Today I want to talk about this technique with which you can viralize your publications. We will see what it is and I will show you how you can use this tactic to your advantage.
What is newsjacking?
Newsjacking is a marketing technique that consists of creating content taking advantage of a piece of news that has recently appeared in the media and that is very striking for public opinion, with the aim of helping to publicize a brand.
It is a very original way of attracting the public's attention since it takes advantage of the pull of viral news to make your brand known.
This strategy is the work of David Meerman Scott, an economist specializing in marketing and sales techniques and author of the book "The New Rules of Marketing & PR."
The advantages of newsjacking
You may not be seduced by this marketing technique at first. However, if well designed, it can bring many benefits to your brand and, ultimately, to your website.
Let's take a look at the advantages it brings to brands that implement it:
1. It increases traffic to the web.
If you are the first to publish a relevant news item in your industry, users will not only read it on your website but also share it.
This translates into an increase in traffic to your web page, which, in addition to helping you gain authority, benefits your positioning in Internet search engines.
2. Improve your web presence
Becoming a reference for the audience is a great thing, and it also helps your SEO ranking.
With this technique, you increase the probability that other websites link to your content on their pages, improving your backlinks and sending traffic, which translates into better web positioning.
3. You gain power.
By generating new and relevant content, you get your brand to start gaining authority, something that all websites are constantly looking for. Therefore, it is a tactic to take into account in content marketing.
4. You will be able to grow your social media following.
When you have updated content, your audience does not want to miss a single post. That's why they look for you on the most used social networks and follow you, improving the effectiveness of your communication strategy.
5. You increase your community of followers on your website, as well.
People value quality content that is also original. This strategy assists you in becoming a reference in your industry, increasing the number of people interested in your brand.
Use this to your advantage and use a good email marketing strategy to add them to your funnel.
What are the characteristics of a good newsjacking?
When implementing this tactic, it is very important that you know the strong points that make this technique very effective and give maximum visibility to brands.
Not everything goes when it comes to "newsjacking". I want to share with you the characteristics that make these pieces go viral:
Speed
The moment you publish your content is critical to your success.If someone from your competition grabs the news before you do, they get all the traffic, and the strategy loses effectiveness. That's why you must make sure you are up to date and know what's new in your sector.
Creativity
Creativity is essential whenever you are creating content for your business, but even more so when it comes to newsjacking. Because when a news story goes viral, there are many media, brands, and entities that will spread it.
Therefore, you have to design in an original way the way you tell the news, and also do not forget that you must relate it to your brand.
Appropriate tone
The content must be written in the right tone. It can be humorous, dramatic, or even melancholic. The goal is always to connect with users' emotions in the right tone, to reach their hearts.
Keep in mind your brand's branding to set the tone of communication and the power of emotional marketing to connect.
The right channel
You must disseminate the news through the channels that will have the greatest impact. Finding the right one can make the difference between your content going viral or not.
How to create a good newsjacking strategy in 3 steps?
Now that you know what it consists of, let's talk about the steps you should follow to create an effective strategy with which you can benefit from the advantages of this marketing technique.
Step 1: Stay up to date on the latest industry news.
Observe everything that is happening around you. You must be constantly updated with everything that is happening in your industry in order to get the scoop even before it happens.
Yes, sometimes you even have to anticipate events or happenings that you know will occur, document them, and be the first to announce the news.
Step 2: Investigate the connection between the news and your brand.
This technique consists of creating content that not only tells the news, which is the task of the media and news agencies, but also relates it to your brand.
Therefore, it is essential that you make reference to the news and use it to launch a message to the audience that has to do with your brand.
It can be an opinion regarding what has happened, or a product or service that contributes to or helps to solve the situation that has generated the event, among many other examples.
Step 3: Share the content through your communication channels.
These can be your social networks, your website, a newsletter, etc. You must share the content you've made as soon as the event in question happens, without wasting a single minute.
You can't "hijack the news" if it escapes you; that's why timing is key.
After disseminating the content by launching that brand message to your audience, it is your audience along with the media who are in charge of spreading your message even further due to the high volume of searches that will be conducted on the topic in the following hours.
Conclusion
Newsjacking is a marketing technique based on detecting the most popular trends of the moment and publishing them, taking advantage of the content to send an effective message to your audience.
The fact of using content based on breaking news increases your brand's authority as well as traffic to your website and your followers on social networks.