Powerful Newsjacking: A Tool for Content Marketing & PR

newsjacking

Newsjacking is an idea that has been around since the dawn of the Internet. The concept is simple: use current events to your advantage to create a viral marketing campaign that generates attention for your brand by creating and syndicating relevant content in the form of articles and news stories.

Newsjacking is a strategy that involves taking advantage of breaking news stories to promote your product or service. It’s an effective way to get attention for your company, but only if you use it correctly.

 

This article will cover the basics of newsjacking, including the types of news stories that lend themselves to being used as a vehicle for promoting your brand and the most common mistakes people make when using this strategy.

 

But while the concept is simple, the execution is not. It takes skill to execute newsjacking correctly.

 

What’s more, it can be used as part of any content strategy – not just PR and media relations.

Here’s 5 ways newsjacking can ensure you get maximum exposure for your brand.

  1. This strategy is one of the most powerful tools in social media marketing since it allows you to inject yourself into popular news stories, helping you gain traction with influencers and journalists who might otherwise ignore your brand.

     

  2. It’s all about being ahead of the news cycle and getting your message out quickly. Getting a story out early allows you to gain a large amount of exposure and traffic when the story peaks.

     

  3. Newsjacking is one of the most powerful tools in business marketing because it allows you to break news stories relevant to your product or service. It will enable you to inject yourself into the conversation and gain exposure for your company before anyone else has the chance.

     

  4.  It’s one of the most effective forms of content marketing when you combine video and written text, two highly effective types of content, making the story easy to digest, increasing engagement by appealing to your audience.

     

  5. Newsjacking is a great way to inject some life into your social media posts by increasing the probability of the post being shared by multiple readers.

Newsjacking for Brand Marketing

In the past, brands tended to focus their efforts on trying to convince consumers to buy their products instead of telling them how they could solve their problems. However, over time, companies have realized that they need to do more. They now realize that they need to communicate effectively with customers and tell them why they should care about their brand.

They also understand that they need to provide value to their potential customers and help them solve their problems through their product or service.

Pairing a brand with trending news or events can generate attention and focus on the brand offer or product. This is where newsjacking comes in.

The goal of newsjacking is to take advantage of trends that are happening right now in order to increase awareness and drive traffic back to your website or blog. By doing so, you are able to position your brand as the solution to a problem that someone may be facing at the moment. When done well, you can generate significant amounts of interest in your brand and its products and services.

The best part? You don’t even have to create original content. All you need to do is find a topic related to current events and then use it to build awareness around your product or service.

You only need to look at the major news sources online to see what’s going on right now. If there’s something that interests you, read up on it and identify which outlets are covering it. Then, start searching for those topics and monitor each outlet for mentions of things that you can relate to  your brand or product. When you notice a story that’s gaining traction, jump on it by commenting on the article or sharing it on your own social networks.

Submitting a relevant press release that mentions trending news that ties into your brand’s message can help you gain a great deal of traffic to your website and even generate sales and calls. You may even get additional pick ups from journalist in additional news or magazine outlets.

The key here is timing. As soon as you see a trend starting to emerge, jump on it immediately. Here are a few examples of brands that have leveraged this strategy successfully in the past.

Brand Marketing Examples

  1. Coca-Cola uses newsjacking on Twitter during Super Bowl XLVIII
    Coca-Cola was able to leverage its sponsorship of the 2014 Superbowl by tweeting at key moments throughout the game. Coke tweeted so much during the game that their tweets were retweeted over 1 million times!
  2. Starbucks uses newsjacking to increase sales
    Starbucks leveraged an event that happened right after Valentine’s Day. The cupcake trend started spreading like wildfire across social networks. People shared pictures of them all over Facebook and Instagram. As a result, Starbucks saw a huge spike in orders.
  3. PepsiCo uses newsjacking to create awareness around a new product launch
    PepsiCo took advantage of the New York Fashion Week by posting photos from various shows on their Facebook Page. By doing so, they reached thousands of fashionistas. Many of these fans then posted similar images on their pages, which helped spread the word further.
  4. Walmart uses newsjacking to boost holiday sales
    Walmart posted a picture of Santa Claus delivering presents to children on December 12th. On Christmas Eve, they sent another email reminding customers that they would be open until midnight. Then, on Christmas morning, they promoted Black Friday deals again.
  5. Target Marketers Newsjack Events into Campaigns
    Target marketers used newsjacking to promote their annual Back to School campaign. Users were asked to share their favorite memories associated with school days. The goal was to generate buzz around the upcoming campaign.
  6. Dell Uses Event-Based Newsjacking to Promote Its Products
    Dell did something really smart based on an idea I came up with called EventBasedMarketing. They wanted to leverage the excitement surrounding the World Cup Soccer matches being played in Brazil. Dell promoted the World Cup Soccer their TV spots.

Using Trending Stories for
Inbound Marketing

The above examples show how brands can take advantage of popular trends and events to increase brand awareness and eventually drive leads and customer loyalty. To leverage a trending story or topic, you will need to think about two things. The first one is creating content that is relevant and interesting enough to gain attention. You can find these trends by performing research on Google Trends or social media platforms such as Twitter. After writing your story, email and send it to journalists and submit it to top-tier press release distribution channels like our Authority Press Release Submission. Your target audience will find and read your content and may take action.

