Most social media users spend around 2.5 hours per day using this media. Therefore, newsjacking has become a hot marketing strategy for brands today. With it, your band can be in the center of the conversation as long as it’s done correctly. For help creating a successful strategy, you’ll want to hire an SEO company to do it for you, but first, here are some things that you should know.
What is newsjacking?
Newsjacking involves using a viral news story as a marketing strategy for your brand. An SEO company may suggest that a major company adopt this strategy as a means of expanding its brand’s reach. In doing so, a brand becomes attached to an existing story. They don’t become the story themselves, but they benefit from their brand trending without much effort. Several of the ways that an SEO company may suggest you newsjack a story include:
- Advertising.
- Writing blog articles.
- Social media campaigns.
- Hosting events.
- Sponsorships.
- Fundraising.
- Partnering with other brands.
What are the benefits of newsjacking?
As you may be able to tell, an SEO company will probably recommend this marketing strategy to you at some point. There are some very good reasons for this, including:
- It requires very little effort to capitalize on a news story.
- You can greatly expand your brand’s reach.
- You’ll create a lot of social media engagement.
- It’ll give your brand’s loyalty a boost.
What are the drawbacks of newsjacking?
Unfortunately, there’s truth in the old saying, “not all publicity is good publicity.” Some of these include:
- It could harm your brand’s reputation.
- Without the correct timing, you won’t be able to leverage a story’s benefits.
- Your marketing strategy may appeal to the wrong audience.
How can you engage in newsjacking?
If you and your SEO company decide that your brand should employ this marketing strategy, there are a few ways in which you can do so. Of course, the first thing you must do is choose the right news story. You can use tools like Google Trends, SEM Rush, or SE Ranking to find a trending subtopic in your niche. Another option is to search for trending hashtags on social media.
Once you have your news story, you’ll need to put a unique brand spin on it. Make sure that it’s relevant to your brand and customers so that you don’t appear inauthentic. All this needs to be done quickly, though, which is why you should always have a marketing persona in mind.
When you’re sure you have everything right now, it’s time to deploy this marketing strategy with the help of your SEO company. As always, your goal here is to get your brand in front of as many people as possible. There are a couple of ways to do this, such as:
- Add hashtags to a viral story so that your brand can reach a larger audience.
- Share your ad creatives across all your social media platforms.
- Additionally, share your ad creatives with your email newsletter lists.
Make sure you don’t overdo it, though. This isn’t a strategy you should employ too frequently. In fact, it probably should only be used a few times a year. Overdoing it could make you look inauthentic, which is a turnoff for your customers. Therefore, you need to be very choosey here and only choose trending stories that feel right for your brand.
So, should you engage in newsjacking?
Overall, newsjacking is quite an effective way of acquiring publicity and increasing your brand’s reach. However, it must be done tactfully and with good timing. For help with this, contact us at the Local SEO Tampa Company in Tampa, FL. We’ll help your brand get seen.