Newsjacking is the practice of a business capitalizing on a popular news story in order to amplify their marketing efforts, increase their sales, and boost their overall success. In other words, companies use ride on the coattails of a breaking news story in order to get coverage for their message or brand. In this article, we provide a more definitive explanation of newsjacking and its importance in the marketing world.
One of the hottest buzzwords in marketing at present time is newsjacking. Essentially, it is the next evolution of real-time marketing, a popular marketing strategy. Both tactics involve using the popular and breaking news stories in order to spread awareness of a brand or a company’s message.
News is constantly breaking, which gives marketers a very unique opportunity to take advantage of the a popular breaking story in order to benefit a business in some manner. News stories – even the biggest and most groundbreaking – don’t have staying power. They usually die off in hours or days, and in rare instances, they can last for weeks. As such, the earlier marketers can seize a news story, the greater the chance that it will benefit a business in a huge way.
Benefits of Newsjacking
If done properly, newsjacking can offer several benefits. Some of the key benefits of newsjacking include:
- Increasing search engine optimization (SEO) efforts
- Capturing the attention of an audience in super timely commentary
- Leading your niche in though leadership
Newsjacking Tips
In order to make your newsjacking efforts a success, here are some crucial tips to keep in mind:
- Stay Abreast of the News. In order to newjack, you have to be aware of what is going on in the world, including the latest breaking stories.
- Be Discerning. Be aware of what type of news events you should take advantage of. Certain things aren’t worthy of newsjacking, such as natural disasters, wars, the death of an important figure, etc.
- Timing is Everything. As mentioned, news stories don’t last a long time. For that reason, timing is crucial. In other words, in order to succeed at newsjacking, you have to be fast. The public doesn’t want to hear about what happened yesterday today. If you act quickly, you will be able to get the most traction possible.
- Establish Natural Connections. Make sure the news story fits in with your brand and is something your audience would be interested in.
