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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Guide

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

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

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

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIn to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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?

Do you know how to win back your customers after a bad brand interaction or poor customer service? If the answer is no, fear not, we'll tell you all in this post.

Today, your business can’t brush a bad customer experience under the rug. You might choose to ignore less than stellar brand interactions, but the customers won’t! They’ll post about negative CX, on Facebook, Twitter and even write a blog about it. And unfortunately, we can’t stop people writing negative reviews.

But there’s always a silver lining that can save your brand, even if you do happen to experience a customer that's disgruntled about the CX they received. According to an Applied Marketing Science and Twitter Study, resolved negative tweet leads to 3x more revenue potential than a positive tweet. That means you can, and should, win people back. To successfully turn things around, you need to be proactive in understanding what customers are saying about your brand and let insights guide your customer experience strategy. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be superhuman and read thousands of tweets a day, the right media monitoring tool will give you relevant insights into how customers feel about your brand. For example, media intelligence can help you with keeping an eye out for brand mentions which feature negative keywords or check the sentiment of your brand to identify customers who have had a bad CX.
 
By using creative CX strategies to retain customers, you also increase your probability of higher conversions, and at the same time, safeguard the integrity of your business. So how do we win back your customers?

Win Back Your Customers by Encouraging Feedback

Asking questions is one of the best ways to start an interaction with your brand. Why was the customer unhappy with your service? Find out what’s gone wrong beforehand so that you are in a better position to ask relevant questions. People are much more willing to discuss a negative customer experience than a positive one. In fact, studies suggest we will tell 8-10 people if we have bad customer experiences in comparison to only 2-3 people if we have a good customer experience. Therefore, dissatisfied customers are likely to give you all the information you require. Simply allowing a customer the chance to express themselves might contribute to winning them back. One word of advice, try to take your questions out of the public eye. If someone is complaining on Twitter, discuss it with them via direct message. After all, you don’t want to air your dirty laundry to competitors!

Top Tip: Find more negative talk surrounding your brand by using customer experience software. Discover trending themes with negative sentiment as well as measure overall sentiment surrounding your brand. If you notice a spike in negative sentiment, chances are something is wrong.

Media monitoring helps you gain quality feedback.  These genuine opinions help improve the business foundations by identifying and addressing elements that are affecting customer experience. Making continuous improvements to poorly performing parts of your business and customer experience strategy is one of the best ways of dealing with angry customers. Use media monitoring to keep on top of brand mentions, this way you can discover pain points of customers and where your business/ CX can be improved. It’s good practice to communicate these changes to your customers so they know you take their feedback seriously

To apologise for a mistake is good, but overdoing it might be counterproductive. You don’t want to keep reminding customers about the mistake made. 

Win Back Your Customers by Creating a Campaign 

If you’ve experienced a surge of negativity, it’s wise to try and rebuild value for your customers. A good way to do this is with a marketing campaign surrounding the changes you have made, with hope this will spark positive interaction. Storytelling is a really powerful way to grow engagement. We'd highly recommend you showing that you’ve gone the extra mile to please your customers. A bit of a throwback example for you here – back in 2009 Domino’s Pizza used this principle to address the CX pain points of their customers. They received a lot of negative coverage after customers complained about the quality and taste of their pizzas.

After monitoring social media, they decided to work with their customers and staff in creating a better brand experience. This was conceptualised into a campaign called as The pizza turnaround. Today the Dominos brand is many people’s number one choice of Pizza takeaway, which teaches us that unhappy customers don’t have to mean the end of your brand and you can infact turn a poor brand interaction into something that attracts new clientele while keeping your current fans.

How Digital Transformation Drives Customer Experience

While the above tips are there to support you winning back clients from negative CX experiences, the following tips are here to guide you in the direction of ensuring it never has to come to that in the first place.

In 2020, brands simply have to be customer-centric and this means putting CX strategies at the center of the company. The fact is, customers are making more use of technology, and in turn, changing the relationship between businesses and customers. As technology continues to evolve, so will the digital transformation that businesses will experience; the most significant impact that this will have on businesses is on customer experience.

