What is Newsjacking and how to generate content through the buzz

Currently, it is imperative to innovate your Digital Marketing strategies if you want to be a reference in your field.

One of the ways to do it is to apply the concept of Newsjacking, a method that aims to take advantage of a subject or hot topic, to promote your brand.

With the digital transformation, information becomes faster, but it is also quickly replaced by new content.

It takes agility not to lose the timing and still be able to produce material that is useful to highlight your company positively.

How about knowing more about Newsjacking and how this method can bring good results for your brand? In this post, we will cover:

• How important is it to promote your brand?
• What is and when did the term Newsjacking come up?
• What are the stages of news you need to know?
• What are the characteristics of a Newsjacking action?
• What are the best tips to put Newsjacking into practice in your company?
• What companies make great use of Newsjacking?

Just continue reading and check it out!

How important is it to promote your brand?

Before we delve deeper into the meaning and application of Newsjacking, we must explain the importance of knowing how to position your brand correctly.

Nowadays, users are more connected and, therefore, it takes a lot of strategic planning to apply the right actions.

Digital relevance is no longer a differential, but an obligation for those who want to stand out in such a competitive and disputed market.

Prices and quality products are no longer enough for your company to be perceived as an authority within its operation area.

Whether with paid advertisements or strategies that generate organic traffic — such as Content Marketing — your company must be present in the most varied communication channels and search engines.

No wonder studies show that 88% of the companies are on social media.

In addition to online visibility and engagement with the public, companies end up getting other benefits, such as increased traffic on their pages and, consequently, more sales. 

Producing relevant content is, therefore, fundamental to business success.

It may be through a Twitter post or a more complete and in-depth content on your company’s blog: the paths to promotion are the most diverse.

Relating your brand to relevant and current news can also be interesting, and this is exactly where the concept of Newsjacking comes in.

What is and when did the term Newsjacking come up?

David Meerman Scott launched the book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” in 2007 to address changes in the way we work in these areas as the internet grows.

David began to have greater contact with the area, analyze the relationships between brands and consumers in the digital world, and, in 2011, created the concept of Newsjacking.

The method consists of taking advantage of a featured event or news to promote a product or even a brand.

In other words, you can attract more attention to your company from relevant information that is already drawing the attention of users.

The idea is to produce some kind of content — from a more entertaining action to a deeper analysis — on some subject that is currently on the rise.

You promote engagement with your brand in an organic way, attracting potential consumers through an event that your company had no direct relationship with. 

This allows you to take advantage of the popularity of an issue to promote your business.

By using the most commented hashtag on the day on Twitter, for example, and associating with your content, the trend is that users who would not look at your post end up being impacted by your action.

In other words, you can attract more leads to your company, generating engagement, and increasing the relevance of your brand.

Not always the subject used to promote your brand needs to have some direct connection with your area of expertise. However, it is necessary to analyze each situation and determine whether or not the interaction will bring positive results to your company.

A poorly planned action can damage your reputation.

A good example of Newsjacking’s use was when air companies began to charge a fee for any checked baggage.

For a luggage store, it was the ideal time to offer carry-on bags that fit the requirements to enter the aircraft without paying.

With such competition, it is necessary to find intelligent and innovative ways to promote your brand. 

If you want to improve your company’s results through marketing strategies, Newsjacking is an excellent alternative.

What are the stages of news you need to know?

In order to perform an effective Newsjacking action, it is important to understand what the news cycle is. After all, timing is essential so that your activity is not considered too late. It is necessary to act quickly.

As news is usually factual, you need to position yourself at the right time. According to the graph above, as soon as a news story or event becomes much discussed, it is time to put your plan into action — a task that requires efficiency and speed.

After all, there is no point in being the first company to position itself about the buzz and not being able to generate an effective impact.

It is vital to be precise in the execution of your strategy, ensuring that the content produced is interesting for the users who will be impacted.

From the second point on the graph, the possibility of producing something interesting or even original becomes harder. More people will already know about it, and your company will not be the only one in the market with the idea of applying Newsjacking.

