United States

AI adoption is no longer the challenge—trusted context is. Most organizations have AI tools, but many still rely on disconnected, stale, or unverified data, limiting the quality and trustworthiness of AI-generated outputs. Meltwater MCP brings trusted, real-time intelligence into AI assistants.

Your Best Context is Already in the Room

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

Media monitoring helps organizations stay informed about what’s being said across online news, print, broadcast, podcasts, and other media channels. Whether you're tracking brand mentions, measuring PR performance, monitoring competitors, or identifying emerging trends, our expert guides, best practices, and industry insights will help you build a smarter media monitoring strategy and make more informed communications decisions.

Discover expert media monitoring guides, best practices, and industry insights to track brand mentions, monitor competitors, and stay ahead of the news.

Media Monitoring: Guides, Best Practices & Industry Insights

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?
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

Ever scrambled around to find PR pitch opportunities to raise the profile of yourself and your business to get media coverage?

PR News stories are a great way to get coverage in the press and media. But, creating news stories that journalists will love can sometimes feel like feast or famine – some months news stories might pop up all over the place, the next month – nothing.

The Key to Giving Journalists What they Want

So, how do some individuals and businesses manage to maintain a consistently high profile? Bigger businesses may well have considerable budgets and a dedicated Public Relations team, but that does not mean that such media coverage is out of reach for smaller businesses. The key is to have an understanding of what journalists are looking for and to give that to them consistently, in a way that serves their purposes as well as yours.

You probably have a number of news stories but you might not realise it. And, you’ll certainly have the potential to ‘create’ news stories to get noticed. That’s exactly what successful PR professionals do – they find a way to get noticed, they ‘create’ stories. So, you have to think about it from both perspectives. You need to capture the news stories you have and that you know will be coming along. And, you have to think about what you can do to ‘create’ a news story too.

Let’s be clear, “creating” doesn’t mean making it up. It simply means understanding what journalists want from you and then packaging what you have in a way that fits with that. So, where do you start?

First, have a good understanding of what journalists want. Second, list down the obvious news stories you have or you know are coming up. Third, think about the tactic of ‘creating’ a news story and how you will pitch it. Check out the list below for help to pin down the stories you might already have as well as those you can ‘create’ to get media coverage.

Media Pitch Ideas That Don’t Depend on News

Show a peek behind the scenes: Stories like “a day in the life of” or a behind the scenes look can be of interest to journalists, says business coach Joseph James, @JosephJamesMMS. Pulling back the curtain on your organization allows reporters to bring their audiences inside how things work.


Tell an origin story: “I always appreciate a good origin story, for example, how an established company grew or a profile of the owner,” says tech reporter Kelly McSweeney, @kellysimonsays. Talk about the history behind the brand.


Try custom-tailored media pitching: When your brand is having a slow news day, spend more time tailoring your pitch to a particular reporter. “The more tailored your pitch is to the publication (or to the writer), the more likely we are to move forward with it, regardless of how ‘newsy’ it is,” McSweeney says.


Give newsjacking a go: Can your company jump on a trending topic? If you act quickly, you may be able to achieve what David Meerman Scott refers to as “newsjacking.” Start the day by checking Google Trends or taking a look at what’s trending on Twitter to find some possible story angles that may present opportunities for your brand.


HR stories can be hidden gems: It’s more common these days to see pieces that focus on a company’s HR practices, as organizations try to change things up to compete for the best talent. “Often what PR qualifies as news doesn’t interest editors as much as routine things companies take for granted,” says journalist Jared Lindzon, @JLindzon. “Interesting culture quirks, productivity hacks and unique hiring practices that develop gradually are often hidden gems.”


Use data to create a compelling media pitch: “Make a story with interesting data,” says @ginarau. “Almost any hypothesis can be supported with data these days. Curate it in a new way for an interesting story about the problem your client solves.” What if you don’t have your own data? Try pulling some from Google. “Google has a really great rich library of micro bite-size data analysis, if you don’t have the ability to do the analysis yourself. Take a look at what other companies are putting out there and maybe put together a response piece to some of your competitors,” Katie Robbert co-founder and CEO of Trust Insights, @katierobbert.


