Newsjacking can be a risky marketing tactic. When done right, it can lead to great brand exposure. In this article, we’ll give the definition of newsjacking, as well as show some good newsjacking examples, and provide tips to get started. By the end, you should have enough insights to better understand it and what it means for your brand reputation.
Newsjacking is defined, by Lexico, as ‘the practice of taking advantage of current events or news stories in such a way as to promote or advertise one's product or brand’. This can also be interpreted as ‘rapid response’ comments. Another definition is given by Tech Target, “the practice of aligning a brand with a current event in an attempt to generate media attention and boost the brand's exposure”. It involves adding your opinions or thoughts to a breaking news story. You are essentially riding the wave of news that is trending to boost your brand and get noticed.
When defining newsjacking, there are a few foundation concepts. Due to the sheer amount of new stories coming in, the life cycle of news is short. You have to take the opportunity and capitalize on the popularity of relevant news. Breaking news is short-lived, so you need to catch the opportunity at the right time.
Newsjacking provides the opportunity to position your brand and provide expert insight on a given topic. This results in potentially immediate coverage.
The benefits of newsjacking are numerous. However you need to be sensitive about the stories you newsjack, some may not always be right to engage with. Newsjacking, done successfully, can augment your brand because you are involving yourself in larger social conversations.
Here are some benefits you can derive from hijacking the news:
If your brand can find a way to synchronize with the trending news story in an appropriate way, it is possible to ride the media wave of the story. This potentially can provide your brand with additional audience reach. The content you use has the potential to make a lasting impression, possibly leading to further connections. Due to newsjacking’s talkability value, your brand’s reputation could scale up greatly. With a larger audience showing interest in you, your reputation has the opportunity to be well established in the market.
Content shouldn’t only be timely, it should be accurate and insightful. This shows that you’re in tune with what’s happening in the world and that your insights are relevant.It is easy for a brand to become inward-looking and lose touch with current trends. Jumping on current events helps to retain a perception that your finger is on the pulse of social affairs. Keeping your brand featured in the news could get you leads and promising business prospects. This shows you are relevant in today’s news, not yesterday’s news. In time, these initiatives can turn into you being recognised as a credible thought leader with great industry authority over certain topics.
Newsjacking offers great benefits. Especially when the newsjack is successful. Building a brand reputation speeds up due to the viral effect that’s linked to this marketing tactic.
Newsjacking is considered to be high risk, high reward. It should be mentioned that the great benefits are accompanied by some dangers. Some of the potential downfalls include:
The short life cycle of breaking news makes it difficult to be remembered tomorrow when a new story comes around. While you are trending, you’ll see a sharp increase in brand visibility, engagement and site traffic. However, when the story drops in appeal, so will your numbers. Trends die out and interest wears off quickly. Once the content is not relevant anymore, it is essentially redundant. People move on to new topics.
Since you’re working fast, mistakes can happen. You run the risk that your message is received in the wrong way. Getting your Newsjacking content wrong can lead your brand to go viral for the wrong reasons, with a variety of scenarios for public backlash. The wrong type of publicity does exist and negative press mentions can harm your reputation instantaneously.
Be cautious about the content you push out if you’re not an expert in commenting on trending topics. Today’s media consumers are not scared to criticize you and chances are that they can spot when you’re not qualified to newsjack.
Due to the nature of news, you only have a small period of time to decide if you want to participate in a trending news story. Missing your window can result in your efforts going completely unnoticed. Another risk is that you look late to the party and that you’re trying to get leverage from a story because it’s there, with no purpose in your greater marketing strategy. Newsjacking may not be relevant to the nature of your company. Not all businesses match the character of a newsjacker. That’s perfectly fine, so don’t try and force it to be otherwise.
Some news stories are not there to capitalize from. HumorHumor is often associated with newsjacking, especially with social media. Although, the joke isn’t always funny and, quite literally “too soon”. The trick is to know your audience and to relate to them, whilst staying considerate.
Keep in mind, that if you’re the only one who thinks it’s funny, you’re going to get negative press attention.
