To 'Newsjack' Or Not? What Communication Pros Should Consider First

In a post from a few years back, I explored the benefits of “newsjacking,” which is the common public relations (PR) practice of inserting one’s own company or client into the news cycle by offering perspective, insight or commentary on a big story or trend that is making news.

Opportunistically latching on to a big story -- or even a smaller but highly relevant industry story -- can have significant benefits, obtaining executive or corporate visibility that helps position an organization as an industry and/or thought leader. My previous article outlined the basics for newsjacking success, and if you’re in need of a refresher, I encourage you to review the tactics discussed in that piece. But the bottom line is that newsjacking needs to be timely, relevant and compelling, and planning is critical in order to anticipate trends so that PR pros are in a position to capitalize on news when it breaks.

Because newsjacking can deliver such meaningful PR results, I thought it would be useful to take a deeper dive into current thinking on newsjacking, including some key guidelines and commonsense advice. At its best, newsjacking adds value for both PR clients and the media, and it can even be fun, given that it puts PR pros and their companies/clients in the middle of what’s happening around them. And regular contact with the media also helps PR people raise and maintain their own personal profiles.

Key Guidelines On Newsjacking

Generally speaking, the key guidelines around newsjacking are common sense. The first thing to keep in mind is that newsjacking should only be attempted with “big news.” Big news can be characterized as major developments in national or international news or an occurrence that has a significant impact on the business or financial sectors.

These stories can be product or service news that your industry cares about passionately, or they might be big national or international stories that require days, weeks or months to fully cover. Big stories are usually centered around social trends, societal issues and/or consumer issues -- personal safety, security, money -- that touch us all.

For example, data security and data breaches have the potential to impact nearly everyone. Who hasn’t shopped at Target or Home Depot? From the credit card processing machines that we use at retail stores to the back-office systems at credit card companies and banks, there is a huge number of consumer and business touch points associated with each credit card transaction and each person who has a credit card.

Of course, we’re all concerned about the security of our personal and financial data. That’s why stories like big retailer data breaches have such legs in the industry -- there are multiple angles to cover and potentially significant consequences across various audiences. So, a savvy PR team for a data security company can and should plan for the eventuality of events like data breaches, brainstorming how, when and where they might insert themselves into coverage of a given event and then put the plan into action as soon as the event happens.

Newsjacking Common Sense

The rush to plug into the latest news and trends through newsjacking should also be tempered by common sense and approaching one’s own ideas with the same critical eye that a reporter or news director might have. For example, don’t bother to try to newsjack coverage of a competitor, because the coverage of your company will likely be repetitive and seen as “me too.” This is particularly true of competitor product news, which can’t and shouldn’t be newsjacked -- frankly, nobody cares much about product news unless you’re Apple rolling out a new iPhone or Coca-Cola changing Coke’s formula.

You must be a powerful firm to make news on your own. Other news that can’t be newsjacked includes bylined articles, think pieces and op-eds. Unless you’re taking on Elon Musk, a celebrity or political figure, news and editorial page editors likely won’t care. The same goes for stories with limited shelf life. If you can’t imagine a second round of coverage in a major newspaper or broadcast outlet as a PR pro, it isn’t going to be worth the media’s time.

PR pros should view newsjacking as a potentially powerful tool in their ongoing efforts to gain corporate and/or client visibility. In addition to its short-term effectiveness, a newsjacking strategy can also be useful during slow news periods for a company. Newsjacking means that a company might still be featured in stories that are top of mind with the public even when things are slow.

And while these best practices for newsjacking might not get a firm inserted into every trending story every time, being “in the mix” with the media on a regular basis can ultimately prime the pump with key media outlets and have a long-term positive impact when it comes to visibility, awareness and positioning.

This article originally appeared in Forbes.