It’s in 2020 where customer experience will overtake price and product as a key differentiator. So, from gaining better customer insights and personalisation to automation and easier access to information, here is how digital transformation can drive customer experience for your business.

In our past webinar on ‘How to Create a Captivating Experience’, Certified Customer Experience Consultant, Julia Ahlfeldt, mentions how we are in an age of the customer, who are highly informed and have shifted the power from businesses and brands to them – the customer. On top of this, the digital age comes with Generation Z, who are a set of consumers that grew up with technology and access to information right on their fingertips. Because of digital transformation, businesses have found it beneficial for CX strategies and wider business needs to have the ability to store information online. With advancements in online storage and security, businesses have made it more convenient for customers to access the information that they are looking for.

For example, if you look at Superbalist or Takealot, customers have the ability to easily access information like their order history or tracking their current purchases. For customers, this is convenient in helping them to make comparisons with other brands on the things they’ve bought. For a business, this helps you see the patterns in brand interactions, spending habits of your customers as well as giving you the ability to optimize for a better customer experience strategy based on what your customer is interested in.

Gone are the days when a customer experience strategy hinged on manual processes. Now, instead of customers dialling into a call centre to get in touch with a business, chatbots and computer-based programs that provide 24/7 availability are the way to go.

According to Forbes, 80% of people who use chatbots do so for customer care. It’s thanks to digital transformation that has helped with making simple customer service requests easier, like updating personal details or navigating through an app. For the financial industry, FinTech applications have helped customer CX by allowing them to set up their own bank accounts or investments, and provide step-by-step guides on transferring money. This all eliminates the need for customers to physically go to a bank to speak to a consultant, and gives you the opportunity to focus on more complex customer needs.

If you aren’t using automation for enhancing customer experience strategies in your business, 2020 is the time to start implementing it. One of the first and simplest tasks that your business can begin automating is email marketing.

Jason Bagley, Founder of Firing Squad, shares how automation can better your email marketing strategy by not only being more personal but sending out emails on specific dates based on the customer’s behaviour (like their birthday) or business milestones (like celebrating your 100th customer). By reducing the amount of time that you spend on basic business processes, you now are better able to service your customers efficiently.

CX strategies involve more than just positive customer service or trying to win back customers after bad customer experiences. While this is a large and important component of the experience your customer has with you, it’s not the only one.

Relevant product or service offerings are also important to customer experience strategies. In this age, businesses and brands have access of much more data, which can provide insights into your customers and help you personalise your offerings and content according to each of your individual customers or customer segments.

Online shopping and e-commerce stores already feature a list of recommended items that aren’t tailored according to what’s popular for larger groups of customers, but rather to individuals and their own browsing history. Of course, collecting data like this means that you need to be transparent about it otherwise this could lead to bad customer service.

This is a strategy that can easily be adapted according to what your business has to offer but ensuring that you take a personalised approach will more than likely encourage a user to become a buyer.

It’s time to let digital transformation positively drive the customer experience of your business. Request a free demo now to see how media intelligence can take you to the top! 

How to Win Back Your Customers After a Bad Experience

We've covered a few of the PR crises that have hit brands this year and the timing to reenter this discussion is important as a new app, Bodega, received condemnation on social media last week. This post on how brands should apologize can help you be prepared for a crisis, rather than scrambling after you're in the thick of it. Download our ebook, Media Intelligence for Crisis Communications and ensure that you'll be able to control the damage, no matter the situation.

2017 has brought us more than its share of communications disasters. Pepsi’s controversial Black Lives Matter ad featuring Kendall Jenner, Adidas’s Boston Marathon email campaign (“Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon”). And, of course, United Airlines, which made a series of missteps in its attempt to appropriately apologize for the forced removal of a passenger. And these are just but a few of the corporate communications faux pas we've seen in recent times. 

When these misfires occur — and of course, they do — it’s vital that brands are prepared to make amends. The first step in this process is the apology. And, it had better be a thoughtful apology. It’s not enough to simply apologize—it’s HOW you apologize that matters.

“Companies need to think carefully about their policies and their crisis communications, so they can quickly move from a defensive crouch to honest, heartfelt apologies,” says Andrew Winston, author of The Big Pivot.

