brand awareness strategies as well as retaining customer loyalty within the Chinese social media has become an important aspect of any marketing plan in China.

Understanding the Chinese Social Media Landscape

As critical figureheads, Chief Executive Officers play a key role in how corporations are perceived by the public, and so it's vital that organizations keep their fingers on the pulse of CEO-focused media.

In collaboration with .companion, a data consultancy and KPI expert, Meltwater presents the 2021 CEO Echo; a monthly media intelligence analysis of CEOs heading up some of the world's largest brands. The ranking leverages Meltwater's media intelligence capabilities and automated analysis by the .companion bot to offer readers highlights and benchmarks across the following areas:

Last month, the .companion CEO metrics bot found 60% more CEO mentions than the average of the previous months. Overall, 43% of mentions captured by the CEO Echo were generated by online editorial content, while social media generated 57%. In November, CEO Echo content saw engagement jump by 449%. 31% of all CEO  mentions were related to financial news, meaning they simply referred to company figures that are required to be disclosed by law. In contrast, the context of 69% of  mentions was linked to corporate agendas. Overall, the tonality of  mentions was equally positive and negative.

Jes Staley, Barclays CEO, dominates with 20% CEO Echo coverage

What role does a CEO play in a company's overall corporate messaging, whether voluntary or involuntary? The CEO Digital Footprint aims to answer this question.

In November, Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays, received the highest amount of media coverage. His share of voice totaled 19.7%, the largest footprint of all top board members. In second place was Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, with 13.2%, and Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen took the third spot with 6.8% share of all mentions. 88% of conversations around Staley’s echo were not related to company financials and thus were above average for agenda-driving topics and content. 12% of the Barclays CEO's echo came from editorial media and 88% from social media. Content that mentioned Staley generated 8 interactions (clicks, shares, likes) per mention. This shows that audiences are somewhat indifferent and made Staley the 153rd most engaged CEO in the ranking. Furthermore, mentions for Jes Staley were significantly more negative than positive - we can assume this had a corresponding impact on his overall reputation. 

Carrefour’s CEO, Alexandre Bompard, takes the number 1 spot

Two common goals widely shared by media teams are communicating key messages and building a favorable reputation, both of which rely heavily on editorial mentions. The Communication Excellence ranking analyses and aggregates media volume (removing financial report listings).

Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour ranked first in November. Outside of the paywall, 61% of his digital echo discussed the CEO in stories beyond financial figures. Stories generated 170 engagements per mention, signifying readers are highly interested. Furthermore, coverage was significantly more positive than negative. As a result, the response to Carrefour’s CEO received 4.0 points. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, CEO of Oxfam International came in second place with a score of 3.6 and Amanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva took third place with a Communication Excellence score of 3.6 points. 

Chris O'Shea, Centrica’s CEO, wins first place

These days, simply having a social media profile is not enough. If you want to have an impact on opinion leaders outside of editorial offices or on consumers and digital elites who are not easily accessible through the mass media, you have to be mentioned frequently on social media. The Social Excellence Index answers whether a company's attempts at this have been successful.

Last month, Chris O'Shea, CEO of Centrica, topped the ranking with a Social Excellence score of 3.5 points. 60% of the conversations came from social media and his engagement was somewhat indifferent with 5 interactions per mention. Moreover, the sentiment of his mentions was 72% positive, meaning O'Shea was well ahead of runners-up Kenichiro Yoshida, CEO of Sony, with 2.4 points and Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, who placed third with 2.2 points. 

Marco Alverà, CEO of Snam, has the highest number of mentions surrounding social responsibility

The .companion metrics bot also determines whether CEOs appear in the digital media as leaders in the context of the UN's sustainable development goals, e.g. in the context of social responsibility or climate and environmental protection. Our Responsibility Index shows how well this has been achieved. For this index, the metrics bot only analyses mentions related to sustainability-related topics.

In November, Marco Alverà, CEO of Snam saluted us from first place in the responsibility ranking, with 50% of Snam's CEO mentions related to social responsibility topics. His engagement rate was 4966 which can be considered highly engaged. The tonality of media conversations was significantly more positive than negative. Overall, Alverà’s Responsibility Index came to 17.2 points. Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, followed in second place with 12.0 points, and Jérôme Lambert, CEO of Richemont, in third place with 2.0 points. 