Look to your employees or customers: Perhaps the media relations team can come up with a story about an employee or customer who’s doing something interesting, suggests PR pro Olivia Adams, @OliviaAdamsPR. “Share community service initiatives and personal stories of how employees, customers or volunteers are making a difference,” adds Mary Beth West of MBW Communications, @marybethwest.  


Feature charitable or CSR causes: Digital media strategist Sarah Clarke, @sclarkeOville, says tying in a brand’s involvement in a charitable event or effort can be a smart way to get press. If your brand is taking part in some sort of corporate social responsibility initiative, that can also make an interesting story idea.  


Celebrate a significant milestone: Are your employees, colleagues or clients celebrating an anniversary or milestone? Margie Dolch, @margiedolch, says that a company anniversary can be pitched to press. The longer they’ve been in business, the more compelling the story can be. How did they reinvent themselves to stay relevant through the years?


Tie a story into an “awareness” day: Gemma Birbeck, @LeulyPPR, says awareness days provide a great foundation for stories as there are some that most businesses can relate to. Meltwater runs a piece each month listing “awareness” days and other national days that brands can look to for ideas.

Try plugging a few of these ideas into your slow news periods to chalk up some media relations wins. And for a comprehensive guide to pitching stories, connecting to journalists, and getting your messaging right, read our ebook, New Strategies in Media Relations. 

Then, you then need to put it all into a calendar. It’s important too to do your research to find the right journalists who will be interested in your news story. For any news story you will need to tailor your approach to make it as relevant as possible. The news hook is one part of it; you also need to include other elements the journalist will want such as human interest.

So, if you are targeting local, national, regional, trade press and media then you will need press releases that are tweaked for each of those, tailored for their specific audiences.

Remember too, you don’t need to rely just on news stories to get noticed by journalists. There are other ways and those should be slotted into your Public Relations calendar too.

When you do have a news story then make the most of it by promoting it to your target audience that matter to you via your email subscriber list, your website, Slideshare, social networks, etc… You’ll want to present the story tailored for them. Don’t just send them the press release or send them a link to it. They need the information presented differently.

In a nutshell: Your news story has to add value and be relevant to a journalist’s audience. But, finding a reason for a story isn’t as difficult as you might think – you have very many news stories, it’s just a matter of spotting them and packaging them in the right way.

So, what’s your next news story coming up and how are you going to package that for your key journalists? 

Ideas for news stories can be found by looking at the social media chatter of your industry. Meltwater provides a platform for deep analysis and listening, ripe for mining story ideas. Contact us for a demo.

Boost your Media Coverage? Ideas for Creating News Stories Journalists Will Love

Wondering how to improve supply chain risk management? You’ve come to the right place. Supply chains are complex ecosystems to navigate. Their impact, both good and bad, ripples through the whole organisation, and it’s this interdependency that makes them extremely vulnerable. What starts as a small supply chain incident can quickly impact the entire network. Without full risk visibility at each stage of the supply chain, it’s impossible to mitigate risks and fully assess the likely consequences of disruptions. 

Due to the vast sources of potential risks that can impact supply chains, internal and external risk management plays an integral role in keeping them ticking over. While executives have become pros at detecting internal supply chain risks, external risks are sometimes overlooked. One way executives are plugging the external risk visibility gap is by equipping themselves with strategic media intelligence solutions that analyse external data types and signal when a potential risk is on the horizon.

During this article we’ll walk you through the basics of risk management, types of supply chain risks to be aware of, and how to optimise supply chain risk management with media intelligence.

What do we mean by supply chain risk management?

Risk, in an organizational context, is usually defined as anything that can impact the fulfilment of corporate objectives such as profitability, innovation, productivity and market share – all of which are critical for business survival. Companies must, therefore, have supply chain risk management strategies in place to stop them diverging from their key corporate focus areas.

