Think back to the days of newspaper’s dominance, when breaking news compelled newsboys to stand at the street corner yelling, “Extra, extra!” (At least that’s how it happens in those old movies.)
Today, information is all-breaking, all the time. The Internet changed the news cycle into a news cyclone. So is there still a place to yell “Extra”?
Yes – and ironically, it’s with your business.
It goes by a kind of strange name – newsjacking – but it’s a practice that, if done right, can boost your company’s online presence and build credibility. With newsjacking, you tie a news story into your business, through Facebook or Twitter updates, blogs, videos or other inbound marketing tactics.
The combination of current interest and strategic SEO use in your content can drive your page to the top of the search engine results.
- Some news is a natural fit for a business blog. B2B marketers can do plenty with industry trends or new regulations, for instance.
- For hometown B2C companies, a local story of interest may be the ticket to a tie-in, and reinforce you as an active member of your community.
The Benefits of Newsjacking
- Site Traffic - High-interest words and phrases have been known as “click bait” for years. Newsjacking expands on the clickability factor; in fact, it “has the potential to be a goldmine” in search engine optimization. If you latch onto a story while it’s still very hot in the search queries, your content could rise in the results page, particularly if your content contains the kind of high value that Google loves to reward. Higher page ranks = more potential site traffic.
- Engagement - With the right mix of topic and message, newsjacking can help your business show a fun, warm, helpful or even playful side that you might otherwise not have the opportunity to display. As long as your target audience can relate to your content, newsjacking gives you amazing new ways to communicate.
The Risks of Newsjacking
- Limited Shelf Life - The very nature of news is that it’s of-the-moment. Last year, you might have gotten away with a blog like “What Twerking Can Teach Us About Dental Hygiene.” But who’s going to search on twerking today? You might repurpose the dental hygiene blog under a new title; conversely, you may find more value in producing content that is “evergreen,” meaning it’s relevant anytime and not tied to a particular news item.
- Exploitation - Tying your brand to a news item can set you up for criticism of capitalizing on an event. It’s a fine line. For instance, immediately following Hurricane Sandy, Sears tweeted about its supply of generators. Sure, Sears wants to make sales, but very high relevance (and the need for generators) made this less like a sales pitch and more like a public-service announcement.
Kenneth Cole asked "How not to tie into an event?" When political unrest erupted in Egypt in 2011, Cole tweeted this little beauty: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is online.” And at least one marketer has stumbled trying to tie Dr. Martin Luther King’s inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech into something a little more materialistic than the Reverend had in mind. To quote the philosopher David St. Hubbins, “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”
Stop the Presses!
Like those old-timey newspaper reporters scrambling for a story, today’s business content providers must always be on the lookout for a relevant story to newsjack. “Tomorrow is not good enough,” warns marketing strategist David Meerman Scott. “Even three hours from now is pushing it. You’ve got to drop everything and begin working on your response to that story right this second.” The longer you wait, says Scott, the more likely others will beat you to the scoop.
And even though “new” news is constantly breaking, you can also schedule your newsjacking to coincide with events you know are coming up – an election, the Fourth of July, the World Series – as long as you have the right tie-in.
