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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

Quarantined. Stuck. Isolated. It’s very likely that you are at home reading this right now – perhaps working from home or adapting to new ways of living. Your only outlet to communicate and be a part of society? Social media, Zoom, Slack… the list goes on. The audience of thousands of small businesses and large brands are all in one place — online.

It may seem strange that in times of a crisis, brands genuinely think that the consumers want to hear from them, that consumers are actively interested to know what the CEO wanted to say. Perhaps there may be nothing wrong with informing your customers on what comes next in these times, but the PR template you should be using needs to be personalised instead of something generic with the same tone, same rhetoric and basic action plan.

It is times like this where the point of view for consumers has shifted. They are now looking at the world with a far more sensitive lens, and the world is moving from a want-and-needs mentality to only needs. What does your consumer need for themselves or their family so they can be OK? Not “should I buy a new mattress, it’s an excellent price.” If only brands could act like everything is business as usual. If only campaign launches your agencies and staff had been working on for months could go on. But, this is not the case.

At a time when the world is living day to day, trying to stay up-to-date on an ever-evolving situation while also trying to remain hopeful, this is also the time that you could choose to talk, or you could choose to listen. You need to listen.

Reading Tip: Does Working From Home Work for PR and Marketing Agencies?

Brands and businesses have the opportunity to use this time to gain better audience insights and see what their consumer genuinely needs. How are they feeling? What are their pain points now? Are they using your brand or service in a new way due to their current situation?

You need to start social listening. This is why your brand needs media monitoring. You need to see what people are saying about you on your social channels. What is the overall sentiment (positive, neutral, negative)? What do they love or hate about you? What do they wish was different? This is an opportunity to gain priceless information about the people you want to love and engage with you in their customer journey. It’s audience research.

Brands should be adjusting their content strategy, making sure that any messaging is empathetic, and acknowledges what things are like right now. If you are unsure of what steps to take regarding your marketing, here is a marketing primer for the Coronavirus crisis.

In addition to adapting, you also need to see how you can best take care of your audience and determine their needs at this time. No doubt that their needs have shifted. Their financial situation has changed. Their access to transportation has changed. You need to learn what their day-to-day is like now. So listen.

To get started with social listening, you need to ask yourself specific questions:

What does my brand offer? (product, service, industry)

What social media channels do I have? (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, etc.)

What hashtags and keywords are associated with or could be related to my brand?

What budget do you have available to use for this? (This will help you determine the best tools for your needs)

Who is in charge of doing this work? Do you have an escalation process in place should you find something highly defamatory?

Once you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to determine the next steps and choose a tool that is right for you. Meltwater offers a range media monitoring and social listening tools that provides solutions for every department. Get in touch with the Meltwater Team to request a free demo today.

Using Social Listening to Regain Attention and Revenue

With consumers’ needs now shifting, find opportunities to showcase empathy and understanding. Now is not the time to sell. Now is the time to listen and embrace your audience.

Is there a way your brand can help? Is there a way you can shift your products and services to an online option? With many people self-isolating at home, consumers are relying on the internet more than ever to be their connection to the outside world. It is now how they communicate, shop, work, and more. They live online now.

Restaurants: If you are forced to close, can you donate the food in your kitchens to food pantries, schools, or other groups that are in need? If you are still open, can you offer delivery options with minimal human contact?

Tech: Zoom is setting the perfect example of how technology can make this easier. How can your program help during this time, and is it possible to offer it for free or at a discounted rate during this time?

Google has made it possible to visit museums and National Parks through virtual tour options.

Retail: Can you offer products online? Set hours just for elderly customers, so there’s a safe time for them to come when others aren’t there?

At this time, you don’t want businesses to simply stop everything. It isn’t about businesses stopping; it’s about them adapting. In this situation, it is both businesses and consumers that are forming new habits. Companies that never offered remote opportunities before will discover that there are ways their staff can work from home and provide the same value. Movie studios will find that streaming and online opportunities may be the best way to maintain profits instead of adhering to an antiquated theater first mentality.