Peter Wennink, CEO of ASML Holding, takes the number 1 spot for the financial echo

CEO mentions in the context of balance sheet figures offer little scope for setting content-related agendas but are crucial for building investor confidence. In this environment, the metrics bot determines which CEOs were mentioned from a financial standpoint, forming an index for investor communication.

In November, the .companion metrics bot identified ASML Holding's CEO, Peter Wennink, as the top communicator for investors after he achieved 38.0 points. 72% of his mentions were related to the financial environment, which is 1.2 times this month's average. His readership was highly interested, indicated by an engagement rate of 31953.8, and he experienced significantly more positive than negative comments. He is followed in second and third place by Theodor Weimer, CEO of Deutsche Börse, with 7.4 points, and Alain Dehaze, CEO of Adecco (5.3 points). 

Media conversations were tracked and analyzed globally with the help of the market-leading monitoring tool, Meltwater

All content is in German and/or English and publicly accessible across websites, forums, and social media

The text and content of the CEO Echo are generated automatically by the .companion metrics bot

All Excellence index values are based on three criteria: 
1. How often the respective CEO is mentioned in a certain context 
2. How many of those mentions were positive
3. How many engagements did those posts and articles received

While it is necessary to have an above-average share of mentions in the respective category it's still possible to score high on a certain index despite one of the sub-criteria receiving results that are somewhat sub-par


For individual evaluation or questions about the KPI bot, please email contact@companion.de 

For a customized report involving any given CEO, please email contact@companion.de.

For further information on Meltwater's brand and reputation management services, including 1-1 advice for your business or the creation of a more advanced brand/CEO media analysis report, simply fill out the form below.

The CEO Echo | November 2021 Rankings | Categories: Communication, Social, Responsibility & Investor Excellence

Behind every big win is a team that enabled the way to victory. Success stories are built by teams, especially in the area of driving the goals of a high-performing business.

It’s the difference between a well-oiled machine and one that fails to work because parts are incompatible. When everyone is a good team player and works well with others, teams are better able to overcome conflict, maintain productivity, and move the business forward.

Knowing the value of great teamwork is one thing; building a solid team within your organization is quite another.

Here’s how you can transform your individual performers into a synergized team of winning professionals.

What Makes an Effective Team in Business?

The Benefits of Building an Effective Team

How to Improve Teamwork in Existing Teams

Answering the question “What makes an effective team?” is a lot like choosing who you should include in your team. The real answer is that it varies by team.

Different teams have different dynamics. A virtual team will interact much differently than those that have in-person team meetings, for example. It’s very much like a puzzle--where one piece fits on one team, that same piece might be a poor match for another team.

We can look at teams in a generalized sense to find some common denominators. Let’s look at some characteristics of an effective team:

Good leaders anchor the team. They provide direction, communicate the team’s mission and vision, and ensure team members have the resources they need to do their jobs. Great leaders listen to their team, give and receive constructive feedback, and make decisions in the best interest of organizational goals. They’re also powerful delegators – because no one person can do it all themselves.

Communication skills are essential to every part of teamwork. Without it, team members risk having different ideas about what they’re supposed to accomplish.

Many issues in a project can be traced back to poor communication. Unclear expectations lead to conflict, wasted resources, and lots of rework. Every team member should strive to become a good communicator for the benefit of those around them.

<div style="background-color: #c4f4f4; padding: 20px;">Tip: Learn more about <a href="https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/internal-communications">internal communication</a></div>

Great teams are those who not only contribute to a goal but also take ownership of their work. When they make a mistake, they step up to fix it. They don’t waste time pointing fingers or not picking up the slack. These are hallmarks of a great team player.

Ownership isn't just about assigning team roles. It also means taking pride in your work. You’ve got skin in the game and want to see the project succeed, and you do what it takes to see it through.

