As a tech pr agency, we’ve taken on a couple of new clients recently that have asked us about newsjacking. They’ve heard scraps of info about it – mainly through social media – and they want to find out a bit more. Usually, they ask us what it is, and how and why they should be doing it.
Newsjacking isn’t a new concept but has recently been popularised by David Meerman Scott’s book, ‘Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tonnes of Media Coverage.’
Newsjacking refers to the practice of capitalising on the popularity of a news story to amplify your sales and marketing success basically ‘jumping on the band waggon’.
The popularity of a news story can die down pretty swiftly so you have to work fast. Seizing a story as quick as possible will ensure greater impact.
If people are going to be talking about something that affects your target audience, you need be involved.
Remeber newsjacking can extend beyond your direct industry. Make sure you don’t go too far as we have seen some pretty bad situations.
Take Gap, for example, we’re not quite sure why clothing lines seem to think it’s OK to newsjack a natural disaster? Probably best practice not to use someone else’s misfortune for self-gain.