After the news cycle’s peak, it has already become too late to invest time and even resources in trying to associate an event with your brand.

The interest of the public is becoming decreasing as time goes by, and other news and information are emerging and starting new cycles.

Being aware of what happens in social networks and the media, in general, is fundamental not to lose the timing of a Newsjacking action.

If a fact is becoming less relevant to the public — no matter how similar it is to your business or better your idea — it’s time to start thinking about other actions.

What are the characteristics of a Newsjacking action?

Some characteristics need to be analyzed when planning a Newsjacking action.

There is no point in identifying the popularity of a certain event quickly if you don’t have the right content to approximate the fact to your brand.

Be aware of the points below.

Catch the user’s attention

The internet is full of information, ranging from bad content to brilliant ideas. So you have to find a way to capture the user’s attention.

Think of some features that will make the consumer find the positioning of your brand amid so much other information: this is a differential.

Produce relevant content

Producing material merely to follow the trend will not bring positive results for your brand.

It is important that the content is relevant and really makes some sense, either through a funnier idea or more in-depth material. An efficient action becomes an excellent advertisement for your company.

Think about going viral

To stand out on the internet, it is necessary to think of content that is easily shared, and that, at best, goes viral on the network.

By producing content that fits these three characteristics, your Newsjacking action tends to be efficient and generate positive results for your brand.

What are the best tips to put Newsjacking into practice in your company?

Now that you know more about Newsjacking how about knowing the actions to put this technique into practice?

To help you in this task, we’ve separated some important tips that can make your strategy more efficient.

Stay alert and monitor the main channels

To not waste time on an event or a news story, it is necessary to monitor the main channels of communication and media.

Use the alerts feature and always keep an eye on the main subjects commented on social networks and forums. This way, you can gain some time over the competition.

Choose the right keyword

When you find news that may be useful to promote your brand, thinking about the right keywords becomes a must to get your idea found in search engines.

That’s why SEO (Search Engine Optimization) also has its importance, and it is vital to produce content thinking about it.

Quickly produce quality content

Time is everything when it comes to Newsjacking, so it’s important to produce the content quickly, making sure that your brand is one of the first to position itself on the subject.

However, care and caution are needed to produce a relevant and quality material. Otherwise, the advertising generated may turn out to be negative.

Do not use any event to promote your brand

Speaking of negative advertising, it is essential to understand that not everything on the rise among users should be used to promote your brand.

In the midst of Hurricane Sandy, which hit the United States in 2012, the Sears department store had a bad idea to use the hashtag #HurricaneSandy to promote its products.

The repercussion, of course, was terrible.

What companies make great use of Newsjacking?

To better illustrate Newsjacking’s efficient actions in the market, we have listed some companies that have used the concept in the best possible way.

KitKat

When the iPhone 6 launched, back in 2014, users worldwide start to complain about the phone bending when stores in the back pockets. 

While online forums and Twitter were all over the bending issue, the insurance company claimed that this model was by far the most robust ever.

KitKat didn’t waste any time to release a funny tweet on how their chocolate bars wouldn’t bend, but break — a direct correlation to their logo “have a break, have a KitKat”.

The Tweet got over 26 thousand retweets and 13 thousand likes. 

Oreo

You already know that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, with a huge audience at the end of the American football season in the United States.

In 2013, however, a power outage in the middle of the match became the hot topic of conversation as most of the country was watching the game.

With a simple post of its main product — the stuffed cookie — Oreo received almost 20,000 likes on Facebook and had the Twitter post retweeted more than 15,000 times in a short time.

Besides the engagement with the public, portals specialized in marketing highlighted the positive action of the company.

Newsjacking is, therefore, an excellent way to get more attention than expected. 

Through the correct execution of some actions, the tendency is that you attract more attention to your brand and capture a little of the popularity of an event or news that is on the rise.

Want to learn more techniques that can improve your Content Marketing strategy? In this post, we explain what user-generated content is and how it can boost your results. Check it out!