How to Write a Successful Newsjacking Story

So now let’s talk about some tips on how to write a successful newsjacking story. Here are 10 guidelines to follow:

  1.  Know What People Are Talking About
    Before starting to write, try finding out more information about the trend/event you want to cover. For example, if you’re going to write about a celebrity who just got engaged, check his Instagram account to see which pictures have gotten the most likes. If there aren’t many photos, then chances are people weren’t talking much about him getting married recently. On the other hand, if lots of posts mention wedding dresses and engagement rings, then you might be able to use this opportunity to get published before anyone else does.
  2. Find Out Who Is Influencing the Conversation Right Now
    Once you’ve found out what people are saying about the event/trend, look at the influencers. These individuals usually make headlines because of their popularity. Check out sites like Buzzsumo and Klout to identify influential users. Once you’ve identified them, search for mentions of those names on blogs, forums, etc., to learn more about their influence.
  3. Determine Whether There Will Be Enough Room to Talk About Yourself
    If you decide to go ahead with publishing your own article, don’t forget to include links back to your site so readers can easily access additional details about yourself and your company. Also, consider adding images and videos related to the subject matter. Remember, no one wants to click on a link only to discover that all he gets is another page full of text!
  4. Use Social Media Monitoring Tools to Identify Keywords
    Social monitoring tools allow you to monitor conversations taking place across multiple social networks. It also helps you understand whether certain keywords are gaining traction among different audiences.
  5. Create Relevant Headlines
    A good headline should catch the reader’s eye while still providing useful information. Try using words that describe the main points of your post instead of simply copying the title of the original piece.
  6. Include Images or Video That Add Value
    Images and video add value to any blog post, but especially ones that contain stories about current events. When choosing images, keep in mind that images with high resolution tend to perform better than low-quality versions. The same goes for video files.
  7. Make Sure All Information is Cited Properly

    When citing sources, always provide a reference URL. Additionally, avoid plagiarism or incorrect information by making sure every fact has been verified independently and tht you rewrite the information in your own words.

  8. Don’t Forget SEO Optimization

    Search engines love fresh new content. Most of the time, if the story is new, there may not be a lot of competition for long tail search terms around the story. So make sure you write your story t include long tail phrases that you think your audience will use to find the story. Also, keep in mind the title of the story, headings and subheadings in the article are the most important text in Google’s eyes. Make sure you include key terms, when possible, in the titles and headings without losing the readability of the story.

  9. Promote Your Post Using Multiple Channels

    You may already have an established presence online. In that case, promote your articles via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, etc. Just remember to share unique pieces of content rather than reusing old material.

  10. Measure Results

    Finally, measure results to determine how effective your efforts were. Did you generate enough traffic? Were people clicking through to read your story or did they stop after reading the first paragraph? How long do visitors spend on average per visit? These answers will help you figure out where improvements need to be made next time around. Analyzing the analytical data, can also give you some insight into what kind of follow up story you can write to get even more visitors to your website.

newsjacking

Execute Your Newsjacking Campaign

To benefit from this strategy, here are some tips on how to best execute newsjacking campaigns:

  1. Find topics related to your industry, product, or service that have recently become hot button issues.
  2. Create high-quality articles around these stories and post them on article marketing sites like Medium and others.
  3. Follow through and distribute your content via Social Media Channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Make sure your links/mentions/tweets point people to your content. If someone retweets your link, then great – you’ve accomplished your objective of getting more exposure.

Finally, start building relationships with influencers within your space who might mention or feature your products or services. Over time, those mentions may turn into sales.

You will need to be prompt since trending stories, and often businesses can’t run this campaign in a timely fashion. Let’s face it; there are many moving parts both to plan and execute a successful newsjacking campaign. Not to mention maximizing traffic, engagement, and getting your audience to take action.

Our authority press distribution service is perfect for this strategy to help you increase visibility to an interested audience. Leave the writing to us. Each package includes an article written by one of our talented writers. We combine our efforts to look for opportunities to pair your brand with relevant trending news.

Let us know if would like us to perform a newsjacking strategy for your press release.

Share:

More Posts

Ai Press Release Generator

Ai Press Release Generator: AI-powered press release generator tool

Effective communication is increasingly important today for businesses to thrive. One game-changing tool that has revolutionized the way companies share news and updates is the AI-powered press release generator. This innovative platform combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and natural language processing to create compelling and professional press releases. (You can find our free AI

SEO press releases

The Impact of SEO Press Releases: Best Practices for 2024

Understanding the Target Audience for Press Releases Press releases play a critical role in the success of any SEO campaign. In order to maximize the impact of press releases, it is essential to understand and cater to the target audience. By tailoring the content to resonate with the intended audience, it becomes easier to capture

Online Reputation Management Strategy

Online Reputation Management Strategy

In the digital age, online reputation is paramount. A single negative review or online comment can cause irreparable damage to a business. However, with an innovative strategy for online reputation management, businesses can ensure a positive public image. This article explores the importance of developing and implementing an effective online reputation management strategy to ensure

Media Coverage for Business

How To Get Media Coverage For Your Business Or Brand

Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, getting media coverage of your brand is key to success. It’s an essential part of any marketing strategy that can help to bring attention to your brand and build credibility with potential customers. Like the old adage goes: “there’s no such thing as bad press,” but

Send Us A Message

PressFrolic