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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

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

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Disclaimer: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame! So if you haven’t seen the movie yet, set aside 3 hours of your time to go experience it first on the big screen.

After experiencing the devastating outcome of Avengers: Infinity War, fans waited a whole year to find out what happens next. The latest instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Avengers: Endgame, brought us the grand conclusion we needed, along with many exciting and unforgettable moments. Avengers: Endgame has to be one of Marvel’s most successful movies by far, being the second-highest grossing movie of all time (at the time of writing) and the fastest film to surpass over US$2 billion in ticket sales worldwide. So, it’s no wonder that the movie generated a whole lot of buzz online.

Using Meltwater Social, we assembled to take a deeper look at what fans were talking about in the social media realm. It was unsurprising to discover that within a fortnight of its release date on 24 April 2019, the film generated over 8.7 million social mentions.

Social coverage spanned across multiple social media platforms with the bulk of mentions derived from Twitter. A high portion of social mentions was derived from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom. There was also significant coverage in other parts of the globe such as Europe and Southeast Asia, showing how stories of the MCU resonates with people of different backgrounds and cultures.

Now let’s take a look at some of the most talked about moments in the movie:

Tony Stark’s and Black Widow’s Sacrifice

Looks like Tony really was “the guy to make the sacrifice play”, in contrast to what Steve Rogers may have told him in 2012’s The Avengers film.

With over 65,000 mentions, one of the most important moments would have to be the death of the inimitable Iron Man a.k.a Tony Stark. The ingenious and wealthy business magnate slash scientist has come a long way since he was first introduced in 2008 and has paved the way for the MCU ever since. Fans expressed both their grievances and admiration for the long-time superhero online after witnessing his ultimate sacrifice. Using the Infinity stones (which he removed sneakily from Thanos’ possession), Iron Man wiped out the entirety of Thanos’ armies and the supervillain himself – but at the expense of his own life.

Nevertheless, Iron Man wasn’t the only one who made sacrifices in the movie. In the second act of the film where our superheroes carried out their “Time Heist” to recover all six Infinity stones, Black Widow a.k.a Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself at Vormir to retrieve the Soul Stone. Her selfless act garnered over 39,000 mentions online, with some fans questioning why she had to be one of the characters to die in the film.

The Worthy Captain! And Avengers Assemble!

Tragic moments aside, there were also amazing, mind-blowing scenes in the movie that would make anyone punch their fists in the air.  

One of them occurred during a gripping fight sequence between Thanos and three of Earth’s mightiest heroes. We discovered that Captain America was able to wield Mjolnir, proving his worthiness, and used its powers against Thanos. The scene sparked over 23,000 social mentions online. Fans expressed how thrilled they were that they finally learned the super soldier was worthy all along.  

The next exciting moment happens not long later. If no one in your cinema was applauding or cheering at this scene, I can assure you they were most likely screaming internally. After Captain America hears Falcon calling out to him, we watched all our once “dead” heroes emerge from portals appearing around the battlefield, before kicking off an epic final battle sequence.  

The scene received over 32,000 hits online with multiple users commending the soundtrack (“Portals” – Alan Silvestri) that was used in the background. Fans were also commenting on how they had waited so long for Captain America to finally say “Avengers Assemble!”

Another noteworthy topic would be Thor’s controversial new look, where the previously able-bodied God of Thunder puts on quite a lot of weight and adopts rather unhealthy drinking habits. The topic reaped over 22,000 hits but unfortunately, about 49% of mentions were tagged as Negative. While some found Thor’s transformation hilarious, there were still many who criticised the character’s new look, claiming that it was unnecessary and did not do any justice to the character’s development.

Amongst all the superheroes featured in the movie (and there were a lot of them), some noteworthy mentions include Ant-Man and MCU newcomer Captain Marvel. Both superheroes who were not in the previous Avengers film appeared in this latest instalment and were ranked amongst the highest mentioned superheroes for the film. Mentions on Ant-Man mainly included fans claiming that the universe wouldn’t have been saved if he had not been released from the Quantum Realm while coverage of Captain Marvel included responses and conversations surrounding a contentious article from Screen Rant.

