The Meltwater Group is a privately held software company founded 10 years ago in Norway “by two men with $15,000 and a coffee machine”. Today, it’s a US$100m business with nearly 20,000 clients in 27 countries. With 800 staff, it has probably also significantly increased its caffeine intake. 

So what has Meltwater been doing that explains this rampant growth? “Our flagship product is Meltwater News, an online media monitoring service,” says the company’s director of PR Dan Purvis. Recently upgraded, Meltwater News delivers the business critical information that executives need to maintain a competitive edge. While tracking is obviously a critical part of that, just as important are the analytical tools and insights that Meltwater can provide, says Purvis: “Our role isn’t just to monitor media mentions, it’s about evaluating trends, identifying target markets, tracking competitor activities and measuring campaign ROI. It’s about helping our clients make better-informed business decisions.”  

Decoding social media 

Once upon a time, that’s where this story would have ended. “But it’s no longer enough just to focus on news,” says Purvis. “Social media is having a huge impact on businesses and individuals – so it’s up to companies like Meltwater to decode that. That’s why we launched Meltwater Buzz, a social media monitoring tool that brings order to the chaos of the internet.”

Chaos isn’t an exaggeration: “We monitor over 200m online sources that could be having an impact on your corporate reputation or market position. Facebook alone has 600 million users engaged in constant conversation. Twitter is running at 1 billion tweets a week. Companies and agencies really need to decide how to deal with that.” 

Common interest 

This is one of the main reasons why Meltwater teamed up with the PRCA last year as sponsor of its Awards. “There’s a lot of common interest between what we provide and the way the PR and marketing sectors are moving. I’ve been impressed with the way the PR industry has responded to social media in the last year by seamlessly integrating both disciplines into really creative campaigns.

Not that they had much choice. “There’s an old PR tenet about making sure you control the message – that the message doesn’t control you,” says Purvis. “That’s more true now than ever. Brands and agencies have to be ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue because otherwise the social media conversation will go on without them. More and more people turn to trusted sources in social media so you need to be tuned into that.”

This is true for both positive and negative scenarios: “In a typical crisis situation you must not be an ostrich and stick your head in the sand – be as transparent as you can be,” says Purvis, “But equally you can use social media to your advantage across all areas of your business such as product development, HR and recruitment, reputation management, sales, customer service, competitive analysis and market intelligence.”

Insights and advice for response

So how can Meltwater make a difference? Well, echoing Meltwater News, Meltwater Buzz tracks social media, analyses messaging and advises how best to respond. “In the context of marketing,” explains Purvis, “we might be dealing with a supermarket chain which is opening up stores in a new region. With Meltwater Buzz, we could be tracking online feedback right down to a specific area or town and by demographics like age or sex. This is real-time market research on how well these new locations are performing – what’s working and what isn’t. Once we have those insights, we provide consultancy about how to refine and improve the parameters of the search, and discuss how best to respond effectively.”

This part of the puzzle is subtle and complex, says Purvis. “This isn’t just about broadcasting a message to everyone on the web. For a start, you really need to know who is saying what. If a Twitter user has 100,000 followers, we can profile the impact they have on the market, not just on the basis of volume of tweets, but on the way they resonate. Do followers respond, for example, or do they pass on the user’s original tweets?”

Genuine influencers

Once genuine influencers have been filtered out from the mass of market noise, it becomes possible to develop a strategy, says Purvis: “These are the people you need to direct your messages at. Maybe it will just require a good old-fashioned PR approach, like taking them out for a coffee. Or maybe it will require a rethink of a client’s policy in a specified area. ”

Accurately assessing sentiment

Purvis says Meltwater’s approach is unique because it is about getting beyond the superficial metrics of the net to provide actionable insights: “I’m cynical about free tools that measure influence by volume – because they can be misleading. For example they don't take account of the people who are clocking up Twitter followers as a kind of game. We are also wary of the limitations of artificial intelligence in accurately assessing sentiment. Slang words like sick can confuse AI, so it’s important to support software with human intelligence. That’s what our commercial model seeks to do – we back up our AI with teams of expert consultants.”

This reference to the human touch is important in Meltwater’s philosophy. “Companies need to think hard about how they are perceived in the social media space. But they can’t live in an online bubble. Everything we do needs to be seen in the context of the broader communications business, which is another reason why our partnership with the PRCA works well.”

Dan Purvis http://twitter.com/#!/DanPurvis) is Meltwater Group’s Director of PR.

Social Media Dos and Don’ts

1. Respond promptly to social media criticisms and concerns. Even if you aren't fully up-to-speed with unfolding events, make sure you are engaging in the debate. Remember, these are your stakeholders.

2. Try to communicate in a nuanced and textured way. Broadcasting a blanket message and then not interacting misses the point of the medium.

3. Don't measure influence by the yard. Headline data about online usage can obscure deeper more meaningful trends and attitudes.

4. Maintain consistency online and offline. Don’t controversialise online simply for effect, or make claims that are untrue. Keep your online activity in line with the overall brand or corporate ethos.

5. Make sure every corporate division and external agency is singing from the same hymn sheet. In a crisis PR situation, for example, make sure the legal team isn’t calling for a communication shut down at the same time as the marketing team is trying to disseminate the party line.

Meltwater Group is sponsor of the PRCA Awards

For more information about the company, visit www.meltwater.com.