Of all the types of content you can create, one of the most challenging is newsjacking.
Why? Because as easy as it sounds, it takes a lot of skill to get it right.
You have to be paying attention to what’s going on in the world around you—international news, sports, celebrity goings-on, and industry trends—then relate that news to your own brand or products.
And you have to be able to execute quickly, because any delay can make it look like you’re late to the party.
So quick and clever wins the game—with one caveat. Anything seen as offensive or self-serving can backfire. Instead of being recognized for your ingenuity, you’ll make news for taking advantage of other people’s misfortune.
As an example, trying to sell your wares during a deadly hurricane: “This storm blows (but free shipping doesn’t)! Today only…,” a tweet by Urban Outfitters during Hurricane Sandy.
Or using an uprising to promote your spring collection: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online…” (source).
Taking a serious situation too lightly, or poking fun at something that’s deadly or harmful, is not newsjacking. It’s poor taste. And if you cross that line, you can create irreparable damage to your brand.
So how do you do newsjacking right? Let’s look at a few examples.
1. Be Clever
The most publicized newsjacking example I’ve seen in a while was Oreo’s response to the blackout in the 2013 SuperBowl.
This kind of newsjacking requires a quick and clever play on the event. The lights went out, but that won’t stop your enjoyment of Oreos. That’s it, really. The challenge is to say it in a clever way.
This tweet does that perfectly.
2. Report and Interpret
Since being quick and clever can be hard to nail, another option is to simply report on the news: explain what’s happening and interpret it for your audience, as Killian Branding does here.
This is an email I got soon after the news broke, which means Killian saw the news and the branding lesson, and was already responding when most people were just sharing it in Facebook.
This is a great approach for newsjacking. Like Killian, you need to be fast, but you don’t have to worry about being clever. You just need to be able to extract the lesson and share it before it becomes old news.
3. Find the Lessons From…
This may look like the same move as Killian’s, but it’s more of an entertainment play than an educational play. Basically, it’s jumping on a trend to find a new hook for your content. You can have fun with it too, because you’re riding trends rather than hard news.
Find a movie or television series that’s super popular. Jump on the bandwagon and create a “lessons from” type of post, based on the popular show.
Here’s a good example from Inc.
You don’t have to limit yourself to movies or shows, though. This type of post can ride the wave of anything that’s trending—even bacon or chocolate if you can figure out how to make a connection.
I’d just caution you to be careful with this type of post. While you may get more views and shares, the quality of those views may not be as high, because you’re getting fans of the trend, not just people who want to read about your topic. As a result, you may not get long-term gains from the extra traffic.
4. Name Drop
This is the simplest type of newsjacking, because all you’re doing is creating associations. Just mention a conversation you had with a celebrity, or that time when you worked on an important project. This is a good play for positioning or building credibility.
Interestingly, Donald Trump is doing this as part of his presidential campaign. Mashable reports that Trump is aligning himself with a few celebrities while bashing others. Here’s one of his recent tweets:
Personally, I see this as free publicity. Make yourself the news, and newsjacking just got easier—which brings us to one last way to approach newsjacking.
5. Spoof the news
The Muppets is returning to TV, so the puppets are getting the same attention as live actors in a creative spoof of celebrity break-ups and other fan news.
This video is a creative approach to newsjacking. It looks like a gossip column, including live interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and even references to other celebrities (ahem, name dropping the Kardashians).
Adding to the fun, CNN tweeted it as breaking news.
The lesson is clear. If you can’t find news to hijack, make your own. Put yourself in the limelight, as Trump does, or spoof the news, like The Muppets. Who knows, it could be picked up by the real news.
Bottom Line
Newsjacking is a great way to come up with unique content that drives traffic and social shares. But to do it right, you need a lot of creativity and sensitivity, plus the resources to execute quickly.
Give it a try, but tread with caution. Stay tasteful to keep yourself out of the news.