Ultimately, Avengers: Endgame generated a great amount of buzz and hits online. The mix of sentiments and emotions surrounding different topics seems to signify just how passionate fans can be and how impressive is it that superb filmmaking and storytelling can impact a great number of people. We can’t wait to find out what Marvel has in store for us in their next phase. With Meltwater Social, you too can harness the power of social listening and uncover insights about your brand at your fingertips – no gauntlet needed.

Avengers: Endgame – Deep Dive into the Social Media Realm

The conniving Cersei Lannister once said, “When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.” – a quote that best describes the onus of the fantasy series’ success. The intricacies of political backstabbing and calculated manoeuvring between human morality, familial loyalty and the brutality of wars were the driving force which hooked the audience to the folklore.

The series established a massive fanbase that even the Ruler of the Seven (now six) Kingdoms would have been mightily proud. With the broadcast of the final episode, did fans rejoice at the finality of the folklore or did they have to reluctantly accept its end as closure to the series? With over 6.1 million  social mentions of the series, fans made their voices heard louder than a Dothraki army battle cry.

The Mad Queen and the Decimation of King’s Landing

With more than 1.9 million social mentions for the Mother of Dragons, fans were left in shock and grief when firstly Daenerys scorched the innocents of King’s Landing with Drogon’s flaming breath and subsequently received the pointy end of Jon Snow’s dagger. Like Nietzsche’s quote on gazing into an abyss, Daenerys’ character development has changed from meek princess to merciful Breaker of Chains and finally to the vengeful bloodlust despot. Despite fans showing disdain of her demise, many fans remained loyal to her reign and were satisfied with the character’s ascension to the throne.

Many fans were left upset that Jon Snow, the new Queen-Lover-Auntieslayer, was tasked to carry out the unforgiving deed of ending the Mother of Dragons. There were more than 150,000 social mentions on the Targaryen romance. Fans were also annoyed that the protagonist of the whole epic did not get a satisfying end and was even banished to the icy glaciers of the North instead of taking over the throne. Jon Snow’s whimper off to the chilly horizon left fans distraught as it did not reflect their hero’s resolve.

Based on Cersei’s quote, we know many have died in the Battle of Bastards or the Red Wedding. Amongst the living, the houses mutually agreed that Bran ‘The Broken’ Stark should succeed the throne – a democratic decision to choose a leader. Blessed with Tyrion’s oratorical influence, he shone a light on the events Bran had to experience, the stories that accompanied him and his ability to foretell the future and know everything in the past, the houses (sans his blood kingdom) proclaimed him as the new King.

But what did the fans had to say? There were 885,000 social mentions of Bran and they were not particularly encouraging. Majority of social media responded with resounding mockery character and words such as “disappointment”, “useless”and “nowhere” were used generously among fans. It can be said that fans may be partial to how they want their favourite characters to turn out but for Bran, there was no love lost and even highlighted that no one cared when his character did not even appear for a whole season.

Fans were more satisfied with the final chapter of another favourite, the impish schemer with a heart, Tyrion. There were more than 713,000 mentions of Daenerys’ Hand who gave up his position after her destruction of the city but eventually reclaimed it under Bran. Many fans were in consensus that despite all the travails he had to endure in his life and adventures in Westeros, Tyrion was a key player of the Game of Thrones. He had manoeuvred so much to find himself in a lofty position in King’s Landing and even talked himself out of execution by the Unsullied.

Like the council that voted on Bran’s ascension to the throne, fans sought to find a democratic solution to solve their unhappiness. Even before the discussions on the final episode had even died down, a petition to remake the series’ end was set up and more than 1.5 million people have signed it. However, it would not be too surprising if this fell on deaf ears as the producers have the support from the cast and even the creator George R R Martin gave a thumbs up, citing differences to his canonical books should have been expected.

For eight long years, HBO’s adaptation of Martin’s fantasy folklore has enthralled the audience with heroism, moral ambiguity, insane amounts of bloodletting and gore, suspense, hypersexualised imagery, notorious villains, interweaving realpolitik, and impressive interpretations of dragons to date. Despite the uproar on how series ended, fans have to acknowledge it has, for the best parts (undeniably the first four seasons), been an immovable force within the realms of popular culture.