It is critical to understand the market and your audience. The trick is to know your audience and to relate to them, whilst staying considerate.
Your brand image takes years to build, so you don’t want to ruin it in an instant. The wrong comment or content piece can undo your good reputation in an instant.
Extra care should be taken in determining if the opportunity is the right one for you to newsjack and if it will add value to your brand image. Since online posts are global and instant, the wrong move can be re-shared and multiplied in seconds, against the cost of your own image.
One wrong move can harm your reputation. Take care to consider if the newsjack is adding value to your brand image.
As can be seen, newsjacking is the art of placing your brand into a current news conversation for the purpose of positive media attention and social media ignition. Trendjacking refers to taking advantage of a particular trend for brand recognition boosting, as opposed to hijacking specific stories hitting the news. Trendjacking’s aim is to increase awareness.
Now that you know what newsjacking is, and you have examples to learn from, you can finally start to attempt it too. Not for nothing, it is treated as both an art and science by David Meerman Scott, who developed the practice.
Remember, you’ll need to practice and pay special attention to doing this well. Luckily, there are a few key details that we find imperative for you to remember and to follow when you try to newsjack.
The first thing you need to remember is to constantly monitor the news. You could go through the daily papers, news websites, Twitter or Facebook, literally any source that shares news. You have to do this so that you will notice the trends that are developing.
Google Trends is an easy tool to use to get a hand on what’s trending daily. You can see what people are Googling, the keywords that are featuring and also where the news is trending.
Stay informed about events and the stories being covered. Google Trends can help you identify the trends you want to tap into and where to feature.
Get set up to receive news alerts about the latest trending topics and use google trends. This means the latest news and interesting topics of conversation are never far for you to take advantage of.
Whilst a great deal of news warrants your attention, not all will deserve further action. Be sure to check the keyword search volume for the keywords relevant to you. Newsjacking the wrong content will look too forced, and irrelevant.
It goes without saying that you need to know what you’re talking about. Not doing so could mean your newsjacking attempt falls flat and you look out of touch. If the topic is unfamiliar, make sure to read, research and be able to answer some key questions on the topic before you dive in.
Whilst the importance of speed and timeliness cannot be overstated when it comes to newsjacking, this must be countered by knowledge and accuracy. If not, you risk harming your brand's reputation and the newsjacking attempt will be counter-productive.
Always keep in mind that, no matter what you do in the media, it should benefit your marketing goal and serve a purpose in gaining your publicity. This being said, news has a timeline in which different ‘life stages’ happen. This means that your actions taken towards newsjacking should be well-timed, so as to meet the news in its appropriate life stage and benefit your overall strategy.
The first stage is when an event just happened and is covered for the first time. Reporters share any information they have as soon as possible, to get the story out there and to be the first to respond.
Since the coverage is new, it gets a lot of media attention and generates a spike in ratings (web traffic, TV views, radio, etc.). Once a great story breaks, a media frenzy happens to surround every detail of the event. Every news outlet and reporter wants a piece of the story and wants to be the original source who provided it until they can get their own information. This is where you should newsjack, before the second stage in the life cycle is reached. You want your content to ride the wave with the original news report, while it is fresh and trending.
The size and impact of the event, as well as the initial hype, dictate how much time journalists spend gathering new information and carrying on with the story. In this, they try to uncover new angles, expert insights, and interesting details. All in an attempt to get more attention.
As news develops, journalists spend more time covering the story. This adds to the media hype around it.
When public excitement grows, so do newsjacking opportunities. In addition, great public excitement means opportunities for journalists to publish new posts with their new spin on the story. Giving you another chance to newsjack. The more people sharing, commenting and giving their own spin on the story - the greater chance your newsjack will be noticed.
The peak can arrive after days, weeks or months. It depends on the size of the event. However, by now, the public has either moved on or their attention is dwindling. They’ve heard many takes on the story and are looking toward the newest trend. Jumping on a story at its peak or later is unlikely to deliver the results you want as interest is no longer growing.