Supply chain risk management refers to the identification, evaluation and prioritization of risks, as well as the application of resources in order to minimalize, monitor and control the probability of them developing. Supply chain risk management has multiple benefits including:

How do I Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management With Media Intelligence?

A large percentage of logistic disruptions occur due to external factors, for example, volatility of suppliers, weather events, political developments, cyber-attacks and more. Internal data types that companies typically monitor, like sales volume or stock availability, do not help professionals predict the arrival of external risks, therefore, only looking inwards at your company puts the organisation in a weak position. This is why executives are increasingly turning to media intelligence to enhance supply chain risk management. Let’s look out how in more depth.

Each day consumers and businesses leave a trail of online breadcrumbs, a litter of digital activity that provides valuable information which assists companies with corporate decision making, such as controlling, managing and mitigating risks.

From supplier acquisitions to customer complaints on social media, insights from digital breadcrumbs sprawled across the web can help businesses stay agile and protected by alerting them of danger signals long before they pose a risk.

Common methods used to identify risk exposure

The graph below demonstrates common methods used by companies to mitigate risks. The SCM World study from 2014 found one in five supply chain professionals leverage insights from social media monitoring (social media insights) for the purpose of identifying emerging risks. While this figure is relatively low compared to others in the chart, professionals are starting to transform their processes and introduce datasets seldom used before. According to SCM World, the use of social media monitoring for risk management will increase rapidly over the coming years.

So what risks can social media monitoring help identify? 

Examples of emerging risks social media monitoring can spot

Read on for some examples of risks we're seeing become more prevalent due to social media, and how social media monitoring can help you identify and manage them.

The speed in which information is disseminated across the web has reached new heights since the introduction of social media. Negative conversations, whether they’re true or false, travel fast. Messages become amplified from others engaging in the conversation until the conversation reaches boiling point and turns into a full-blown crisis. It’s this speed and reach that has strong potential to weaken corporate reputation and when customers lose confidence, it’s directly felt on the turnover of the company.

Risks impacting the reputation of an organisation can take many faces and emerge at different stages of the supply chain. For example, this could be down to bad product design, unethical practices of suppliers, lack of customer service or poor protection of customer data. While this means that we have to keep our eye on many signals during supply chain risk management, reputational risks do have the advantage of being easily identifiable – and therefore manageable.

By monitoring trending themes associated with your brand, you can improve vigilance by quickly spotting unusual mentions, for example, words that suggest something is faulty or at threat. Filter the conversation further by selecting trending themes by their sentiment. For supply chain risk mitigation purposes, negative conversations are most important. To ensure you quickly react to risk signals, set up an alert that notifies you when something abnormal occurs like a spike in negative mentions or an increase of conversations in general since this suggests an event you need to be aware of is taking place.

To spark some food for thought, here are the 10 most-watched risks in 2017: 

Active monitoring of social media allows companies to anticipate a problem and react before it becomes uncontrollable or develops into a full crisis. Moreover, social media management also plays a key role in both improving and understanding long-term brand damage, for example, has the sentiment of your brand dived for a prolonged period after a crisis? Are there certain countries who have a particularly negative opinion on your company? What trends are associated with your brand – are they positive, how have they changed prior, during and after a crisis? Answers to such questions should be used for corporate decision making, guiding you on the next step to take.

Regulatory risks can lead to financial penalties, reputational risks and weak links in the supply chain in the case of non-compliance issues. By continuous monitoring online news mentions around regularity topics, businesses can understand the likelihood of future regulatory changes coming into play, giving themselves time to put alternative plans in place and ensure the smooth adoption of regulations with minimal disruption to the supply chain.

Social media is also a critical source of information when it comes to ensuring the compliance of your suppliers, employees and other stakeholders. A brand that’s affiliated with a company who are breaking the law can easily become bogged down in their mess too. Even if the brand didn’t break the rules themselves, audiences may believe they’re endorsing a company that does, purely due to the affiliation they have with the brand causing negative influences for supply chain risk management. 