Disclaimer: All data and insights provided by Meltwater were analysed for the period between and after the final two episodes.

Game of Thrones: Social Media Reactions to the Series Finale

With the Liberal Party trumping the Federal Election, Meltwater looked at a fortnight’s worth of social data in the lead-up to the election to reveal what influenced voters’ choices.

Australia headed to the polls on Saturday 18 May 2019 and the nation had been inundated with information from every possible avenue of news dissemination. This deluge of information provided the necessary decision maker on who they voted into the hallowed halls of government in Canberra. And with social media being a primary source of information, topics of interest swirled through the minds of the voters.

With the Cambridge Analytica scandal and ‘fake news’ closely associated with electioneering efforts overseas, the people of Australia made their votes count by combing through the facts of the policies put forward by the politicians. Due diligence in fact-checking has become part and parcel due to the multitude of information and ‘fake news’ available in our mobiles.

So what made Australians tick during this Federal Election? Which politician made you think twice about the direction that Australia will be taking in the next three years? Meltwater jumps into the pool of news data on the upcoming elections and looks to unravel electioneering trends.

The Federal Election is important in the enactment of future policies governing the country and a myriad of issues influence how the people of Australia voted. Using the data in the month of May, the issue of Tax topped the list of issues that worry the people of Australia the most. This is unsurprising as this is where it will hurt the most for everyone – their hip pockets.

There were a total of 68,900 social mentions and a whopping 68% of them were negative in sentiment. This could be due to widespread concern over the Labor Party’s controversial reform policies on ‘franking credits’ and dividend imputation. The Liberals worked hard on this issue and arguably it could be the reason that won them the elections.

The emphasis on taxes was echoed in the news as the topic had 23,600 mentions, the most of all the topics. This high coverage in media outlets might have helped the Liberal cause too.

The global and shared challenge of climate change was next on the agenda for voters. The issue garnered 54,000 social mentions and 21,900 news mentions. The voting public had an eye on the plans the government was implementing to tackle the environmental threat and proposed policies for the mineral export and mining industries.

Another bread and butter issue of education remained a key issue for the people as policies to cut budget spending on schools worried the general population of parents and teachers. The topic had 37,800 social mentions and 23,000 news mentions. Netizens were predominantly negative at 46%  as Australians reflected on the prospects of the education system.

With elections being the definitive tool for the people to hold the political community accountable, it can be said that social media has become the main medium to voice, advocate and share opinions. And with social media being so dynamically engaging between both communities, key leaders ultimately bear the brunt or receive praise for their policies and stances. With almost a million social mentions, a lot has been said about these five protagonists of this election.

Incumbent prime minister and leader Scott Morrison was mentioned 365,000 times and 55% of them had negative undertones. Compared to the other four individuals, it is the highest percentage of negative sentiments directed to an individual. However, Bill Shorten was mentioned 587,000 times. Dubbed as the ‘unlosable’ election for Labor, many have highlighted Shorten’s lack of general popularity with voters as one of the reasons.

Shorten, Richard DiNatale and Clive Palmer posted around 46-48% of its social mentions with negative sentiment but Pauline Hanson, the face of the right-wing One Nation Party, surprisingly garnered a lower-than-expected 30% negative sentiments. She topped it off with 22% of social mentions being positive in sentiment and the election results were better than expected for her party. On the news front, the Liberal and Labor leaders naturally were mentioned the most with each of them getting more than 50,000 mentions.

With opinions and information available from both social media and news outlets, voters were considerably well-informed and certainly making sure they were fully exercising their democratic right. With the new leaders in position, social media insights should be harnessed to relatively give politicians a sense of which topics people are concerned about. And it is now left to them to fulfil the promises they made or face the reaction in three years’ time.

Want to find out how Meltwater can help deliver brand insights and competitive intelligence for your company? Click below!