“The biggest mistake is for brands to hedge their apology with phrases such as, ‘We’re sorry to those who were offended,'” says Brad Phillips, president of Phillips Media Relations and author of the Mr. Media Training Blog and the Amazon PR best seller The Media Training Bible. “Such language places the burden on the offended person and stops short of accepting full responsibility.”

Brands should also avoid denying any wrongdoing when they apologize.

“Denial is the simple thing to do, and people grasp wildly at the first straw to occur to them,” said William Benoit, Ohio University Communications professor, and author of Accounts, Excuses, Apologies: Image Repair Theory and Research.

Denial can hurt subsequent apologies. Sincerely owning the mistake is at the heart of an effective apology. There’s an appreciation for laying it all out there by simply saying, “We messed-up and we’re sorry.”

In the case of United, CEO Oscar Munoz did eventually offer a heartfelt apology. After his first two apologies created a backlash, he finally took full responsibility, promising to make it right with the passenger and pledging to put new procedures in place.

“The problem for Munoz is that he bungled the first two apologies, undermining the impact of his third one,” says Phillips. “Had he started with that apology, the incident would have played out far differently.”

The Situation Helps Determine the Tone of an Apology

Another factor to consider is the nature of the incident. “For example, it’s much easier to apologize in cases in which you, too, can be perceived as a victim,” Phillips said. “A medical supply company that couldn’t get vital medications to customers due to an unexpected snowstorm is unlikely to face long-term reputational damage, whereas that same company failing to make deliveries due to incompetence would.”

In some cases, explaining what exactly took place can help clear the air and help folks be more forgiving. For example, at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, PricewaterhouseCoopers made a mistake with the Best Picture envelope, causing the presenter to announce the wrong film. Because the company offered an immediate apology with an explanation of how the mix-up occurred, they were able to keep the client.

So, what exactly should be in an effective apology? According to Dr. Beth Polin, an assistant professor of management at Eastern Kentucky University and co-author of The Art of the Apology, an apology should include one or more of six components:

An expression of regret — this, usually, is the actual “I’m sorry.”

An explanation (but, importantly, not a justification).

And what words should you choose when you apologize? Simple language is best. No need for flowery prose. An example of this is Adidas, who immediately took responsibility for its insensitivity with this apology from spokeswoman Maria Culp: “We are incredibly sorry. There was no thought given to the insensitive email subject line we sent Tuesday. We deeply apologize for our mistake.”

Need more examples? On a site called SorryWatch, you can find examples of apologies that worked—and those that didn’t. The founders, Susan McCarthy and Marjorie Ingall, write a weekly post that reviews poorly handled public apologies, giving tips on structure and language.

Their best advice? In the end, don’t make excuses. “Apologizing well means acknowledging that, at that moment at least, you were not good,” says Ingall.

After all, even good people (and brands) can make mistakes. 2017 Has had more than its share of communications disasters and as big brands like Pepsi, United, and Uber make big missteps, a simple statement that brands should apologize becomes a loaded PR strategy. If you’d like to be prepared for the next time you need to apologize, download our crisis ebook.

This Strategy in Practice: Wins versus Fails

By now it's clear that when a very public mistake or mishap occurs within your organisation, a public apology – and a commitment to right the wrong – is in order. 

A swift mea culpa, coupled with some affirmative action to make good and ensure that the likelihood of such an event occurring again is minimised, is the correct approach and will generally help an organisation win back the favour of its customers. Moreover, if the response can be injected with a little humour (where appropriate of course), so much the better. 

Here we have highlighted examples of winners and losers when it comes to public apologies in the aftermath of a PR crisis. 

Last year, KFC went through a highly publicised crisis when “operational issues” with new delivery provider DHL caused a mass shortage of chicken at its fast food outlets across the UK. One of the most bizarre consequences of this was police forces in London and Manchester having to issue statements urging the public to stop contacting the emergency services about the shortage, as it was “not a police matter”! 