Financial risks are those that directly affect the revenue of an organisation. Two common risks that often occur include the interruption of activity and breaks in the supply chain. A weakened link in the supply chain can be caused by many external factors including natural disasters, market evolutions, the financial health of suppliers, bad anticipation of the demand, obsolete technologies and an increase in costs of raw materials.

Here are the top financial risks companies are concerned with:

It’s interesting to see that back in 2018, only 14% of companies ranked human diseases as a concern for interruption activity. We’ve witnessed first-hand how COVID-19 disrupted almost every industry and I expect this percentage will rise considerably post 2020.

The emergence of social media has also given rise to new types of risks that are directly related to the public's use of social networks. One example of this is fraud. Over the last few years, numerous cases of social media fraud have come to light, however, the best known is undoubtedly that suffered by Associated Press. In 2013, one of their Twitter accounts was hacked. Messages announcing a double explosion at the White House were published and quickly retweeted by thousands of people. Although the truth in the message was quickly denied by the press organisation, by that point the damage had been done. The market fell by 150 points in minutes, representing a loss of about $150 billion dollars. This goes to show the importance of not underestimating the damage of fake news and the speedy response needed to minimize the damage.

Tip: Learn how to perform an influencer risk assessment.

Since this example, we’ve seen many other cases where companies that have fallen victim to fraud and fake news; many also subsequently saw a drop in their share price as a result.

Another challenge directly associated with the use of social media and supply chain risk management is loss in intellectual property.

The top 1,000 largest companies in the world have invest more than $45 billion a year in corporate intelligence. This practice has a bright future, facilitated in many ways by the growing use of social media and the insightful digital breadcrumbs users leave behind. For example, employees who post a message on Facebook or Twitter about their work may be of interest to competitors who are gathering information on other players in their field. One notable example to mention is that of a security consulting company who was able to predict the bankruptcy of a company based on tweets from employees complaining of budget cuts and the fact that the Vice-President Operations was looking for a new job on LinkedIn. Many businesses are upping the ante using competitive intelligence. While executives understand the importance of stakeholders being careful not to give away too much information since their competitors are listening, controlling this can be easier said than done.

Comprehensive supply chain risk management analysis

Monitoring external signals By looking outside of your companies walls and monitoring external data available online, executives can sleep well knowing they have covered all areas. From supplier acquisitions to customer complaints on social media, insights from digital breadcrumbs sprawled across the web can help businesses stay agile and protected by alerting them of danger signals long before they pose a risk.

External risks will develop whether you’re tracking them or not, however, keeping an eye on external insights will lessen the chance of them taking hold. Forward-looking companies already include outside insights in their supply chain risk management analysis, but we’re still seeing companies crumble as a result of risks they can avoid and manage simply by monitoring external signals.

Hopefully by now you better understand how media intelligence can help you improve supply chain risk mitigation. Want to discuss what this might look like for your organisation? Fill out the form and we'll be in touch:

Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management with Media Intelligence

Today's news, crises, and complaints travel as quickly as thumbs can type. A customer service issue can ruin a brand's reputation and trending hashtags can help a victim of bullying. Being prepared before a crisis hits is the only way to mitigate the damage from one, that's why this excerpt from our ebook, Media Intelligence for Crisis Communications, is only a small part of a larger PR crisis strategy. Download the free ebook for four more necessary steps, examples of crisis mitigation, and additional actionable tips.

Preparing for a PR crisis requires getting out of the mindset that keeps us busy executing and measuring our tactical goals. Just because we have a social media manager who can push a message out in 140 characters or less several times a day doesn’t mean we have a mechanism in place to handle a full-blown PR crisis. That’s why being prepared for a crisis before it begins is the right strategy. Today, we're delving into some of the most important tips but you can access the rest, and get a competitive edge, in our free ebook, Media Intelligence for Crisis Communications.

14 Tips For Avoiding a Public Brand Disaster

If you only pay attention to one tip on this list, let it be this one. So often I read a story about a company or person that is in the midst of a PR crisis that could have been avoided all together if the right decision were made from the beginning. The spectrum of categories these decisions may fall into is broad, such as giving the proper response to a customer service inquiry,  adding the right features to a product launch, or making a tough call on a product recall simply because it’s the right thing to do. 
The key is to do the right thing. Doing the right thing will always lead to better results and fewer problems. Ethical businesses and people have fewer challenges in the long term; it’s a simple fact.

