Riding the wave of breaking news: How to turn news stories into business opportunities with newsjacking!

 

Are you ready to harness the power of newsjacking to grow your business? Look no further. As someone who, for 12+ years, has been injecting my personal thoughts, opinions and ideas into breaking news stories to generate tons of media coverage, leads, and business growth, I can attest to the power of this marketing strategy.

When it comes to getting new personal referrals, business opportunities and being able to expand my global brand, nothing has helped me more than newsjacking. In fact, newsjacking is so powerful that it got me on stage two years in a row before thousands of people at Tony Robbins Business Mastery events.

But what exactly is newsjacking? Marketing expert David Meerman Scott, who wrote the foreword to my first book, is in my opinion, the man and brains behind this powerful approach to marketing and branding. David defines newsjacking as the art and science of injecting your ideas into a breaking news story to generate tons of media coverage, leads, and business growth. By adding digital media into the mix, you can amplify your efforts and accelerate your results.

Recently I newsjacked stories about the SBF/FTX scandal and arrest, Kim Kardashian’s web3 influencer issues, and Will Smith’s slap. I’ve always been positive in my efforts and work hard to educate and share value with the consumer.

One of the keys to successful newsjacking is to be quick and relevant. As soon as a news story breaks, you need to be able to identify how issues within the story relate to your business and craft a message that ties in with the story and adds unique value. This could be in the form of a blog post, social media update, or new metaverse venue with pictures and videos. The more relevant and timely your message is, the more likely it is to get picked up by the media and shared with a wider audience.

Another key to successful newsjacking is to be authentic. Your message needs to be genuine and not just a thinly veiled attempt to promote your business. Really go out of your way to add a unique take others are not talking about. When you successfully newsjack a story, it can help to build trust and credibility with your audience, which can lead to stronger relationships and more business.

Lastly, it’s important to be consistent. Newsjacking should be a regular part of your marketing strategy, not just a one-off tactic. By being consistent, you will be able to build a reputation as a thought leader in your industry and be first in line when a news story breaks.

In short, newsjacking is a powerful marketing and branding tool that can help you get noticed, build relationships and grow your business. By being quick, relevant, authentic, and consistent, you can take advantage of breaking news stories and turn them into opportunities to promote your business and build your brand.

Five Action Steps:

#1: Get David Meerman Scott’s book, “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage.” When done correctly, newsjacking is a powerful tool. When done incorrectly, newsjacking can hurt your business or brand by appearing insincere or exploiting a sensitive situation for personal gain. Get David’s book (on Amazon) and learn how to newsjack correctly.

#2: Develop a plan: Identify the types of news stories that are relevant to your business and industry, and create a strategy for how to respond when those stories break. This includes identifying key influencers and media outlets in your industry and having a plan in place for reaching out to them.

#3: Monitor the news: Set up news alerts or RSS feeds for relevant keywords and topics to stay informed about breaking news stories that could provide opportunities for newsjacking.

#4: Be ready to act: Have a system in place for creating and distributing your newsjacking message quickly and efficiently. This could include pre-written templates, pre-approved messaging, and contact lists for key media outlets and influencers. Be prepared to act fast when a news story breaks, as the window of opportunity for newsjacking is typically short.

#5: Build relationships with reporters: Make it easy for reporters to get in touch with you. Make each interaction valuable. Add reporters into your CRM and take the initiative to reach out when the next story breaks.

I hope you found value in this post.

Please stay in touch with me on LinkedIn and never stop making each day your masterpiece!

Special Access to “The Power of Newsjacking” via WordRake!

Newsjacking by Mitch Jackson

Click here to get your copy of the chapter.

Nothing catches people’s attention like breaking news. Whether it’s the latest celebrity divorce or a well-known software company announcing its latest release, there is always something happening in the news that piques people’s interests. This level of attention and interest is precisely what lawyers and business owners can use to grow their businesses. That is what newsjacking is all about.

In The Power of Newsjacking: How to Get Noticed, Build Relationships, and Grow Your Business, author Jon Mitchell “Mitch” Jackson shares insight and real-life examples teaching lawyers how to combine their knowledge and expertise with breaking news to create valuable and helpful content for clients. This chapter covers:

    • What newsjacking entails
    • How to properly and thoughtfully newsjack a current events story
    • What tools and methods are available to use
    • Where to find stories to build a content library

Get your copy of this chapter here. Grab the complete book on Amazon (Kindle and Audible too).

Learn more about the powerful WordRake platform here.

THE TIP!

On this day I am grateful for being a small part of your life and community. To say “THANK YOU” I’m giving you free access to one the most powerful marketing and branding approaches I’ve ever used. Click here to listen.

Please enjoy the audio version of Chapter 26 “The Power of Newsjacking: How to Get Noticed, Build Relationships, and Grow Your Business” from my book, “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media for Business Owners, Professionals and Entrepreneurs.”

I Share My Thoughts On The Kobe Bryant Wrongful Death Lawsuit

My take-a-way is that most people are pretty uninformed on the facts and law. I shared these comments on #TikTok which resulted in 379,000 views, 951 comments/opinions and 35,200 likes.

@mitch_jackson

BREAKING- Vanessa Bryant files wrongful death suit in #KobeBryant crash #RIPKobe #kobe #kobebryantRIPGigiBryant #sad #lakers

♬ original sound – mitch_jackson

It’s a complicated case with many legal issues. If you have questions, please reach out to me in the comments below, on TikTok or via private message.

Inside The Mind Of A Real-Time Marketing Master by Daniel Marcos

It was a pleasure being interviewed by Daniel Marcos in his article, “Inside The Mind Of A Real-Time Marketing Master.” Daniel did a great job of digging deep and finding out how and why we use real-time marketing and branding, like newsjacking, to provide unique content, help others, and build our brand.

I think this small part of his article nailed exactly how we’re doing the real-time newsjacking dance and so I’m sharing it here with you. There’s no reason that you can’t do the same thing. BTW, you can read the entire article by clicking here.

The Value Of Human Connection In Real-Time Marketing And Newsjacking

Mitch has leveraged topics from all over the world, whether it’s newsjacking about a case out of South Africa, or a trending popular court case out of New York or London. It has allowed his firm to amplify his expertise as a lawyer and share his expertise as a lawyer. Most important, it has allowed Mitch to share his human side as a lawyer and that’s where the real magic happens.

Mitch explains how human connection is an integral factor of his success.

“I’m going for a run on a Saturday morning down at the beach, and the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data breach story breaks. I haven’t shaved, I’ve got my hat on, I’m sweaty, but I just stop and I let everyone know on Periscope, which is Twitter Live, what my immediate thoughts are and, that I’ll be doing a follow-up story on this data breach within the hour everyone can read, watch or listen to at my website.”

“What that does,” Mitch explains “is it shows the consumer, it shows my audience that I’m a human being. I’m a dad, I’m a husband, I’m just like the neighbor next door. I share the same interests as my audience and as a lawyer, I can talk about an aspect of that interest that others may not have thought about. That’s what connects me with my audience, unlike other lawyers.”

Read the full article here.