Newsjacking: riding the news to your advantage

A sporting event, a surprise announcement, a trend setting social media alight: every day, the news captures an enormous amount of attention. Newsjacking means using that attention to get people talking about your brand, quickly and at low cost.

What is newsjacking?

The word combines news and hijacking. It refers to the art of bouncing off a news story, a buzz or an event to spread a brand message, with humour, relevance or expertise. Used well, it gives a small business visibility it could never have afforded through advertising.

The three keys to successful newsjacking

1. Speed

The attention around a news story lasts only a few hours, sometimes a day. You need to spot the topic early and publish fast: it is often the first relevant response that collects most of the shares.

2. Relevance

The link between the news and your business must be obvious. A forced nod looks opportunistic; an obvious link that brings a point of view or useful advice strengthens your credibility.

3. The right tone

Humour works very well on light topics: sport, culture, social phenomena, trends. On serious subjects, it is better to stay out of it or adopt a sober, helpful tone.

Topics to avoid at all costs

• tragedies, accidents, disasters and conflicts;
• political and religious topics, which divide people;
• brands and public figures whose image you would use without permission: trademark law and image rights apply to playful nods too.

How to organise yourself day to day

• Anticipate the predictable: major sporting events, trade fairs, holidays, international days… Prepare visuals in advance; all that will be left is to adjust them.
• Watch for the unexpected: social media trends, news alerts on your keywords.
• Set up a short approval process: a single person signs off, otherwise the moment will have passed.
• Stay true to your identity: even in a rush, your colours, tone and quality must remain recognisable.

And for a small business?

Newsjacking is not just for big brands. A local shop can bounce off an event in its town, a tradesperson off a trend in their trade, a professional firm off a new law. It is one of the levers we work on in our community management services: monitoring, ideas for timely responses and ready-to-publish visuals, always true to your image.