An Analysis of Australian Federal Election Coverage

Landing PR coverage can be tricky, even for some of the biggest brands. It’s easy to see how “cool” brands, like Apple, Nike or ASOS can find stories that would appeal to the general public, but what if your brand or industry is considered “boring”?

All PR professionals have the option to increase their PR coverage, they just need to know to find and tell a story that resonates.

In this blog we’ll be rounding up some of tips from Andy Barr (co-founder & co-managing director or 10 Yetis Digital) and us!

TIP 1: Make sure your product and company aren’t awful!

If your product is fundamentally crap, there’s no point in trying to pitch PR stories.  Media attention will simply lead to an increase in negative PR coverage around your brand. So, make sure your product & company is built on a solid base. If there are lots of skeletons in the closet, they’ll be revealed as soon as your brand is in the public eye. Working on areas of your brand that can be criticized before moving on to think about how to make your company exciting is fundamental.

Before trying to get sexier media coverage, you’ll need the support of someone internally. Target a member of the c-suite who’s more open to ‘new ideas’. Influential internal stakeholders are key to generating wider buy-in from the rest of the organization, and the senior management team.

A good way of creating buy-in is to collaborate on the project, that way both parties feel they’ve been involved and a sense of ownership and pride. Don’t underestimate the power of enthusiasm, it’s contagious!

If you’re not used to doing ‘out there’ campaigns make sure you take baby steps. Ramp it up gradually, otherwise, stakeholders might freak out. Not only this, but your audience may be a little confused that you’ve gone from one extreme to another.

Test the waters and use a social listening tool like Meltwater or Meltwater Social to understand whether the tweaks to your campaign are resonating. It’s better to keep your finger on the pulse of your audience and media to spot spikes in negative conversations earlier on, prior to rolling out a complete campaign.

Consider how ‘interesting’ PR coverage will help your brand. What are your goals and how are you measuring them? Also, think about how PR will help you to achieve wider organizational objectives. For example, if the company is hoping to enter a new market, you may want to focus on getting ‘authority links’ from big news sites in that market to help improve SEO amongst that demographic. 

TIP 5: Test & come up with your ideas using ‘The bar factor’

Would your story be talked about by your mates at a bar? If yes, this could suggest you’ll get social shares, engagement and generate general public interest.

“We typically apply the pub (bar) factor to every idea we have, be that B2B or consumer…when we have our team brainstorming sessions, we involve our whole team, not just the PR team. All the ideas get written on a board, then we score each idea out of ten” says Andy.

In an ideal world we’d all be coming up with only original ideas, but in reality, chances are it’s already been done to some extent before. 

There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other campaigns, just as long as you’re not pinching the ideas. Use a social media monitoring tool to understand which parts of campaigns are resonating by breaking the conversational data down into positive trending themes. --> These are the best social media monitoring tools on the market.

Don’t be afraid to look outside of your industry for ideas too. Take a look at how celebs like Kim Kardashian use social media. A list celebs employ the top publicists, as such, they’re full of creative ways to engage audiences.

Also get inspired by sites such as PR examples, The Drum, AdWeek.

Top 7: Come up with more than one angle for a story

If you come up with a fun idea, give yourself multiple story angles. Don’t limit yourself! Take John Lewis as an example. They sent a press release about the Christmas TV ad itself, then how the ad led to an increase in the toy sales, then how many people have viewed the ad since the initial reach. 

If you create a fun piece of content, consider how you can stretch it out over a period of time by drip feeding the audience with new insights. Don’t lay all your cards on the table at once!

Tip 8: It doesn’t always have to relate back to your product

Depending on what your goals are, think outside the box when creating content. One of Andy’s clients, a pharmaceutical brand, created a ‘sex calculator’ to land PR coverage which drove traffic and authority links to their website. 

A version of this article originally appeared on our UK blog.

Eight Tips for Increasing PR Coverage

In 2016, a joint Google-Temasek report predicted that by 2020, Indonesia will have the fourth largest Internet market with 215 million users. With a current population of about 150 million avid Internet users and a growing mobile commerce market, it seems that the future is near.