We are all adapting as we take it day by day. When this is over, and we get to venture back into the world, it will be changed. Businesses need to use this time to prepare, learn, adapt, and work to do what it takes to be ready for a post-COVID-19 world.

NOTE: This article was originally written by Christina Garnett. To view the original post, click here

Why Now Is the Time to Practice Social Listening

After I published a recent article about how to decide if a press release should be written, I found myself in a few deeper discussions about the release itself. From these conversations I learned I have 2 more related articles ahead of me: Press release anatomy/history, and press release SEO/effectiveness. In order to understand press release SEO/effectiveness it’s important to first understand the history and anatomy of press releases, how they’ve evolved over the years, and how they haven’t evolved at all.

Press Releases Really Haven’t Changed Much

OK, OK! Yes, Press Releases have Changed a Little

The first press release. The structure looks familiar, right?

PR history is filled with notable moments in time; many of them were powered by the press release. The first press release is credited to Ivy Lee: in 1906 his agency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad at the time of an accident. Rather than waiting to see how journalists would cover the story he wrote up a release and proactively distributed it to journalists. The release told the story from the perspective of the railroad. The press release was born!

It is said that Edward Bernays, often referred to as the “the father of public relations,” took Ivy’s concept, refined it, and made it commonplace in PR.

Have a look at the image to the left: it’s Lee’s first press release as published in the New York Times. Look familiar?

When I sat down to write this article, I started as I usually do -with research. First stop: Google. A search for “press release anatomy” resulted in a thrill and a little embarrassment.

I wanted to see if my premise (that press release anatomy hasn’t changed much) was accurate. What I found, ranked at #1 on Google, was a press release anatomy article I wrote for CafePress 10 years ago. Given the opportunity I would go back in time and re-write that article, or I’d go talk to Then-Marc to give him some advice on voice, structure and layout.  But, the actual content of Then-Marc’s article remains accurate. The basic structural formula of a press release has not changed.

Headline: The most important element of a release, this should capture the readers attention and summarize your story.

Sub-Headline:  While not always necessary, this is your opportunity to build on the headline by adding secondary detail

Dateline: City of origin and the date of release

Lead Paragraph: Second only to headline, the lead paragraph needs to summarize tell your story and hook the reader.

Body Paragraph/s: The next few paragraphs are your opportunity to add story details beyond the lead

Quote/s: A quote is great when possible, preferable from C-level executives or industry experts. It’s your opportunity to have a person/voice validate the importance of your story

Boilerplate: This section allows you to explain your organization in a few sentences and if appropriate add a few hyperlinks to your website, social media pages, etc.

Contact Information: Make sure to include phone and email at minimum in case a journalist wants more info

There are two major differences in press releases today by comparison to years ago: distribution and multimedia.

Compared to 100 years ago, press releases are distributed quite differently, which of course makes perfect sense. To put it simply, distribution evolved along with technology. Its no surprise that with advances in communication technology the PR pro rolled with the times and shared releases with journalists in the ways that they’d be best received and most successful.

Tipp: Learn how to create a list of journalists and take a look at the best press release services in the UK.

Press releases in the early years = paper

Press releases in the middle years = paper + wire service

Press releases today = email +wire service + post on Website + social media

Press Release Additions Brought by Technology Advancements

Since today’s press release is a digital document, the PR pro has the opportunity to use today’s technology to better tell their story. Today’s press release often uses strategies to help stories get found by search engines, incorporate images, videos, and more.

4 multimedia press release elements to consider:

SEO keywords: What keywords would your audience use to find this news? Once you answer that question make sure that keyword is included in the release headline and body. Of course press release SEO is MUCH more complicated than that, but this is a good start. I plan to write more on press release SEO in a future article.