Successful teams foster an environment where everyone feels valued. Everyone should have the opportunity to share their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. This is how new ways of thinking that can ultimately lead to better project outcomes are created.

Teams without trust often struggle to meet objectives. A lack of trust deteriorates relationships. This can lead to unnecessary conflict, a lack of ownership, and a lower sense of morale.

But when trust is high, so is employee engagement. Trust is essential for all members of the team. It fosters a positive attitude, creates a place of psychological safety, ensures all voices are heard, and leads to more successful teamwork.

As the old saying goes, “Two heads are better than one.” But what exactly do you gain from teamwork?

Let’s outline the benefits of effective team working:

Whether you’re working on a new social media brand campaign or developing a comprehensive digital strategy, it takes a heaping dose of creativity to stand out online.

Brainstorming as a team can let new concepts take flight. Shared input can result in turning good ideas into great ones. Combining experiences from multiple team members lets you see things from perspectives other than your own. As your team discovers new ideas, the shared enthusiasm can help drive those ideas forward.

Teams are often greater than the sum of their parts. When teams combine their skills and energy, each individual’s strengths multiply. Teammates build on each other’s talents to improve their own approaches. In the end, everyone can walk away from a project knowing more than they did at the beginning of the project.

Conflict resolution will always be a welcomed skill in business. But employees that don’t have the opportunity to engage in conflict won’t be able to develop this skill. The ability to resolve conflicts amicably and productively comes only from experience. Working in teams, conflict is bound to occur. This creates new learning opportunities for everyone involved and can make individuals more resilient and open to feedback.

Whether your goal is to become a better social listener or grow your brand reach, you can achieve your goals faster with more hands on deck.

More hands allow you to work on more objectives simultaneously. You can tap into the unique skill sets of each team member, allowing them to do what they do best and get the most for their efforts.

Effective teams and good teamwork skills don’t just “happen.” Sometimes, you’ll get lucky and certain pieces will fall perfectly into place. But if you want to rely on more than just luck, you will want to put forth an effort to create a high-performing team.

Here’s how you can build an effective team from the ground up:

Teams need to be on the same page from Day 1. Establishing clear goals upfront lets every team member know what they’re working toward. Setting goals early also gives team leaders a way to hold each person accountable for their contributions.

Once the team understands the main objective, start breaking down the work into individual parts. This might be assigning each person tasks related to their strengths. Or you might create micro-teams of twos and threes.

Each person or group should have a clear understanding of what’s expected of them. This means establishing deadlines, offering access to resources, and setting parameters when necessary.

As teams are working on their tasks, it’s important that each person consider the team as a whole and the shared goal they’re working toward. Setting ground rules for the team can help each project move efficiently. This might be as simple as asking each person to be punctual for meetings. Or it might be as complex as using a Kanban board system so everyone can keep track of team progress.

Team success depends on everyone’s commitment. When someone is not meeting deadlines or is turning in lackluster work, it affects the group as a whole. The team leader should be prepared to enforce expectations for the project and take corrective action when necessary. Accountability is key when one person can affect the entire group’s performance.

Continuous feedback allows teams to adjust their approach on the fly and maintain their momentum. Don’t just wait for feedback to happen, though. Team leaders should frequently ask for feedback to find ways to become more effective. Then, they should be prepared to act on any key takeaways from the feedback.

As a team project progresses, it's important to evaluate the team's performance as a whole. Are you meeting deadlines? If not, what are the challenges that are holding you back? Is it friction between team members or a lack of resources?

Both success and failure are shared between all team members. Evaluating team performance often can help to pinpoint issues and fix them before they derail the entire assignment.

It’s always a good idea to look for ways to improve how team members work together. Knowing how to work well in a team is a skill that will serve each person for the rest of their career.

Here are some tips on how to improve teamwork if you already have a seasoned team in place.

Teams that have worked together for a while might look like they have it all figured out. But don’t take their longevity for granted. There’s almost always room for more effective teamwork.

One way to work more effectively as a team is to do a team health checkup. This is your opportunity to speak with individual team members about their experiences. Ask tough questions, such as who is the most difficult to work with, their biggest challenges, and what they like least about their team.

