With the development of the Internet and social networks, news is spreading faster than ever. The principle of “newsjacking” is simple: you take advantage of a recent news article to broaden the horizons of your brand. However, there are some tricks you need to know before you get started.
Analyze your audience to match your brand
A thorough analysis of your target audience must be carried out beforehand, so that you can choose which news to communicate. So, if your target audience is interested in the latest mobile phone, your newsjacking should be based around new releases, updated software, and the latest models. Correctly analyzing your audience can drive heavy traffic your way, once your brand is well known to be the “in” place to get the latest information.
Stay up to date on the latest news
You have to be fast and responsive: put an active watch on the sites you use for information. Utilise social networks and update your RSS feeds regularly. If necessary, use curation software that will keep you up-to-date on your industry. Also, find the places other people rarely go to read news, and run an RSS feed from there. You could be very surprised with the results you can get from unknown sites and blogs.
React quickly when news is released
Interesting news spreads very quickly. If you want to take advantage of this information on social networks or on your page, you need to act quickly. If you wait more than an hour after the news was published, you will lose ground compared to your competitors on search results. However, that does not mean you just push it out as a direct feed, or without the content being curated. The original writer will not be happy if you plagiarise their content in that way. Sharing a direct link only works on Facebook.
Be critical on what content you want to use
Once you have found the subject on which to do newsjacking, think long about how you will intervene. The whole impact on your business or brand will depend on it. Make sure you do a complete rewrite that is tuned to your own brand, and linked to information you know your audience will want to read.
Answer the questions before they are asked
Thanks to newsjacking, you have the ability to give your opinion on complex questions. Your audience expect you to be the source of all knowledge when it comes to your brand, so be sure you know all the answers. In addition, pre-empt the questions with a short Q&A list. This can be invaluable as part of content marketing. This way, your audience will have the ins and outs of the information they are looking for in your brand.
Feed your blog regularly and well
Your audience constantly needs new content. Adding a blog section to your website and feeding it with good, unique content regularly will keep your audience coming back for more. Eventually, they will want to subscribe to your brand, so prepare a newsletter ready to go out when that time comes.
Think twice before posting radical content
It is true that reactivity and speed are the key ingredients of newsjacking. However, you must make sure that your position is not too radical, to the point of offending members of your audience. This is a big risk for both your brand and business. Leave the radical opinions to the crazy radicals, and make sure your position is one of knowledgeable opinion, not just an opinionated article.
Make useful contact with the right person
To be successful at newsjacking, you need a very up-to-date contact list. Seek out writers who deal with the topics you are interested in and get their contact information. A direct e-mail address is much better than a generic, site-based email. If you can get their personal email, it is even better. This way, you can contact them at the right time, and get the scoop on the competition.
Keep your statements simple and easy to understand
It is true that the media are fond of complex statements coming from corporate executives. However, it is always more efficient to express oneself with a few lines, including the right keywords, rather than lengthy explanations. If you are noticed, you will be quoted, and that can help to build your brand. You want to be noticed and quoted by big, important websites.
Think about taking care of your brand image
You may have hired someone to take care of information monitoring and social networking, so make sure that the tone they use and the comments they post are in line with your brand image. It can take years to build up your brand, but it can all come crashing down in minutes with just one wrong comment. Micro-management is never the key, but make sure your social networker is fully aligned with your own ideas.
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