What is Newsjacking and How You Do It?

Do you want your business to gain wide recognition without spending a lot of money? It’s possible! One way is by leveraging newsjacking.

What is newsjacking? In this article, you’ll find an explanation and examples of newsjacking that you can learn from. Let’s dive in!

What is Newsjacking?

Newsjacking is a public relations tactic that involves leveraging current news to increase the exposure of a business, brand, or individual.

By tapping into viral and widely discussed news, a brand can easily become part of the conversation. In many cases, a brand’s newsjacking efforts can even go more viral than the original news itself.

Newsjacking should ideally be done shortly after a story starts going viral—specifically before online media begin publishing follow-up articles related to the event. The goal is to ensure your newsjacking is effective and gains maximum exposure.

However, achieving great results requires careful execution, especially in terms of speed and timing when releasing content.

It’s also important to remember that newsjacking is about placing your brand within an ongoing story—not making your brand the story itself. If the brand becomes the main focus, it may come across as overly promotional, less authentic, and less relevant in the eyes of the audience.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Newsjacking

Although it may seem simple and beneficial, there are several aspects of newsjacking you should understand:

Advantages of Newsjacking:

• Relatively easy to execute
• Requires minimal budget
• Significantly increases social media engagement
• Boosts brand exposure to a wider audience
• Effective for showcasing brand values

Disadvantages of Newsjacking:

• Highly dependent on timing—if you’re late, the impact will be minimal
• Only works well if the target audience is relevant
• Can potentially harm brand reputation if executed poorly
• Not suitable to be used too frequently

After understanding the pros and cons, you now have a clearer picture of the benefits and risks of implementing a newsjacking strategy. To give you a better idea, let’s look at some examples of newsjacking by well-known brands.

Newsjacking Examples

Here are some examples of newsjacking you can learn from:

1. The Eiger Case

Around January 2021, Twitter was stirred by a tweet from the account @duniadian, who received a warning letter from an outdoor equipment brand.

The appearance of the objection letter sent by Eiger to its customer.The letter criticized the review content created by the customer, particularly highlighting the visual quality as being below the brand’s expectations. The same letter also requested that the content creator take down the content.

Amid the public debate, other brands began creating content that mimicked the format of the objection letter sent to Mas Dian.

However, the content was modified into various forms to suit each brand’s objectives. For example, Prepp Studio leveraged the momentum to communicate its stance on the issue, while also offering compensation in the form of a camera to Mas Dian.

Why was this newsjacking successful?

• The issue went highly viral across both social media and online media
• The topic was quite general—customer reviews—so almost any brand could join the conversation
• The issue allowed brands to showcase their values and perspective regarding their relationship with customers

2. Coldplay Concert Announcement

After Coldplay officially announced their concert in Jakarta, Indonesian social media timelines were flooded with discussions about it. In fact, November 15, 2023—the concert date—was jokingly referred to as a national holiday.

Not wanting to miss the momentum, news like this was used by a financial education institution to deliver financial literacy content.

An example of newsjacking by a financial education platform leveraging the momentum of the Coldplay concert in Indonesia.In one of its posts, the institution shared tips on how to buy Coldplay concert tickets by relying on stock dividends.

Why was this newsjacking successful?

• The topic generated significant buzz on social media and was widely covered by news outlets
• The target audience was quite specific—young people who enjoy attending concerts
• The content was relevant to young audiences from various economic backgrounds

3. Proposal at KFC

This newsjacking case took place in South Africa. Once again, Twitter was stirred by a story of a couple getting engaged at a KFC outlet.

The fast-food chain quickly mobilized the power of netizens to find the couple’s whereabouts. However, unfortunately, someone responded cynically and made negative remarks about the man in the post.

Unexpectedly, the negative tweet was instead met with responses from many brands offering to sponsor the couple’s wedding.

In fact, more than 170 brands reportedly offered sponsorship—ranging from Coca-Cola, Audi, Huawei, Cosmopolitan, McDonald’s, Puma, and many more.

Why was this newsjacking successful?

• The story evoked a strong sense of empathy from the audience. When brands participated in the newsjacking, people associated those same positive feelings with the brands involved
• Many brands were able to take part because a wedding involves a wide range of needs, making it relevant for various industries

Interested in Using Newsjacking to Promote Your Brand?

Newsjacking is a simple promotional strategy that can deliver massive exposure. However, don’t be mistaken—you still need to pay attention to several key factors to make it successful:

• Find topics that are going viral but still relevant to your brand
• Tailor your content to match your target audience
• Make the most of timing and momentum
• Use ads if you want to further expand your reach
• Avoid using this strategy too frequently so your brand doesn’t appear as if it’s just “riding the hype”

As an alternative to traditional advertising, you can also leverage newsjacking through media coverage. No need to worry— with the help of Seedbacklink, your brand can get featured in media outlets within just 1–3 days.

Sounds interesting, right?