Indonesia has stood out as one of the fastest growing digital economies in Southeast Asia with consumers spending an average of 8 hours of their time online every day on shopping and e-commerce sites as well as ride-sharing platforms. Amidst online services and websites, Indonesians are also observed to be very active on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and LINE. Hence, with the growing use and dependence on the Internet and social media sites, it opens up a lot of opportunities for businesses to push their digital marketing strategies, as well as boosting customer engagement and brand awareness.

Tip: Take a look at the top Indonesian YouTube influencers, and the top beauty influencers in Indonesia to partner with.

In this article, we will be looking at some of the best social media campaigns in Indonesia and what we can learn from them:

1. Go-Jek boosted brand awareness by paying tribute to local brands

Go-Jek made its mark in the ride-hailing industry as it grew from a simple motorbike taxi startup to a billion-dollar transportation network company, all within the span of 1.5 years. Besides increasing market growth, Indonesia’s very first unicorn is also well-known for its creative social media campaigns – one of them being their #AnakBangsaBisa (“Children of the Nation”) campaign which was held in line with the nation’s Independence Day.

Held in August 2018, the #AnakBangsaBisa campaign paid tribute to successful local brands, celebrities, musicians and athletes in Indonesia by featuring them in videos posted online as well as on TV and in cinemas. The campaign aimed to inspire and ignite a sense of pride amongst Indonesians and made use of floral petals and arrangements which to Indonesians, symbolised the idea of celebrations and special occasions. The company even went the extra mile to deliver floral arrangements to these brands and celebrities.

Gojek Indonesia - Untuk semua prestasi yang telah...

The use of relatable images and content resonated effectively with audiences, resulting in a well-received campaign. After it was posted online, the video garnered a high volume of views within a short period of time and was praised by netizens. Looking at the social coverage of the campaign, a month after its first video was posted, it can be seen that a high volume of mentions in relation to the campaign was tagged as positive:

Figure 1: Sentiment analysis of #AnakBangsaBisa campaign in August 2018 using Meltwater

To develop the content for this campaign, Go-Jek made sure to do its research. A survey was conducted beforehand to learn more about what the locals knew about their homegrown brands. It goes to show the importance of research and gathering insights on your audiences before developing any >social media strategies.

What can we learn from Go-Jek’s Campaign:

Conduct market research first before launching a campaign to understand your target audience

Use well-known local events to create relatable content to capture attention from local consumers

Tip: Read our customer story with Kopi Kenangan to understand how they are using Meltwater to get a clear picture of customer sentiment through social listening.

2. Tokopedia influenced brand perception by sharing a simple message

Tokopedia’s #MulaiAjaDulu campaign doesn’t just tell consumers to start striving for their dreams – it shows them where to start.

Using the hashtag #MulaiAjaDulu, meaning “just start it”, the campaign features short, simple and colourful video advertisements that capture the stories of individuals unhappy with their current situations and yearning to do more in life. The message is clear-cut but Tokopedia cleverly highlights the value of its e-commerce store as a one-stop platform where consumers can find the tools they need to achieve their dreams at the end of each video.

Although the approach and idea may seem cliche, Tokopedia did not just show that they were selling something tangible but essentially a life-changing way of shopping online. It showcased the convenience of using its e-commerce platform, paired with an inspiring message for their consumers.

What can we learn from Tokopedia’s campaign:

Keep any social post simple and easy to understand
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3. Sale Stock Indonesia boosted revenue by optimising their resources

As one of the top social media platforms in Indonesia, Facebook has garnered over 130 million active users in Indonesia in 2018, growing by 23% as compared to the previous year. It was also one of the most used platforms among Indonesians when it comes to shopping online as 40% of consumers would use Facebook to look for recommendations and information on products.

During the early stages of its e-commerce business, fashion online retailer Sale Stock Indonesia (now rebranded as Sorabel, as of January 2019) optimised the use of its Facebook advertisements, making full use of all the tools available. Through the use of link ads on its Facebook page, the company drove people to its website where they could browse their store and make purchases, hence, boosting sales. They also made use of Facebook’s “Custom Audiences” feature to create personalised ads as well as the “Lookalike Audiences” function to ensure that their ads reached their target audiences, namely 18-34 year old women.  