Video: People love video and they can be fantastic for offering more info on your story, or just making it more fun and interactive

Photos: Second only to the video, people love anything that helps them better understand a story, photos are great for illustrating your message

Links: Hyperlinks in a release, if inserted properly, can aid in SEO and drive traffic to your website

All in all, I find it amazing that – at their core – press releases have not changed all that much in over 100 years. The structure and their general purpose, getting your news to the public and journalists, has remained the same. Technology has helped press releases to evolve into a modern tool while still allowing them to maintain roots.

Up next, Press release effectiveness and SEO. Please comment if you have any input as I begin writing that story!

Press Release Anatomy and History | Not Much Has Changed

From JPMorgan to Goldman Sachs, Lloyd’s of London and more, banks are making serious bets on technology innovation while bracing for the impact of the growing fintech sector. Now billing themselves as technology groups, rather than banks, they’re hiring more AI talent and diving deep into data offerings.

"Technology is going to fundamentally transform the banking industry over the coming years." Antony Jenkins former Barclays CEO via CNBC

Do you want to be an investment banker today? Learn to code. Want to be an analyst? Learn to code. A marketer? Sales executive? Product manager? Market researcher? Learn to code.

Having a solid degree and field experience alone are no longer enough to compete for spots at some of the world’s top institutions.

Specifically in the finance sector, firms globally are making moves to embrace the impact of AI and data-driven technologies. Today when you interact with the likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, you’re no longer entrusting your cash to banks. Instead, both now bill themselves as ‘technology groups.’ According to the Financial Times, “JPMorgan spends $10.8bn a year on tech, more than any other Wall Street group, and technologists account for about a fifth of the company’s 252,000-strong workforce.”

“Coding is not for just tech people, it is for anyone who wants to run a competitive company in the 21st century,” said Mary Callahan Erdoes, head of JPMorgan Asset Management. “These are skillsets of the future . . . By better understanding coding, our business teams can speak the same language as our technology teams, which ultimately drives better tools and solutions for our clients.”

In a move to better position itself on the tech ladder, for instance, Lloyd’s announced last month a global search for technology talent to fuel their new “Lloyd’s Lab,” designed to “help the insurance giant become even more competitive by securing partnerships with innovative global tech start-ups.”

“This is all about taking us into a technology-driven future,” Inga Beale, Lloyd’s CEO, told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe. “There is huge demand from the market saying, ‘Come on, let’s get talking about innovation.’”

For traditional banks, the threat of innovative and agile startups feels increasingly real. Last year, $58B was raised globally in the fintech space. As well, those fintech companies “don’t suffer from legacy IT systems and can provide banking services 50% cheaper than big banks.” These banks are recognizing they need to transform themselves or risk being left in the dust.

According to the Financial Times, JPMorgan is putting hundreds of new investment bankers and asset managers through mandatory coding lessons, including all 300 new recruits in its asset management division. Overall, a third of the bank’s analysts and associates have taken a coding program.

The team will begin with Python, which will enable them to effectively analyze and interpret large sets of data, with plans of incorporating data science, machine learning and cloud computing in the next year.

The importance of data analysis in the financial industry cannot be understated, as the alternative data industry continues to grow, and the ability to remain competitive lies increasingly in information and insights advantages.

Top financial institutions continue to hire for tech, data science and engineering talent to help them better mine the incredible amount of data they have available, while working to bring their current staff up to speed.

Goldman Sachs prioritizes tech innovation

Over at Goldman Sachs, ‘strats’ have been alive and well for years, working to develop technologies that make the Goldman team more productive.

According to a report on HBR.org, Goldman has repurposed the role of its Strats team (previously known as financial engineers or data scientists) to create a unified engineering front that works with bankers and clients directly, with 2 key goals in mind:

to digitize bankers’ workflows through tools that improve productivity and quality of life

to use technology that is to engage clients in a more modern, data-driven way

The team has also been leveraging external data insights to build apps for specific purposes, like those that “use machine learning algorithms to sift through SEC mutual fund filings to better understand how shareholders relate to each other. In addition, machine learning has been used to analyze the factors that make some companies more vulnerable to activist investors than others.”

