Newsjacking: What It is and How to Use It
Today, I want to talk to you about newsjacking and how it can be a helpful strategy for you.
So, what exactly is newsjacking? Well, it’s a clever way of taking advantage of popular news or events to promote your own brand or message. By piggybacking on trending topics, you can tap into the public’s attention and create buzz for yourself.
Let me give you an example. Imagine there’s a big sports event happening, like the Super Bowl. As a smart marketer, you can analyze the mood of the people and find a way to connect your brand with the excitement surrounding the event. It could be something as simple as a witty social media post or a clever advertisement that incorporates football references. By doing this, you’re maximizing the chances of getting noticed and engaging with your audience.
Now, you might be wondering how you can effectively use newsjacking. Well, here are some tips for you:
1. Stay Alert: Keep an eye on the latest news and trends in your industry. Pay attention to what people are talking about and how it relates to your brand.
2. Act Fast: When a news story breaks, don’t hesitate! Be quick to respond and adapt your marketing efforts accordingly. Time is of the essence in newsjacking.
3. Be Relevant: Make sure your newsjacking efforts are relevant to your brand and align with your messaging. Don’t force a connection that doesn’t make sense.
4. Be Creative: Think outside the box and find unique ways to tie your brand to the news. Be witty, humorous, or thought-provoking in your approach. Stand out from the crowd!
5. Be Cautious: While newsjacking can be a powerful tool, be mindful of sensitive topics and avoid controversy. Always consider the potential impact of your actions.
So, there you have it! Newsjacking is all about leveraging current events to your advantage and creating opportunities for your brand. By keeping an eye on what’s happening around you and staying relevant, you can effectively connect with your audience in a fun and engaging way.
Remember, in the fast-paced world of marketing, it’s essential to stay on top of trends and be ready to seize the moment. So, embrace newsjacking and let your brand shine!
If you decide to purchase something through the links I provide, I may earn money from my affiliate partners. Let me explain more.
The news is constantly changing, and journalists and editors have to work quickly to keep up and make their stories stand out. This is where you can take advantage of a great opportunity for your organization to get free publicity by using a strategy called newsjacking.
Newsjacking has the power to bring your business into the spotlight of public conversation, and the best part is that it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
Contents
- 1 What is Newsjacking?
- 2 How Can You Get in on the Action with Newsjacking?
- 3 15 Tips and Mistakes to Avoid: A Guide to Successful Newsjacking
- 3.1 1. Get to Know Your Audience Inside Out
- 3.2 2. Stay Updated with the News
- 3.3 4. Be Interesting
- 3.4 5. Predict Questions Before They’re Asked
- 3.5 6. Be Careful with Your Words
- 3.6 7. Steer Clear of Dark Subjects
- 3.7 8. Stick to Your Brand
- 3.8 Rule #9: Be Mindful of Hashtags
- 3.9 Rule #10: Embrace Blogging
- 3.10 12. Get Your Media Contacts Ready
- 3.11 13. Don’t Forget about Influencers!
- 3.12 14. Make Your Email Subject Line Crystal Clear
- 3.13 15. Go Ahead and Recycle!
What is Newsjacking?
Newsjacking is when you take advantage of a current news story by adding your business into the narrative with a relevant quote, observation, or commentary.
In 2011, marketing guru David Meerman Scott introduced the term newsjacking in his book, Newsjacking. It’s a combination of the words news and hijacking, because it involves marketers and PR professionals capitalizing on breaking news stories to gain exposure for their brands.
But newsjacking isn’t about trying to convince the media to cover your latest product launch or promote a survey you’ve conducted. It’s much more clever than that.
Instead, newsjacking is about seizing the opportunity to ride the wave of an already viral story to enhance your own visibility before the hype fades away. It’s like jumping on a moving train of a news cycle.
Essentially, newsjacking is about positioning your brand, yourself, or someone from your company as a valuable resource that can offer unique insights or a fresh perspective on a story that’s already grabbing a lot of attention.
How Can You Get in on the Action with Newsjacking?