In 3 months, Sale Stock Indonesia successfully experienced a 4x increase in sales, with 90% of its revenue driven by Facebook traffic. Thus, despite relying on a single platform to engage consumers, Sale Stock showed that optimising the full use of the site can prove to be beneficial in the long run.

What can we learn from Sale Stock’s campaign:

Have a good understanding of social media tools to reap the benefits
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4. Rexona Indonesia lead social conversations to promote a new product

In 2015, Rexona Indonesia tapped onto a major local football tournament, Piala Presiden 2015 (President’s Cup), to promote the launch of its new product, Rexona MotionSense. Aware that many Indonesian football fans would be tuning into their social media platforms to comment on or receive updates on the game, Rexona decided to use the opportunity to hold a Twitter campaign.

The brand’s Twitter campaign evolved around the use of its hashtag #MOGER which means “get moving” in Bahasa Indonesian and is tied to its new MotionSense deodorant.  They also used the hashtag #MotionSense to further support the product launch.

Using Twitter’s Promoted Trend function to capture attention, Rexona engaged in real-time conversations during the event by posting live Tweets and updates as the game took place. To grab further attention from fans, the company also posted videos and game highlights as well as images of the teams preparing for matches and well-known national figures who had attended the event. Rexona even used a Poll Card before the final kick-off to get fans to vote for their favourite teams, encouraging interactions with the brand.

Rexona on Twitter: "Ini nih gol dari Musafri yang #MOGER banget! Tonton deh, bikin kita ikutan MO GERak! #MotionSense http://t.co/B1XN57YdHJ"

Although the campaign only lasted nine days, Rexona was able to achieve an overall reach of 720,000 and an average engagement rate of 5.2% within a short span of time, indicating how they will able to garner attention from a high volume of Twitter users. The brand’s campaign hashtag #MOGER was also able to obtain about 4.9 million Twitter impressions and 13,100 mentions, implying that Twitter users were also incorporating the hashtag in their own posts. Thus, Rexona was able to boost awareness of its new product as well as its brand by tapping onto the massive reach of a major local event.

What can we learn from Rexona Indonesia’s campaign:

Similar to Go-Jek, take advantage of major local events to tap into a massive audience

Create a simple and relatable hashtag that can be easily replicated and shared

Encourage consumers to interact with your brand online

In conclusion, these businesses proved that with the right strategies, a simple social media campaign can go a long way! As shown above, these companies developed successful social media campaigns through conducting research to understand their audiences and markets, creating eye-catching and meaningful content as well as maximising the tools they have. Learning from these strategies, businesses and startups in Indonesia can leverage the power and prominence of social media within the country to boost their brand awareness. You too can learn more about how to build a social media strategy in 10 easy steps!

Tip: Read more about Indonesia's social media statistics, and take a look at the top Indonesian Instagram influencers.

Top Social Media Campaigns in Indonesia

Meltwater looks at what Game of Thrones fans are talking about on social media in this fortnightly review as the fantasy series battle #ForTheThrone draws to a close in season 8. Disclaimer: GoT Season 8 spoilers ahead.

It does not take a decree by the Mad King or Bran’s prophecies to declare that the Game of Thrones has taken over the world by (both fire and snow) storm. This week’s post casts an eye over what the fans gawked about in the epic and brutal scenes of the Battle of Winterfell in Episode 3 and the melodramatic aftermath that followed in the subsequent episode.

This post also looks at the countless number of merchandise churned out to commemorate the fantasy series and the buying masses who are lapping them up like the Night King’s hordes of undead storming into Winterfell. With over 3.5 million mentions in social media since the broadcast of Ep 3, there is a lot of marketing that could be done to expand fanbases for brands.