In its peak, public excitement is worn out or dwindling. The story has reached the top point of the life cycle and is coming to a close.
This is where the timeline ends, the event has passed and the new news is taking up space. The story no longer holds the potential to profit from. All the story’s angles have been explored and people have lost interest in the topic. This is why you want to get involved during the early life stages so that you get your content out there during the initial hype.
You can no longer profit from the story, news has died out and there’s most likely a new trending topic.
Because news is short-lived, you need to be prepared to catch the wave at the right time. This is why you should stay informed about the newsjack in the early stages of the story.
You need to be able to create the content you want to use for newsjacking, fast. Speed is the key that enables you to jump on the trending news at the right time. Regardless of how fast you’re working, you want to keep in mind that your content should be relevant.
Remember, you want to make sure that your content has searchable keyword volume. This will help to merit action from the news with market potential that’s relevant to your brand. Link your content to news that shares key search terms with your business. To enhance reach, use trending hashtags alongside your own branded hashtags if you have any.
You have to work fast, but you also need to make sure that the content carries searchable keyword volume. Otherwise, your posts can just disappear in the system without getting noticed.
The main aim is to stand out from the crowd. For the right reasons. You will not be the only company looking for a news story to hijack. Try to be extra creative in your messaging. Be creative in your attempt. For instance, people respond to self-deprecating humor. You could even try to inject your own company values or products into a story to be memorable.
This speaks for itself. Unless you want to become known as a bad example of newsjacking, stay respectful and learn when a joke is appropriate. You want to differentiate yourself from the crowd in a good way.
Avoid becoming known as a bad example of newsjacking by staying respectful. Learn to know when a joke is appropriate.
We’ve said this before. You want to know what others are saying about your brand and how your newsjack is performing. Such as with any PR campaign, you want to make sure your initiative was effective. Media monitoring can present you with insights into how newsjacking efforts can be improved in future. If you want to make it a continuous part of your marketing strategy.
Look at your social ratings and if the stunt has brought you new leads or traffic. Google Analytics is a great tool you can use to monitor your main sites’ performance and to see where your prospects are coming from. You can read our post on 50 media monitoring tools to find the one that suits your needs and budget. Monitor your story to understand what others are saying about your brand and how your newsjack is performing. Watch how your ratings are changed by the newsjack and evaluate if this was the outcome you aimed for.
Newsjacking’s spotlight moment came when it was one of the "words of the year" in the 2017 edition of the Oxford Dictionary. Since then, it has expanded into inbound brand marketing and digital content practices.
It began as a PR tactic, implemented so that companies could leverage news for attention gain in the media. This was a highly popular way of creating publicity when Social Media was still in its infancy. Today, newsjacking presents journalists with your business’s reply to breaking news.
As Public Relations is oriented toward creating market exposure and press coverage, newsjacking can be used to strengthen the possible reaction value of your messaging. In turn, content that is highly shareable can sustain its own longevity, giving you even further reach.
We often see PR specialists employ this technique to encourage sales in a measurable way. However, the art of creating remarkable second-paragraph content takes practice. When effective, your efforts are rewarded with a surplus of media attention. Public relations is concerned with creating content that is up-to-date and relevant in the now. The same goes for newsjacking, it is about fast responses and real-time comments. By doing this, you display that you’re staying in the loop of popular news and can react appropriately to trends and featured topics.
Since we have mentioned both the potential positive and negative consequences, we will share some examples of exemplary newsjacking, as well as an example of what went terribly wrong.
Although newsjacking relies on trends, with their success quickly blowing over, some news jacks remain at the front of consumers’ minds. Here are the top 5 best and top 5 worst newsjacks of the decade.
Wendy’s is no stranger to Twitter satire. They are probably one of the few masters, especially when it comes to mocking the competition. In 2017, McDonald’s fell prey to the quick wit of Wendy’s. After McDonald’s announced that they will only be using fresh beef for their Quarter Pounders, the fresh-never-frozen chain replied with “So you’ll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants?”.
