Let $M$ be a closed Riemannian manifold with a family of Riemannian metrics $g_{ij}(t)$ evolving by a geometric flow $\partial_{t}g_{ij} = -2{S}_{ij}$, where $S_{ij}(t)$ is a family of smooth symmetric two-tensors. We derive several differential Harnack estimates for positive solutions to the nonlinear backward heat-type equation \begin{eqnarray*} \frac{\partial f}{\partial t} = -Δf + γf\log f +aSf \end{eqnarray*} where $a$ and $γ$ are constants and $S=g^{ij}S_{ij}$ is the trace of $S_{ij}$. Our abstract formulation provides a unified framework for some known results proved by various authors, and moreover lead to new Harnack inequalities for a variety of geometric flows.