Businesses need to be as transparent as possible these days. After all we’re public relations pros, not the CIA; we can be upfront about most things. By remaining transparent, we leave less to the imagination and so there’s less for people to wonder about. If you build transparency into your brand and messaging, your customers will learn to expect it, and in the end you’ll gain the respect that leads to trust. Trusted brands have fewer challenges.

3. Encourage fantastic customer service: 

How many times have you seen a story about a consumer that has been wronged by an evil retail company? If you are anything like me, many times. Many of these situations can be avoided by simply providing great customer service and solving a problem before it has a chance to escalate. In customer service the old adage “the customer is always right” is a simple philosophy that can help prevent risk.

Actively monitoring social media and online media with a great monitoring tool will help you see problems as they brew, before they become big problems. Did I mention that Meltwater provides such monitoring tools?

In today’s online world it is imperative that some social media guidelines are in place to ensure that employees are not sharing or communicating inappropriate information, publicly. Like you, I’ve seen countless companies make public apologies for the content their employees share on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Prevent that fire by preparing a social media policy.

This tip is quite simple: always think before you react. By fully thinking through how you’ll react to a situation, be they big or small, corporate or personal, you will always reap better results (factoring in time pressure of course). I’ve seen many companies, and celebrities for that matter, cause problems for themselves by quickly shooting off a tweet that simply was not thought through. Think before you act and you’ll avoid unforeseen pitfalls.

7. Create consistent messaging for customer-facing employees: 

Make sure all outward-facing employees have access to accurate messaging that is consistent with you brand. Generally, providing basic messaging will cover your bases so long as employees know how to escalate if conversations veer off-script.  The goal is to make sure everyone knows what can be said and that they understand that everything else should be escalated (within reason).

Before a story is run that will expose a current brand disaster, you’ll often receive a call or email from a diligent reporter. Do not hide! Get back to that reporter ASAP. Be very transparent and do everything you can to get your story, statement and action plan into their hands. Even if you are not sure what your actions will be, don’t let the message sit. Call back and tell them “we are actively looking into this situation and will be able to provide more information within the hour.” Most reporters will respect that you are working hard to get the answer they need. If you follow rules 1, 2, 3 and 4 in your conversation with the reporter there’s a good chance you’ll come out OK.

9. Add contingency planning to job goals: 

Amidst your daily routine, you might not be able to design a protocol for every potential crisis right away. Pace yourself. Map out two or three crisis protocols per quarter. And make sure that accomplishing this goal is part of your performance review.

A powerful media intelligence tool doesn’t just monitor your brand mentions. You can use it to set up searches on any number of topics and keep on top of them in all your channels. Start by making a list of the kinds of messages you’ve already put out that have met resistance. At any point, this same resistance might come back, get amplified, and take on a life of its own. You’ll also want to talk with sales reps, customer support, and legal counsel on issues that they’ve encountered. Once you’ve made a list of crisis triggers, create news, and social searches for them.

To help you get started, here are some examples:

Executives: 
Journalists, analysts, and sometimes even customers pay attention to what high-ranking executives say and do. And so should you. Keep on top of their Twitter and Facebook feeds, what videos and blogs they post, and how everything they are putting out into the world is received and amplified.

Competitors: 
Pay as much attention to competitor brand mentions as you do your own. Their crisis could easily become yours. And if a competitor decides to come after you, you’ll want to know about it first and respond before others have a chance to amplify their message.

Industry news:
Sometimes a PR crisis will hit you by association. By keeping track of how your industry is perceived and any events that might impact it (such as natural disasters or newly introduced legislation) you are prepared to address these issues as an industry leader.

Events: 
Keep track of trending topics related to the event to help prevent speakers and reps from getting caught with their guards down.

Controversy: 
A media intelligence tool enables you to keep track of any number of business and political keywords. You’ll know when hot-button topics are trending and get ready to explain your position on them before you are equated with the fallout they’ve generated. 