- Get your brand featured or referenced in a news story by taking advantage of news outlets’ interest in current events. Basically, you want to be seen as a reliable expert source. To achieve this, you can reach out to editors or journalists offering valuable insights in a timely manner.
- Join the conversation on social media by sharing clever comments or creating follow-up content, like a funny image inspired by a popular story. You’ll often find this on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Write a newsjacking post on your company blog where you share your thoughts on a news item, and then share it on social media.
Newsjacking might sound intimidating, but it’s something that any content marketer or business owner can accomplish.
15 Tips and Mistakes to Avoid: A Guide to Successful Newsjacking
Newsjacking is a pretty cool way to get your brand some attention and make it into the news. But, let me tell you, if you’re not careful, you can end up making some mistakes along the way.
That’s why I’ve put together this list of 15 tips and common blunders to avoid, so I can help you navigate your newsjacking journey and make sure you do it right.
1. Get to Know Your Audience Inside Out
Now, this may seem like something obvious, but you’d be surprised how many small businesses overlook this crucial point. It’s super important to have a clear understanding of exactly who you’re trying to reach. Why? Well, how else will you know which media outlets to approach or what stories to jump on?
Before you dive into newsjacking, let’s start by understanding your target audience. Who are they? What are their interests? Which media do they follow and which news outlets do they visit? Which social platforms do they use? Creating customer profiles can help you determine when, where, and how to do newsjacking.
2. Stay Updated with the News
- Keep an eye on social networks – often, the latest news breaks there first. Twitter is especially great because it’s easy to spot news headlines, has a powerful search feature, and is a hub for journalists!
- Set up Google Alerts for keywords and phrases related to your brand or industry.
- Check RSS feeds and news sites regularly.
I’m going to tell you how to newsjack like a pro. First, you need to use a monitoring tool to stay on top of the latest news. One option is SourceBottle, and another is Cision’s paid tool for agencies and businesses. Cision also owns HARO and ProfNet, where journalists might be looking for sources. These last two tools are good for small businesses, but may not deliver news fast enough for newsjacking – it depends on the situation.
Next, speed is essential in newsjacking. Big news spreads like wildfire, and media outlets are always searching for unique perspectives to add to their stories. If you want your analysis or social media posts to get noticed, you have to respond within a few hours, or at most, a day or two. If you wait too long, you’ll be lost amongst a flood of other stories and social media updates that beat you to the punch.
4. Be Interesting
I want to tell you something important – don’t be boring! When you want to share a story, make sure it has an interesting angle. Be critical, have your own opinion, and be different from everyone else. Stand out from the crowd by being unique and exciting.
5. Predict Questions Before They’re Asked
When you want to join in on current news, it’s a great chance for business owners like you to show off your knowledge and expertise. Reporters may not know everything about every topic, so they look for experts to explain things. Try to imagine the questions that someone who doesn’t know much about your industry might have. Even better, think about the issues that the public might not know about. Instead of just talking about what everyone else is talking about, focus on the real problem behind it. That way, you’ll have a unique perspective to offer.
6. Be Careful with Your Words
When it comes to newsjacking, things move quickly and it’s easy to make mistakes. I’ve learned that it’s important to consider all angles of your message before you say or post something that could cause harm. Who might be offended? Could using a strong word hurt your brand or upset a religious group? Is the issue so politically heated that no matter what you say, you’ll end up alienating a large part of your audience? It’s a delicate balance between standing up for something and becoming the target of outrage.
7. Steer Clear of Dark Subjects
8. Stick to Your Brand
When you’re joining the conversation about current events, it’s important to make sure that all content stays true to your brand. I’ll teach you what this means. If you have staff or people who help you with social media, they might feel tempted to respond to news with clever remarks. But they need to use words and a voice that match your brand’s personality. Being sassy or sarcastic may not be the message you want your brand to send.
Brands have had a lot of success by getting involved in big events while still staying true to their brand. A few years ago, the power went out during the Super Bowl. Oreos quickly made a picture on Twitter with an Oreo cookie that said, you can still dunk in the dark. The content was timely and it showed the brand’s character, and it became the most popular message of the game. Look at the picture below.
