In real estate, the old adage is location, location, location. For newsjacking, we’d argue it’s timing, timing, timing. The concept of newsjacking—essentially capitalising on current events to promote your brand or message—has become an invaluable PR tool for increasing brand awareness and gaining earned media.
Mastering the art of newsjacking can significantly boost your brand's visibility and relevance without spending thousands (or potentially millions) in paid advertising. However, doing it effectively requires more than just a quick reaction; it demands strategy, awareness, and finesse.
What is Newsjacking?
Newsjacking refers to the practice of inserting your brand or message into breaking news stories to gain media attention and drive engagement. It’s about leveraging the momentum of a trending topic to get your voice heard. The term gained prevalence in 2011 with the book 'Newsjacking' by David Meerman Scott, and was even shortlisted for Oxford Dictionary's word of the year in 2017 - after Specsavers newsjacked the infamous 2017 Oscars best picture mix-up with a campaign depicting the moment but with their tagline "Should’ve gone to Specsavers”.
The goal is to be relevant, timely, and aligned with the news story to capture the audience’s interest and link it back to your brand or message - but newsjacking is not just limited to ad campaigns.
Types of Newsjacking
Timely Thought Leadership:
This involves creating written content—such as blog posts, articles, or whitepapers—that ties your brand or message to current news trends. By swiftly crafting and publishing content that relates to breaking news, you can position your brand as a timely and relevant authority on the subject. For instance, if a new report highlights an industry trend, a well-timed blog post analysing the report’s implications can attract significant attention and drive traffic to your website.
Pitching to Journalists:
This approach focuses on positioning yourself or your client as a subject matter expert in response to current news. It involves reaching out to journalists and media outlets to offer expert commentary, insights, or quotes related to a breaking news story. By providing valuable expertise, you not only contribute to the news conversation but also enhance your brand’s credibility and visibility in the media. How do you get in touch with outlets and journalists? Look at tools like Streem’s Outreach, to search and filter journalists, outlets, and influencers to find the right ones that align with your brand.
Social Media Trends:
One of the most common forms of newsjacking, leveraging trending topics, formats, or memes on social media is a powerful way to engage with your audience in realtime. This type of newsjacking involves crafting social media posts that connect your brand to current social media trends, hashtags, or viral topics. This kind of newsjacking can be the hardest to do, especially if you have lengthy approval processes for social content. Not all social media trends are created equal, so think about how it aligns with your target audience before participating.
Newsjacking Done Well - Kamala Harris and Brat
After British artist Charli XCX’s July album “brat” gripped the Gen Z social media zeitgeist, characterised by a neon lime green aesthetic and black arial font mirroring the albums cover art, brands and publishers alike scrambled to demonstrate that they were on trend and capitalise on the all-but-guaranteed increased social engagement.
Data: Streem Social “brat” mentions on X 30th July to 15th August 2024
When Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential campaign, and endorsed Kamala Harris as the potential new Democratic presidential candidate - Kamala HQ, the official Kamala Harris campaign account on X (formerly Twitter) rebranded their account in the brat aesthetic. The move resulted in “Kamala” and “brat” being mentioned together in over 7000 on X/Twitter over the three-week peak (July 23 - August 14 2024).
Why it works:
This example of newsjacking shows how the campaign tapped into a current cultural phenomenon to craft and promote a relatable and engaging image for Harris, aligning her with the vibrant, youthful energy of the "brat" meme (something notably missing from her predecessor’s campaign).
Things To Be Mindful of:
Be Careful of Copyright
As a brand, being mindful of copyright licensing is crucial. In Australia, images are automatically copyrighted under the Australian Copyright Act, which means you need stated permission from the owner to use them. There are exceptions for satire, research, criticism, or news reporting, but this doesn’t apply if it’s being used for commercial purposes (like promoting your brand on social media).
So make sure you’re above board when it comes to image use in your newsjacking content, you can purchase them from stock image providers like iStock, or Shutterstock. Or use free-to-use image providers like Unsplash or Pixabay.
Avoid Controversy (if that’s something you’re worried about)
When newsjacking, ensure you fully understand the context and sensitivity of the topic you’re tying your brand to. Avoid leveraging stories that involve significant tragedy or sensitive issues where your brand’s involvement might be perceived as opportunistic or disrespectful. This could damage your brand’s reputation rather than enhance it. Monitor social media and traditional news channels for feedback and be ready to respond quickly if any negative reactions arise.
Leveraging Streem’s Tools for Effective Newsjacking:
To effectively execute newsjacking, you need the right tools to stay ahead of trends and manage your outreach efficiently. Our media monitoring platform is designed to support PR professionals in this endeavour, with the ability to set up mention streams for topics, keywords, competitors, and email notifications - so you're able to find out when news breaks, at scale, and in realtime.
By integrating Streem’s media monitoring and outreach tools into your PR strategy, you can streamline your newsjacking efforts, ensure timely responses, and use data to analyse the success of your efforts, get better results over time, and achieve greater media visibility.