KFC responded by taking out full-page ads in the national press, featuring one of its famous buckets with the company name rearranged to read ‘FCK’ instead of ‘KFC’, to reflect the mood of its chicken-deprived customers. It also acknowledged that “a chicken restaurant without any chicken is not ideal.” This humorous response to what was a serious situation for the company was very well received, and no lasting damage was done to the brand. 

One of the highest profile cock-ups to take place anywhere in the world in recent years was the Oscars blunder in 2017, when an envelope mix up resulted in Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly announcing ‘La La Land’ as Best Picture winner, when the actual winner was ‘Moonlight.’

Beatty had a duplicate card with the winner of Best Actress, which had been awarded to Emma Stone for La La Land immediately prior to the Best Picture announcement. Beatty paused as he read the card out but continued anyway, wrongly announcing La La Land as the winner. The La La Land production team and cast were already on stage collecting the prize and delivering their speeches before a representative from accountancy firm PwC came onto the stage to inform them of the error. 

PwC was in charge of supervising the counting of the ballots for each award, as well as the presentations on the night. Following the error, which could scarcely be more public, given that around 30 million people were watching it live in the US and many millions more worldwide, PwC issued a statement saying “We sincerely apologise to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture.” 

PwC added that it deeply regretted that the incident occurred and said it appreciated the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, and the host Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation.

Adding to the embarrassment felt by PwC in the wake of the blunder was the fact that in the week leading up to that year’s Oscars ceremony, PwC’s Martha Ruiz and Brian Cullinan, who were responsible for overseeing the counting of the votes and are the only two people who know all the winners before they are announced, gave an interview to the BBC in which they outlined its “watertight system” for ensuring that the awards presentations pass without a hitch.   

Following the ceremony, PwC assumed full responsibility for the blunder and promised to fully investigate what went wrong with the system to prevent such an error occurring in the future. Given that the profile of the event could barely be higher, that PwC have emerged from it with their reputation fairly intact is a credit to them and the steps they took in its aftermath.     

One of the most valuable case studies for comms professionals comes from Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal. When it emerged early in 2018 that a political data firm had harvested the personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge or consent, consumer backlash was immense. 

When the scandal first broke, Facebook vigorously and indignantly defended itself, arguing that people had consented by virtue of their privacy settings. But the backlash only intensified when it was reported that Facebook’s privacy settings were buried across 20 pages of the site, and that Cambridge Analytica were one of many organisations guilty of exploiting that by harvesting Facebook users’ data without their knowledge. 

Eventually, Facebook’s chief privacy officer said Facebook would move all the privacy settings into one place (without offering an explanation as to why they weren’t in the first place), something Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to do “within weeks” of another privacy breach eight years previously but failed to follow through on. 

The lesson? Be wary of launching into defence mode without addressing the grievances of your community; also, ensure to follow through on any corrective measures issued alongside your apology.   

In 2017, Pepsi drew a barrage of negative publicity for an ad featuring Kendall Jenner, in which she quelled a riot by offering a police officer a can of Pepsi, a gesture which elicited cheers from the onlooking protestors. 

Given that the US was at the time (and still is) mired in controversy over the killing by police of African American youths, and the Black Lives Matter movement was gaining momentum with protests over perceived unlawful killings happening all over the country, the idea that a protest could be quelled by a can of soda was not well received to say the least. 

Following the ad’s release, Pepsi was eviscerated on social media, as they were seen to be capitalising on the Black Lives Matter movement to sell soft drink. The daughter of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Bernice King, even weighed in, posting on Twitter “If only daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi.” 

Pepsi eventually pulled the ad, but a few months later, Pepsi’s CEO, Indra Nooyi continued to defend the ad, demonstrating that the company still didn’t get what all the fuss was about. The lesson? Purpose driven marketing and CSR are increasingly important for today's consumers, but authenticity is key here. Brands need to ensure that if they're involving themselves in political and social conversations, their message is not only culturally sensitive, but also aligned with their internal corporate business practices and values. 

Want to find out more about managing Crisis Communications? Get in touch with us below.

How Brands Should Apologize

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

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.

The Meltwater Blog

How to Win Back Your Customers After a Bad Experience

How Brands Should Apologize

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

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