The typical social media user logs in for about two and a half hours per day, according to estimates.
Therefore, becoming front of mind for users has never been simpler for marketers thanks to strategies like newsjacking.
Brands have frequently utilized newsjacking to insert themselves into the discussion and show off their media savvy.
Being tone-deaf on some issues and associating your business with a popular story, though, might place you right in the heart of a tweetstorm of criticism.
So how should businesses approach breaking news stories that go viral, and is newsjacking worthwhile?
For every brand, developing an effective newsjacking strategy can have a big positive impact. But the execution is ultimately what counts.
Newsjacking: What Is It?
A popular media approach called “newsjacking” involves a brand utilizing a trending news story to promote itself.
Influencers on social media, for instance, commonly utilize newsjacking to present their own distinctive perspectives and grow their audience.
To help them trend and broaden their brand reach, prominent brands commonly use this tactic. Rarely, the brand itself will be the focus of the news article, for better or worse.
But rather than making yourself the focus of the narrative, newsjacking is mostly about tying your brand to an already-existing one.
The advantage of newsjacking is that it takes very little effort and only a little imagination to quickly make your business popular.
Traditional marketing techniques can be used in a number of ways to news jack a story, including:
Advertising.
social media advertising.
creating blog posts.
collaborating with different brands.
Sponsorships.
organizing events
Fundraising.
Most crucially, anyone with a personal or professional brand is able to use the newsjacking strategy.
Newsjacking has many advantages and requires little work, but there are also drawbacks that every brand should take into account.
Newsjacking’s Benefits And Drawbacks
“All publicity is good publicity,” as the adage goes.
This is mostly true in the social media era, however, corporations tread more carefully when it comes to being edgy or relevant than political commentators and the typical Twitter user.
Because of this, newsjacking has both benefits and drawbacks.
Pros
Make quick money off of a news report.
Increase your brand’s exposure greatly and introduce it to the general public.
Encourage a lot of social media interaction.
increase brand loyalty (if done properly).
Showcase the principles of your brand in real-time.
Cons
may impact the reputation of your brand.
Miss the window of opportunity to use a story’s advantages.
Appeal to the incorrect demographic.
So, in order to fully benefit from newsjacking, you must be aware of how to approach a topic and how to choose a narrative.
Making Use of Breaking News
Discover Trending News That Is Relevant To You Initially, you must locate the ideal breaking news story to newsjack.
Using tools like Google Trends to uncover pertinent trending topics, smaller firms can profit from researching trending subjects in their area.
As you can see, interest in cryptocurrencies as a whole is declining, but there are several hot subtopics that any company may leverage
.
We can also use the tools provided by platforms like Semrush and SE Ranking to investigate the hottest subtopics in any given industry. For each popular topic, for instance, SE ranking offers a mind map and clusters.
Even writing about tales that may trend in the future so you can get ahead of them is advised for smaller industries.
For instance, when new technologies like ChatGPT and AI become more prevalent over time, SEO brands will have more opportunities to rank highly for those keyword searches.
Furthermore, you may identify trending subjects by looking for popular hashtags on Twitter, reading popular posts in Reddit forums, and keeping an eye on what people are posting on Facebook and Instagram.
Give Your Brand A Special Spin
The next step is to provide a distinct viewpoint that helps set your brand apart from the competitors.
For instance, during the epidemic, numerous firms, including Uber and Busch, were successful in developing branded advertising efforts that were distinctive and aesthetically pleasing and helped them to increase client loyalty.
Create campaigns that are pertinent to your brand and its audience.
For instance, if you run a car firm, you might want to run advertisements that highlight the need for more electric vehicles or even make fun of Elon Musk.
Commenting on news items unrelated to automobiles or transportation would, however, come across as unauthentic.
Consider Your Audience
We also need to think about the audience that we want to appeal to with our brand. Ad creative that speaks to the requirements of your audience can be created with the aid of trending keywords.
Developing your message for your audience also gives you a more genuine appearance.
The correct channels will help your campaign, and marketing to your audience will help.
Writing about hot news on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter rather than Facebook or Instagram will help professional brands in the academic sector, for instance.
Managing Timing
Timing is a crucial aspect of newsjacking. If your company is unable to provide new content quickly, you risk losing relevance.
Of course, to be safe, I advise thoroughly investigating a news item before attempting to use it in a marketing campaign.
In many situations, it will take a lot of resources, which may not be feasible for many companies, to respond to a news article fast and effectively.
Build Support Through Promotion
After creating your ad campaign, you must market your brand to draw in as many customers as you can.
Including hashtags in viral tales will increase the audience for your business.
You can also increase your consumer base by spreading your ad creatives via email to newsletter lists and on various social media channels.
Once more, speed is essential, particularly if you want to market adverts through traditional or digital media.
Sparingly employ it
Finally, I believe it’s crucial to keep in mind that newsjacking is not a daily tactic and shouldn’t be employed more than a few times a year.
By using this strategy too frequently, brands run a major danger of compromising any perceived authenticity they are attempting to create.
Due to this, I advise choosing only one trending story that feels appropriate for your company while maintaining a careful check on your sector.
Going out and looking for tales can end up being less beneficial and more expensive in the long run.
5 Successful Newsjacking Examples
Let’s look at some examples of successful and unsuccessful newsjacking to aid in your planning.
1. Busch Beer Funds Canine Adoptions
Anheuser-campaign Busch’s to promote dog adoption was one of the more positive tales from the early pandemic.
Anyone who adopted a dog from a shelter run by the Midwest Animal Rescue & Services was given a free three-month supply of beer by the business (MARS).
The company gained widespread recognition on social media and a large customer base as a result of the tale, which brought attention to an underreported occurrence.
2. Uber’s “Thank You For Not Riding” Ad Campaign
Ride-sharing had to be among the industries most severely impacted by the pandemic.
However, with its “Thank You For Not Riding” campaign, which urged drivers to stay at home, Uber was able to not only save its reputation but also profit from the pandemic.
The global event undoubtedly cost the corporation a lot of money, but this advertising effort helped build stronger consumer loyalty and trust, which has ultimately paid off even more.
3. The renowned “Blackout Ad” by Oreo
At Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans nearly ten years ago, newsjacking may have reached its pinnacle. A few minutes after a malfunctioning relay triggered a power outage, Oreo responded with a real-time Twitter post that completely destroyed the internet.
After millions of birds raided crops, Kenya declared war on them.
One of the best examples of newsjacking done well in the split second of a moment continues to be this extremely straightforward yet perfectly timed tweet.
4. Budweiser Keeps the World Cup in Play
Budweiser, a World Cup sponsor for more than three decades, was shocked to learn that Doha has outlawed alcohol at all of its athletic events during the 2022 competition.
While the business quickly removed a tweet that said, “Well, this is awkward,” it responded admirably by giving the winning nation the beer it had promised for the cup.
This incident is a wonderful illustration of how businesses can change their strategy and take advantage of a breaking news story.
Similar to how Oreo used the Super Bowl blackout to its advantage, Budweiser used it to newsjack the story and make money off of it in the long run, even if it missed out on thousands of dollars in sales.
5. The Year In Search For Google
Finally, Google’s Year in Search is yet another imaginative example of a company that may use popular news stories to further its own distinctive brand narrative.
Online review statistics that every marketer should be aware of
Google helps forge a better relationship with its customers and reinforces its brand’s dominance in the tech industry by placing its brand at the center of these news stories.
Mistaken Newsjacking
Of course, there is a newsjacking success story for every equally disappointing one.