Complaints: 
Make a list of complaints and keep an eye out for them in your search results. Once an influencer amplifies customer concerns, they can be cemented as “expert opinion,” and your credibility can suffer longstanding damage.

11: Create a Crisis Management Workflow: 

Start by outlining the internal steps you need to take before releasing a public statement. Then assign stakeholders where relevant. For example:

Hopefully your company has got some feet on the street to report back on your crisis with first-hand insights, but use media intelligence to understand the full scope of the communications landscape and all of the points you’ll need to address.

When you’re engaged on multiple fronts, you’ll need to man various stations. Decide who will manage influencers, keep the executive team informed, serve as liaison to other key stakeholders (including partners, customers, members, etc.), and record every detail, action taken, external response, and resolution.

A PR crisis may require technical information or strategic insight that you’ll need to get from leaders in IT, accounting, HR, or elsewhere. Identify all relevant functions specific to a given crisis and how to contact them quickly.

The head of PR may be responsible for doing this, or it may fall to the agency that the head of PR should already have on speed dial.

It’s always a good idea to have your CMO review your statement (or the agency’s), as he or she will undoubtedly be asked to defend it.

Any statement you make during a time of crisis should be reviewed by counsel to assess its legal consequences and minimize damage should legal action be taken against the company.

During a PR crisis, your CEO (likely your company’s primary spokesperson) must be kept in the loop.

Break down your audience, both internal and external, into key stakeholders and list the best channels to reach them. Chapter 3 explores in detail how to communicate with and engage your audience as you respond to a crisis.

13. Have as much written ahead of time as possible: 

Because social media moves so quickly, it can hurt your brand to wait for executive stakeholders to approve detailed statements. Having something pre-approved that acknowledges your awareness of the problem without saying too much will go a long way in putting your audience at ease. Don’t forget that how long it takes for you to get your initial response out could be a detractor’s next headline.

Here is a fill-in-the-blank statement that can be used in any number of situations:

A ___________________ at ___________________ involving __________________ occurred today at _________________. The incident is under investigation and more information is forthcoming.

14. Finalise key messages and update corporate talking points:

Once the worst is over—but before you reach for a beer and put it all behind you—you’ll want to craft a final word. Explain what your company learned from the crisis and how you’ve adapted processes, policies, or products accordingly. Remember, people will want to know you’ve taken action, not just paid lip service. You can then update any relevant company-wide talking points.

Once you prepare for PR crisis, you’ll be ready, if, when, and to what degree it may impact your company and brand. How your brand reacts to its community, audience, and detractors may have wide-encompassing repercussions. It’s hard to prepare for every contingency, so try to prepare for the ones you can by downloading our Media Intelligence for Crisis Communications ebook.

Do brands of every size need to plan for a crisis?

It may be a side effect of the 24/7 news cycle and social media, but it seems like brand crises are coming at a quicker clip than they did a decade ago. And what differentiates a modern brand that recovers quickly from one whose crisis snowballs is—more often than not—preparation well before any hint of trouble. Since stress can run high during a crisis, having a crisis monitoring worksheet and ready plan of action can be a lifesaver. Wade in to read more.

Crisis communications planning has risen to the top of the priority list for many brands, as they watch the train wrecks that seem to occur on almost a daily basis.

Of course, no matter what a brand does, they can never know exactly what to expect or when a crisis might befall them. But it isn’t a good strategy to stick one’s head in the sand, pretending that your business is crisis-proof. Big or small, companies need to plan for a crisis in the event one hits.

“No matter what size company or client you work for, crisis communications needs to be integrated into your overall communications strategy,” says Matt Falso, director of brand strategy, Soteryx Corporation. “While large companies often have these plans baked into their overarching approach, smaller businesses may see them as an unnecessary expense. A crisis, however, can happen to any company—regardless of size.”

“Crisis communications planning is even more critical for smaller businesses because they can less afford the financial consequences of a significant crisis,” says Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management and author of “Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management.”