Despite patriarchal tendencies of the houses in the Seven Kingdoms, the lineup of powerful women runs the roost after eight seasons and two episodes shy of the series’ end. It must be said that the series features strong female protagonists consisting of characters such as Cersei, Arya, Sansa, Daenerys, Melisandre and Lady Brienne (or Ser Brienne, after her recent knighthood by Jaime). With such a strong narrative on the fairer gender, even cosmetic brands have tapped into this fandom to create new products. For example, Urban Decay released a capsule collection for the series and there were more than 15,000 mentions on social media. A healthy 38% of the mentions reacted positively commenting on their excitement and the colours available while a low 8% griped on the capsule being hyped due to the series. Furthermore, during the same period, the capsule generated so much interest that it usurped Urban Decay’s bestselling mainstay Naked Palettes which only had 1,300 mentions.

Other brands such as eco-conscious jewellers, Alex & Ani, and handbag maker, Danielle Nicole, also pitched in with their unique Game of Thrones merchandise. Alex & Ani produced a special collection for the strongest women in the series, namely the Stark sisters, Daenerys and Cersei while the latter crafted a range of backpacks and pouches interpreting the series’ drama and sense of adventure.

This narrative on pro-feminism, however, comes back to haunt the producers of Game of Thrones. With the rising stock of Sansa and how she had developed as an integral part of the series, her encounter with Sandor Clegane or The Hound drew widespread criticism from fans. With over 21,000 mentions, fans were vilified with the conversation between the two characters and highlighted overtly sexist remarks from The Hound. Fans even called the writers sexists by portraying women “needed” to be abused or raped to become a “stronger” character.

Undoubtedly, the most talked about scene was when Arya ended the Night King’s march into Westeros. This highlights another example of female dominance in the series where a young female protagonist takes on the heroic role despite the images of hopelessness prior to that scene. This scene alone garnered almost 660,000 social mentions. There were countless videos of fans erupting in joyous fervour during mass screenings in pubs and halls. Arya’s representation of the underdog and the oppressed overcoming all odds went down well with the series’ fans.

After Arya stakes the Night King with her Valyrian steel blade, the realm of men obviously had to celebrate. And what do they have to celebrate with? Unsurprisingly, booze and unadulterated coitus. Even brands saw the affinity that the Seven Kingdoms had with their alcohol and no one could blame them. In tribute of the show’s unbridled success, three brands took up the mantle to brew and concoct the drinks inspired by the beverages the characters consumed.

Johnnie Walker, Diageo and the Ommegang Brewery launched special creations in light of the final season. A product of inebriation would be welcomed by many and fans poured their delight on social media. Johnnie Walker’s White Walker whisky topped the alcoholic trio with almost 6,000 mentions since the first episode aired while Diageo’s single malts garnered almost 3,700 mentions. Predictably, the lesser known Ommegang drew a respectable 1,900 mentions by fans but did manage to receive positive comments for its creations. In the long run, this will inevitably help to propel the brewery’s reputation and marketability.

Fans also got into the act by concocting their own wines and one French winemaker Thibault Bardet developed two wines to commemorate his favourite books and TV series. Despite getting decent reviews for his creation of The Dornish and The Imp’s Delight wines, HBO sent a legal warning letter for him to stop producing them. Although the broadcaster was kind enough to let him sell off whatever he had in stock. At least the broadcasting behemoth had the heart not to cut off his head just like Cersei ordered the Mountain to do to Missandei.

Another topic that had everyone talking was yet another sensuous one involving Jaime and Ser Brienne. This topic alone had 115,000 social mentions. The pent-up tension and most probably the copious amounts of ale consumed, the pair embraced through the cold night in the North. Many fans were initially delighted but this turned to derision when Jaime made the choice to return to Cersei in King’s Landing. This derision was fueled by comments that this was an act of male chauvinism and Brienne was just a pawn to Jaime’s insecurities to prove that he was a bad person despite her protestations. Fans were also annoyed that Jaime’s character development was completely destroyed in one act of passion as it highlighted a soft indiscretion in an extremely likeable flawed persona.

A Goblet To Rule & Shoes To Walk The Seven Kingdoms

A takeaway coffee cup became a viral sensation in a particular gaffe which three-eyed fans spotted in one of the scenes toasting the victory over the Night King. Fans went hysterical over the brown paper cup and instantaneously identified it to be a Starbucks one. However, upon further investigation, it was revealed that the cup was not from the coffee chain but a generic cup. This did not stop fans from linking Starbucks to the TV series and the topic had 166,000 social mentions. A financial analyst even went as far to say that the cameo appearance generated US$2.3 billion worth in advertising for Starbucks but this we all know remains to be argued.

