New to Meltwater? 5 Tips to Help You Get Started!
Hi everyone! I’m Katie Washington, Marketing Manager at Atrium Hospitality and Meltwater’s first Fellow, focusing on Brand Monitoring & Reputation Management. I’m excited to be part of the community and share a few things I’ve learned along the way!
At Atrium, we use Meltwater to stay on top of media coverage across our hotel portfolio, monitor competitors, identify emerging trends, and uncover opportunities for our properties. One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to use every feature right away to start getting value out of the platform.
Here are five tips I’d share with anyone just getting started!
1. Start small and build from there.
It’s easy to get excited about everything Meltwater can do, but I’d recommend starting with one or two goals. Maybe you want to track mentions of your company, follow industry news, or keep an eye on competitors. Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can start exploring more features and building out your monitoring.
2. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your searches.
Your first search probably won’t be your best, and that’s okay! Spend some time in Explore testing keywords and Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT. Look through the results to see what’s relevant and what might need adjusting. A little trial and error upfront can make a big difference in the quality of your results.
And once you’ve built a search you’re happy with, save it! You’ll thank yourself later.
3. Let Meltwater do some of the monitoring for you.
One of the easiest ways to stay informed is by setting up daily alerts or email digests for your most important searches. I also recommend exploring spike-detection alerts, which can help flag sudden increases in mentions.
I especially like using these for competitor monitoring. An unexpected jump in coverage could point to a new campaign, partnership, or industry opportunity worth looking into.
4. Look beyond your own brand.
Some of the most interesting insights come from conversations that don’t directly mention your organization. Try monitoring a few competitors or broader industry topics. It’s a great way to spot trends, find inspiration, and discover opportunities you might have otherwise missed.
5. Look for the story behind the numbers.
Meltwater gives you a lot of data, but the real value is understanding what it means. When reviewing a dashboard or report, I like to ask myself three questions: What’s working? What could be improved? And where is there an opportunity?
Sometimes the most valuable takeaway isn’t a big report or complicated metric. It’s simply noticing something worth sharing with your team.
One Last Thing…
Give yourself time to explore and have fun with it! You’ll probably discover new ways to use Meltwater as you get more comfortable with the platform.
Wishing everyone a great start with Meltwater! I’m excited to see how you put it to work for your organizations!