And according to Dave Pidgeon, founder and CEO of Navigate Strategic Communications and former spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, it doesn’t take a lot to create a crisis for your brand.

“Bad accounting, an irritated employee, a customer who had an unfortunate experience, a municipal code violation, a misguided quote in an otherwise innocuous media story – they can all lead to greater public scrutiny of your business,” Pidgeon says. “And if you don’t know how to handle that scrutiny, the situation can get much, much worse.”

Given that a crisis can happen at any time to any business, how should brands prepare in advance?

“The primary preventive tactic is maintaining a very positive online presence on all major social media platforms,” says Bernstein. “This creates a cushion of goodwill and also gives an organization an ear to the ground if negative information starts appearing online.”

Beyond maintaining a good reputation, companies need a plan.

“Being prepared with an established crisis communications plan can make a world of difference when communicating with the media as well as when sharing critical information with your employees,” says Falso.

And make sure to revisit the plan periodically.

“A crisis communications plan works as a living, breathing document,” says Pidgeon. “Don’t let it sit on the shelf unopened.”

And practice. “Avoid assuming what you did last year, or even last month, will work this time around,” advises Pidgeon.

“Actively practicing (simulating a crisis) is essential to being fully prepared,” agrees Falso.

Time is of the essence when responding during a crisis. If you’re not thinking ahead about what you’ll say—and who will say it—you can lose valuable minutes or hours, resulting in a lack of public trust.

Should you handle a crisis in-house or hire external consultants?

Bernstein says hiring a good crisis communications pro in-house can cost top dollar, which many smaller businesses can’t afford. “So, just as a small business would call on outside legal counsel, they can outsource functions such as crisis prevention and response.”

Pidgeon feels it’s best to have an in-house spokesperson. “If your spokespeople have built credibility and trust with communities and media sources, that trust and credibility are needed in a time of crisis.”

Whatever you do, don’t wing it, Pidgeon advises. “That’s a recipe for disaster,” he says.

And don’t address a crisis from afar. “Handling a crisis through written statements-only is an unintended invitation to the public and the media to scrutinize you further. It creates a perception you’re hiding or avoiding something. Being there in person builds empathy and is more conducive to building a relationship with both the public and press.”

Prepare for the Worst with a Crisis Communications Plan

“Always expect the unexpected” should be every communications professional’s mantra, yet more often than not companies appear blindsided by issues they should have seen coming (hint: using a crisis communications plan).

Extreme weather, for instance, is a predictable urgent issue. Yet, we frequently see companies caught off-guard and poorly handling customer service issues that stem from blizzards, flooding, hurricanes, and other hazardous weather conditions. While this extreme weather may randomly appear, the possibility of extreme weather, and its impact on your customers and team members, is entirely predictable.

A seasoned pro knows the value in developing and maintaining a playbook on how to address these issues, often in the form of a crisis communications plan. Your plan will not only save you from reinventing the wheel in seemingly endless fire-drills, but it could also be what stops an issue from becoming a full-blown crisis for your company.

While extreme weather is just one example, other recurring issues can regularly impact companies of all industries:

Website outages due to technical glitches

Delay in regular communications (i.e. monthly statements) because of unforeseen circumstances

Issues related to team members, including workplace misconduct allegations

Issues related to the leadership team, including unanticipated departures or controversial statements

The Meltwater Blog

Boost your Media Coverage? Ideas for Creating News Stories Journalists Will Love

Optimize Supply Chain Risk Management with Media Intelligence

Toolbox Tips: Everything You Need to Avoid & Plan for a PR Crisis

Top 5 PR Campaigns of 2019

5 Reports Every PR Pro Needs to Prove PR ROI

Why is Reputation Important?

Media Monitoring Software for Wales

Social Media Experiments: What You Can Learn by Testing

Kim Kardashian Has 3 Things to Teach Us about Brand Strategy

Meltwater Named One of the Top 50 Best Products for Marketers in 2020

Why You Should Put Internal Communications First During a Crisis

What PRs Should Know Before Their Brand Takes a Political Stand