German athletic wear giants Adidas also jumped into the fray with their iteration of the highly popular range of Ultraboost running shoes. The footwear range represented the various houses of the show and these truly caught fire (and ice) with the fans across the world. There were almost 23,000 mentions since the launch of the collection and almost 42% of them were positively anticipating the chance to “cop” the sneakers.

Arguably, the series has become a cultural phenomenon never seen since the intergalactic world of Star Wars. With it being part of the cultural folklore of our realm, marketing professionals around the world are unsheathing and thrusting their blades into the bellies of capitalism and making sure that they get their own shot at the Throne.

Disclaimer: All data and insights provided by Meltwater were analysed for the period between Episode 3 and before the broadcast of Episode 5

Game of Thrones: Brands Making It Reign

The social media environment is becoming ever more crowded, and users are increasingly bored by the large volume of marketing-focused content being created. In this precaairous environment, memes have become a popular way to successfully, but subtly, propagate brand messages.

The best ones are always entertaining, usually funny, and extremely sharable. So, for marketers targeting a Millennial audience in particular, what’s not to like? A successful meme strategy can leverage the multiplying potential of social media by going viral and reaching a huge local and international audience, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp or even LinkedIn.

Visual content – like a meme – has been shown in some social experiments to be up to 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. The reason? It’s simply easier to digest a small amount of text with a relevant image attached. You’re competing for attention with millions of other users on social media, so you want to put your content in a format that will create that ‘thumb-stopping’ moment. 

Jonathan Long, founder of e-commerce brand-development agency Uber Brands, agrees. Writing in  Entrepreneur magazine, he emphasises that memes allow marketers to engage with the target audience without forcing an advertisement down their throats. “[Marketers] are able to experience  high engagement rates using memes because [the] audience doesn’t feel like they are liking, commenting and sharing an advertisement. They just see it as a meme,” he explains.

What is a meme, anyway? Is essence, it is a cultural idea or cultural commentary which is transferred from person to person. And, it grows exponentially in reach as it does so. In the Internet age, it is a phrase, illustration, photo or video – or a combination of these – shared via social media networks. Some popular (non-business) examples of memes include Grumpy Cat, Condescending Wonka, Evil Kermit the Frog, LOLcats and The Dress. 

Of course, it didn’t take long for innovative social media marketers to realise that they could use memes to promote anything from tomato sauce to sports teams. Many of these memes are custom-created, while others simply ride on the back of popular existing memes – a tactic known as memejacking.

Denny’s, the popular American diner brand, which recently opened in the UK, is an example of a corporate that successfully uses memes to target and engage consumers. One Denny’s campaign gained extensive coverage in the London-based Daily Mail newspaper and was liked/shared over 100 000 times and retweeted 76 000 times in less than 24 hours. It played on the popular ‘zoom in’ meme concept. Social media users were shown a photo of a Denny’s pancake and syrup, and each time they zoomed into a part of the photo they were redirected to another part.

Eventually they reached a seemingly silly punchline that social users obviously loved. “Whoever is responsible for this deserves a raise,” tweeted one fan. “I love the @DennyDiner social media team so much,” enthused another.

Last year, President Trump caused outrage in Britain by refusing to visit the country because he believed former President Obama had sold the old embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square “too  cheaply”. In response, famous waxworks museum, Madame Tussauds, created a meme that showed a wax figure of Trump standing in front of the embassy he had refused to visit. It was an instant social media hit!

Heinz, the tomato sauce manufacturer, created a successful meme-based social media campaign by leveraging the debate around whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. In an Entrepreneur magazine article, Razvan Romanescu of Memes.com, the company responsible for the campaign, explained the strategy: “We created original meme content that played off the fruit or vegetable debate and asked the audience to chime in by using hashtags. We were able to [achieve] four times the original goal, generating more than four-million impressions and 80 000 engagements across Instagram and Facebook”.

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