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein presented on the firm’s future strategy at the Credit Suisse Financial Services Conference. Technology and innovation was a major part of what he discussed.

“Engineering underpins our growth initiatives,” Blankfein said, reiterating his comments from 2016 that positioned Goldman squarely in the tech space, competing with the likes of Google and Facebook." - Lloyd Blankfien

Back in 2016, the New York Times wrote on then-CIO R. Martin Chavez, who has been spearheading many of these efforts. Their vision was that Goldman will still have the chief product of a bank, but “the ways in which customers get access to that money will rely more on software and less on the bankers who traditionally delivered Goldman’s services.”

Today, the firm’s flagship loan and savings app, Marcus, has received significant traction as a prime example of the innovative technology they are working to develop in order to remain competitive in the face of the fintech revolution.

According to a recent report by EY, advancements in new technologies are driving change that will enable banks to:

Better serve customers and increase access

Provide enhanced insights both from a risk management and customer service perspective

These innovations are coming both from internal capabilities and external partnerships, driven by the need to derive insights from the vast amount of data we have available. Today, data scientists and programmers are proving just as valuable as traditional analysts. Is a swift and successful digital transformation of the banking industry the answer to their successful navigation of the coming AI revolution?

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and more double down on tech innovation

Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social networks, with 400 million members sharing 80 million pieces of visual content every day. It’s also the network that accounts for highest engagement per post at over 4%, whereas platforms like Facebook and Twitter achieve less than 1% engagement.

With such eye-catching stats, you would expect companies to flock to Instagram to take advantage of this active, engaged audience. However, only 34% of brands around the world are on Instagram, compared to 80% and 70% on Facebook and Twitter, respectively.

So what gives? To Instagram’s defense, it is still relatively new in comparison to the other networks, and is often seen as more of a niche audience. It’s easy for companies to write off Instagram because they don’t feel that their products or services are “visual” enough, but most industries can find a way to make it work. Some of the most successful accounts don’t outwardly promote their offerings at all, but rather focus on their team, facility, and technology to add a visual appeal to their social presence.

If you’re unsure as to whether or not your company is a good fit for Instagram, or you simply want to take your profile to the next level, take a page from these six brands that are absolutely killing it on the network.

Nasty Gal began its rise to fashion royalty on Myspace (when that was still a thing), so there isn’t a better place to start than with a brand that was launched through the help of social media. Prior to becoming a full-blown ecommerce business (that now has two brick-and-mortar stores in Los Angeles), Nasty Gal relied on social media to follow the latest trends and see what its target audience of consumers was interested in talking about.

As Nasty Gal has evolved over the past few years, they’ve continued their social media dominance, especially on Instagram. The network naturally lends itself to edgy, fashionable images, which is exactly what Nasty Gal stands for. They’re a company with sass and attitude, and that’s what their audience loves about them.

On their Instagram account, you’ll have a visual experience that perfectly mirrors their website, providing brand continuity across platforms. They’ve also created their own hashtag, #NastyGalsDoItBetter, that they share across social networks to add to this consistent image. Nasty Gal’s clothing and accessories are bright, glamorous, and far from ordinary – and they tend to place these pieces on neutral backgrounds so that the products remain the focal point. Keeping the focus on the products themselves prevents distractions, while adding to that luxurious, high-fashion feel.

Key Takeaway: Let your products and services do the talking. Complex backgrounds or landscapes aren’t always necessary to evoke your brand image.

GoPro is the perfect example of a company that doesn’t have an overtly attractive or flashy product, but the nature of the photography industry lends itself flawlessly to Instagram. In most of their posts, you don’t see the product at all, but rather the point of view from the camera.

In addition to creating a highly cravable product, GoPro has successfully created a culture of adventure around their brand. Every image they share begs the question of where you’ll take your GoPro next. Some of these visuals reflect once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like skydiving, whereas others show you how you can incorporate a GoPro into your day-to-day activities.