The comment only called out the poor language choice on McDonald’s part, however, the quick response from Wendy’s was met with great community response. The comments didn’t stop there, with Wendy’s hijacking the entire thread with their replies and audience engagement to market their own beef.
Audi and BMW, two big companies of the automotive industry, have a long-standing history of newsjacking each other. From billboards to Twitter, the two brands seem to be equally matched in profiting from one another’s marketing initiatives. However, BMW takes the prize with their response to Audi’s attempt at jacking their M4 promotion.
The two brands have become so good at taking hits at each other that some people have started to wonder if they stage the entire marketing campaign, working together in secret to benefit both companies’ marketing efforts.
Most of us remember the image of a gold and white dress that trended back in 2015, with some people saying it is black and blue. When it was still trending, Salvation Army SA used the light-hearted internet trend and turned it into a powerful message to stop abuse against women. It only took slight wordplay to shift the discussion completely. This is a display of how community-created social content can be leveraged to draw awareness to more pressing matters.
A relatively unknown wristwatch company, Egard Watches, reacted with a great campaign in response to Gillette’s failed “The Best Men Can Be” . In the heat of the #MeToo movement, Gillette received more than 1.5 million YouTube dislikes on an ad that men found to be condescending and disrespectful.
Gillette went viral for the wrong reason, while Egard Watches was praised for their quick content creation and how they reworked Gillette’s message to carry more meaning and relevance to the topic of gender inequality. Their spin on the original campaign showed how the small brand was in tune with the target demographics. At no point in the response video did Edgar Watches disagree with Gillette. It was just objective information, impossible to disagree with.
This is an example of how newsjacking is not limited to your specific industry. In 2019, an image surfaced of an EasyJet passenger sitting on a backless seat. The photograph alone cost the company bad publicity, yet their response cost them even more.
The fashion brand ASOS stepped in and profited from the Twitter war by introducing their latest summer dress arrivals. Their response was direct, yet they kept it light. Even matching the dress to EasyJet’s iconic orange.
Good newsjacking can create long-lasting media impressions. You don’t have to be wildly creative to be remembered. You just need to hit your golden window, with content that’s a representation of your brand and that gets your message across.
Department store company, Sears, used Hurricane Sandy to market their home appliances. The company was actually providing guidance to people who might have needed the products. However, poor choice of words made it seem as if the company is profiting from the losses of others.
Not much to say about this one, trying to profit from a natural disaster, Urban Outfitters thought they could use a devastating storm to promote their online shopping with free shipping.
Epicurious, an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics, is also one brand who responded distastefully to a tragic event. The Boston Marathon bombing was recognised as a social devastation. Epicurious proceeded to “honor” Boston and New England by marketing breakfast muffins and energy bars.
Telecommunications company, AT&T, made a grave photoshop mistake that referenced the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 disaster. The company thought they could promote their connectivity with a picture that lights up the sky.
Two light beams, representing the Twin Towers, with an explosive looking cloud above them, was not received well by the Twitter community.
Kenneth Cole, the American clothing designer, is notorious for his insensitive Tweets whenever there’s a humanitarian crisis or disaster. During the “boots on the ground” support for soldiers trying to establish peace in the Syrian conflicts, Cole proceeded to remind his Twitter followers of all the other shoes that exist.
Opposite to good newsjacking, failed attempts can greatly harm your brand reputation. When you try to capitalize on a serious societal setback, it usually ends in bad publicity. So think carefully about the messages you send.
Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of what newsjacking is. Remember, success is not implemented easily. You will have to be up-to-date and carry a good level of expertise about the topic you’re about in the newsjack. Always stay sensitive, if you’re the only one who thinks you’re funny or smart, then you’re not. This is why you should monitor the media to get a feel of the discussion and track your performance with it. This way you can see if your newsjacking was successful and if it added value to your marketing strategy. Ultimately you want to achieve brand growth from your PR initiatives. Be sure to time your actions according to the stage of news, so that you can gain optimal results from riding the news wave.