Have you ever noticed how people use hashtags on platforms like Twitter and Instagram to jump on the latest trends? They find a popular hashtag and add their own thoughts to it. It can be a good strategy, but be careful not to go overboard and use hashtags that have nothing to do with your content or industry just to get attention. It makes you look desperate and unprofessional.
Rule #10: Embrace Blogging
Newsjacking isn’t just about getting publicity – it’s also a way to strengthen your content marketing. If you have a blog on your company’s website, write a concise but meaningful post that relates to a current news story. And do it quickly! Then share it on social media with a few carefully chosen words and a hashtag. If your analysis is insightful and unique, you might even catch the attention of journalists or editors who will cite your expertise or include a link to your post.
Let me tell you, some of the best examples of newsjacking are actually quite simple. Just a few lines from the CEO, with a clever keyword or hashtag, can make all the difference in getting your content noticed and shared. Instead of wasting time with a long, confusing explanation, just link to the main source of the story and dive right into a short analysis.
12. Get Your Media Contacts Ready
When it comes to newsjacking, you’ve got to hit the ground running. If you want to make a splash with public relations, you need to have a list of media contacts ready. These contacts should include reporters, bloggers, and outlets that cover your industry or target market. If you don’t have such a list yet, it’s high time to start building one now, before you find yourself in need. Make sure you reach out to the contacts on your list first.
So, if you want to build relationships with the media, it’s a good idea to start ahead of time. But how exactly do you do that? Well, one way is to retweet the material from journalists and bloggers that you like on Twitter. Make sure to tag them (@them) so they take notice of you. Another thing you can do is write blog posts and mention the writer’s name and outlet in your stories. This way, when they use Google Alerts to keep an eye on their own work (yes, journalists do this!), your mentions will show up. When you want to join the conversation with your own thoughts, they’ll be more likely to recognize you.
13. Don’t Forget about Influencers!
Here’s something interesting: these days, the line between social media influencers, bloggers, and journalists is starting to blur. It’s not just about getting your content picked up by the media anymore. It’s also about getting that content amplified through social media.
So, here’s the deal: if you want to get some serious love on social media, you need to do some groundwork. It’s all about building relationships with influencers beforehand. Don’t just approach them when you need something – be a giver, not just a taker. Show some love for their updates and, when the time comes, they’ll be more likely to return the favor.
14. Make Your Email Subject Line Crystal Clear
When reaching out to the media, don’t try to be clever or mysterious with your subject line. Reporters, especially those on tight deadlines, don’t have the time or patience to figure out what you’re trying to say. Get straight to the point.
15. Go Ahead and Recycle!
Okay, listen up! I’ve got something important to tell you about newsjacking. There’s a big misconception out there that says you always have to come up with brand-new content. But guess what? That’s just not true! If you’ve got some old stuff that’s still relevant, there’s nothing wrong with giving it a little makeover and using it to talk about the latest breaking news.
Let me break it down for you. Imagine you went to this fancy event last year, and you spoke about the exact same issue that some poor company is dealing with right now. Well, why not share a video of your speech on YouTube? Start the video at this really memorable quote, and make sure to use the trending hashtag. It’s a great way to join the conversation and show off your expertise.
Now, here’s the thing. These 15 tips I just gave you? They’re not the only ones. In fact, there’s a whole lot more to learn about newsjacking. It’s a tricky thing, and it’s different for everyone. That’s why you need to be willing to try out different methods. Use tools like analytics or social media metrics to see how people are responding to your content. That way, you can keep improving and getting better.
Don’t get discouraged if your first attempts don’t work out. It could simply be that the media you reached out to decided not to cover the story or they had already chosen a different angle. But hey, keep trying different approaches and there’s no reason why newsjacking can’t become a valuable part of your content marketing, social media, and public relations strategy.
Just a little reminder, newsjacking refers to taking advantage of current news or events to amplify your own message or promote your brand. It’s a powerful technique that can help you gain attention and engagement.
Now, have you ever heard of Business Prime account from Amazon? It’s pretty cool. When you have a Business Prime account, you qualify for discounts, special offers, and more. And guess what? You can create a FREE account to get started today. So why not give it a try?