By using these vivid, adrenaline-inducing images on their Instagram account, they’re able to feature their product without outwardly “promoting” it and saying “Hey, here’s our camera. You should go buy it!”

Even though GoPro is another example of a brand that clearly fits within the Instagram model, it represents a large number of industries that may not have the most beautiful product, but contribute to a thrilling and visually appealing experience.

Key Takeaway: Look beyond your product or service to how your customers use it, and make that a focal point of your Instagram strategy.

Warby Parker is a company that was unknown by many until recently, and they have their social media savviness to thank for their rapid rise in the eyeglass industry. Affordable products, hassle-free returns, and a charitable mindset are all at the forefront of Warby Parker’s social presence, growing their follower base exponentially in the past couple of years.

Their Instagram account shares a combination of original and customer-submitted photos that balance practicality and comic relief in perfect harmony. In many of their images, dogs are wearing their glasses, so it’s safe to say they’re not just a typical member of Corporate America. Other images feature just the glasses themselves to make them the focus of the post, as well as situations where you would likely need your glasses, such as at school or work.

Beyond the products they sell, Warby Parker is also known for their “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” initiative, where they donate a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair that is purchased. So far they’ve donated over one million pairs of glasses, and they’re not stopping there. Using social media platforms such as Instagram is a great way to get your customers on board with a cause that is close to your heart, while also adding a more human element to your social presence.

Key Takeaway: Don’t take yourself too seriously, and let your followers see the human behind the brand.

FIJI Water sells a very basic product with a high-class feel. Water may not seem like an industry that would have much to contribute to the visual nature of Instagram, but the company crushes that notion – and then some. While staring at images of water bottles would likely get boring pretty quickly, FIJI Water’s profile is a nice blend of product placement and beautiful scenery from around the world. The company’s means of differentiation is that their water is bottled directly at the source of a natural aquifer in Fiji, and their imagery of bright blue water and serene landscapes plays perfectly into the FIJI Water brand.

Their Instagram photos show everyday situations where you would be likely to have a bottle of water by your side, fitting this “luxury brand” into a consumer’s daily regimen. They also emphasize the importance of a healthy lifestyle, often featuring a bottle of their water alongside a home-cooked meal or someone engaging in physical activity. There’s been a huge push among the medical community to replace high calorie, high sugar beverages with water, so FIJI Water uses this to their advantage.

A potential point of contention with the brand is their price. However, despite the fact that their water sells for two or three times the price of their competitors, you don’t really get that feel from their Instagram account. The way they position their brand makes them welcoming and relatable, giving them a voice in a relatively monotonous industry. FIJI Water is the perfect balance of luxury and leisure, and represents a viable strategy for many luxury brands that are afraid of alienating potential customers.

Key Takeaway: Luxury brands can still be approachable.

It’s football season, so how could I not talk about the NFL’s Instagram account? Most sports enthusiasts on Instagram probably already follow the NFL, as the account serves as a central location for anything and everything you need to keep up with the league. Even though we all have teams that we are unequivocally devoted to (Go Bills!), the NFL covers each team fairly and in an engaging way.

In addition to traditional means of following the sport, the Fantasy Football craze is at its prime. Instagram serves as a perfect platform for the sports obsessed to gather and recap the happenings of the week.

The NFL’s Instagram posts include highlights, promos for upcoming Sunday and Monday Night Football games, scores, player stats, and much more. It’s evident that the league’s fans are at the forefront of their social media strategy, and if you happen to miss a game, you can just check out their Instagram account for everything you need to know to get caught up.

This is a perfect example for brands that don’t provide a tangible product to consumers, but rather an experience or entertainment. Companies can effectively utilize Instagram by playing off of consumer emotions, telling a story, and giving them a VIP-like experience.

Key Takeaway: You don’t have to sell a physical product to have a place on Instagram.