Sometimes, problems can be swept under the rug in the spirit of teamwork. Team members put differences aside to keep making progress, but small problems can turn into major issues if they’re not properly addressed. If there’s a way you can make these problems truly disappear, the entire team will benefit.

Take the time to review the mechanics of how your team works together. Are there any communication barriers? Could you use a better organizational system for assigning tasks and tracking progress?

Communication is the root of great teamwork. Reviewing processes and procedures can help to give everyone clarity around team goals and leave no room for guesswork.

Teams work better together when they trust each other. One way to enhance this trust is by encouraging teams to socialize beyond work. Help them get to know each other so they feel comfortable sharing their ideas. This lets team members understand each other's tendencies, communication styles, and other characteristics that build respect and familiarity.

When building strong teams, the best place to start is focusing on effective team communication. How teams communicate affects everything from the work performed to the final project outcome (and everything in between).

It reduces the chance of errors, which in turn reduces the risk of wasting resources and having to rework certain tasks.

When teams have a clear, consistent way to communicate assignments, feedback, questions, and concerns, each team member can work as a group member and not just as an individual.

At Meltwater, we’ve designed our tools to keep teams working in sync toward their goals. Contact us today to schedule a demo.

Teamwork Guide - How To Build An Effective Team

Good internal communication is one of the most valuable assets in your business. With open, clear, and frequent communication, your team can work toward specific goals and objectives. You share ideas more easily and leave nothing to misinterpretation.

That said, good communication isn't natural for everyone. It's a skill that each person must develop and hone. Even then, barriers in communication can arise and unravel your plans, create confusion, and turn progress on its head.

To improve communication, identify the barriers standing between you and a clear message. Understand what barriers in communication look like, where they come from, and most importantly, how to get rid of them.

Here’s your guide to effective communication in the workplace.

What Causes Communication Problems in the Workplace?

Why Communication Barriers Are Bad for Business

What Are the Main Types of Communication Barriers?

Common Communication Problems in Business

How to Overcome Barriers to Communication

Poor communication causes $62.4 million in losses each year, according to an SHRM survey. There are many reasons it’s such a pervasive problem.

First, humans are a unique breed. We speak the same language and express ourselves in various ways in all aspects of life. But still, we each communicate differently.

We have preferences for how we send and receive messages. We respond to different stimuli. Some of us are more forgetful or easily distracted than others, which leads to communication mistakes.

There’s also the matter of personal experience and perspective. We each set different expectations for communicating with others. One person might think it’s acceptable to check email once a day, but another may check email every hour, for example.

Different people may receive things like tone and clarity in different ways. An exclamation point used to express excitement might be misinterpreted as anger or urgency. A person in a hurry might make a blunt statement to save time, but the person receiving the message might feel inferior or chastised as a result.

Even the definition of a good interpersonal relationship can vary from person to person. Some people take issue with a person talking too much, while others might talk a lot because they think it's their strong suit.

For these reasons, being a great communicator is a skill to learn and develop; it doesn't happen overnight. It requires a focus on nuance and a depth of knowledge in all the types of ways people communicate to overcome barriers. But many will agree that taking the time to develop this skill will always be worth the investment.

The financial losses caused by poor communication can be astronomical. Why?

Internal communication issues hinder productivity and progress. When teams don’t communicate well, it can cause a ripple effect that increases project costs. Teams may have to rework tasks because someone misunderstood the directions. They may miss project deadlines. That can lead to client dissatisfaction and problems with your organization's reputation.

Another way poor communication impacts business is in team morale. Poor communication leads to job dissatisfaction and a hostile work environment.

Co-workers might question their abilities to do their job when they don’t understand what to do. They might get reprimanded for making mistakes or passed over for promotions. Teams that don’t handle conflict well are more likely to let it affect their work.

Communication barriers are bad for business. They lead to over-complicated conversations and thwart progress. The inverse to this is also true. Fostering good communication skills can help you avoid mistakes. It leads to better outcomes for the company, its employees, and its customers.

Are you facing communication barriers at work? Let’s take a closer look at the different types of barriers to communication:

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