Yes, you read that right. The company that sells aluminum foil and wax paper is not only on Instagram, but is a poster child of how to do it right. Since Reynold’s Wrap is closely tied to the food and beverage industry, they emphasize the variety of creations you can make with their products. They even have original recipes on their website, which they feature a link to in their Instagram bio and in the text of individual posts.

But the most captivating part of this account is that each image connects to the next one, so when you look at several next to each other, it looks like one large image. Other brands have caught on to this idea, but it’s interesting that a company with seemingly little to offer the visual community of Instagram has made such a name for itself.

In addition to their creative approach, Reynold’s Instagram reflects larger ideals of health and wellness, as well as the importance of sitting down to have a meal with family and friends. They subtly evoke these concepts throughout their images and the prominence of their recipes across social networks.

Key Takeaway: Even the most “boring” of brands can be a social media game changer.

With Instagram on the up-and-up, social media marketers are still figuring out how they can make it work for their company. The above brands cover a wide variety of industries and product/service offerings but all have made a name for themselves on the network, which goes to show that practically anyone can get involved. Most importantly, it comes down to staying true to your brand and having a good mix of promotional and non-promotional content.

Instagram is a platform for people to create personal connections and gain insight into the life of someone else, so keeping that in mind when creating the perfect image or video is critical. But if you can provide a human feel and add life to something that might not initially seem “exciting,” you’ll effectively give Instagram users what they’re looking for.

This article was written by Kim Speier from Business2Community and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

6 Companies That Are Killing It on Instagram

The Coronavirus Pandemic has had a quick and fast impact on the way we live our lives. People around the globe have been asked to stay home as much as possible and practice social distancing. Now, more than ever, there is a need to quickly and effectively adapt, transform, work together as a team and manage crisis situations and communications across the board.

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Those who can, are working from home. For many, remote work is a very new experience. And, school and business closures mean many are having to work from home while sharing a space with loved ones. This means it is essential to ensure that projects run smoothly and collaborations can still ensue.

Klear’s Influencer Management Tool –  want to help you make a smooth transition to remote work, and have outlined some of their top 5 features that will help teams manage their influencer campaigns while working from home.

1. Influencer CRM: Keep The Whole Team Updated on Project Status

Working from home does pose its own challenges, like not having immediate access to a coworker. Especially when you work in a team, you may need to ensure that you have everything mapped out in front of you; what project you are working on, when the project is due, and roadblocks that depend on your coworkers.

Klear’s CRM is a great way to see the status of your entire influencer campaign at a glance. Their CRM has some built-in features that help the entire team stay aligned and maintain clear communication:

Notes: Team members can directly share feedback regarding specific influencers in a campaign. Do you like them, love them, would you never want to collaborate with them again? Add a note so everyone on your team knows how you feel. Everyone with access to Klear can view your notes.

Owner: Don’t step on any toes, even from the safety of your home. The owner tab within the CRM lets you know who’s managing communication with a specific influencer. This way everyone on the team knows where responsibility lies.

Agreements: Klear helps users avoid emails by allowing most communication to happen within the Klear portal. You can send and sign influencer agreements within Klear, and easily see the status of an agreement (signed or pending).

Remember, when most communication is digital, there is a lot of subtexts. Less is usually not more, so write detailed notes so no one misinterprets you.

2. Influencer Tagging: Let Your Team Know Who You’re Interested In

Klear’s influencer search engine is a great tool for you and your team to find the perfect influencer for a new campaign. If you’re used to tapping your coworker on the shoulder and scooting over to a friend’s desk to review a profile, influencer tagging will help you maintain the same workflow. Once you’ve identified an influencer you want to collaborate with, or that have enjoyed collaborating with, simply tag the influencer.

Tags are color-coded and can have names. For example, if you see an influence that would be perfect for you #RedLabel campaing, give the influencer a red tag and name it “red label”. All influencers under a specific tag will be listed together and accessible for the entire team to view.

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