How to Use “Newjacking” to Get Press in 2024
Happy new year!
As we shake off the cobwebs of the holidays and gear up for a new quarter and a new year, this is a good time to do some PR planning.
One of the best ways to get into the news is a tactic called “Newsjacking”.
Newsjacking is a term that means finding what topic is hot, what are reporters writing about, and see if there’s a play related to your business.
There are a few ways to help with newsjacking:
-Read the news. You’ll soon see the same topics coming up repeatedly. For mainstream media, you can also scan headlines or curated articles on news aggregators such as MSN.com. For tech or niches in tech, you should be subscribed to newsletters such as the Hustle, CB Insights or the Deep View (for AI).
-Use free services such as Help a Reporter Out (HARO) or Qwoted.
-Go to Google.com. Click on the search bar and a dropdown will appear called “Trending searches”.
-Or better yet, use Google Trends.
Newsjacking, which is Step 3 of our proven 5 step “Ignites” process, is a great way to get regular inclusion or quotes in the news.
It can also be used to strategically plan out your story ideas as it relates to promotions, positioning and thought leadership.
Newsjacking can also leverage annual or seasonal events. Here are the top ones to think about in 2024:
November national election
Generally speaking, most brands will want to avoid taking a side in any political debate.
However, there may be policy changes depending on who wins that you can write op-eds on, such as tax laws, infrastructure, energy policy, and more.
Consumer brands have sometimes had fun doing a mock election between two choices (think two soda brands).
Summer Olympics
This year the 2024 Summer Olympics will be in Paris, from July 26 to August 11.
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) or any major trade show
Tradeshows are places where reporters and influencers meet, and can be perfect opportunities to make some noise.
Holidays
Both B2C and B2B brands can newsjack holidays such as Valentine’s Day, July 4, Hallowe’en, Christmas, New Year’s.
Day / Month Causes
…but don’t forget about the plethora of “days” and “months” around causes. For instance, Earth Day is April 22 every year. National Nurses Week is from May 6 to 12. No matter the cause or profession, there’s likely a day or month. Even the donut has it’s own National Donut Day!
Leap year
2024 is also a leap year, for whatever that’s worth. Get creative!
Looking at themes that may continue from 2023 into 2024:
Generative AI / ChatGPT
Has the hype died down yet? Doesn’t seem like it…
AI impact
AI is going to have a massive impact on every single industry. From workforce, to productivity, to legal issues, to things we haven’t even thought of yet.
TIkTok
TikTok continues to dominate with youth, and their experiment with TikTok Shop might be the start of something big. Or it might go the way of all those who dared challenge Amazon’s leadership.
Gen Z
If you’re like me, you’re seeing more and more articles about Gen Z and their impact on shopping, politics, workplace policies and more. On the horizon: Gen Alpha (born between 2013 and 2025).
Economy
Is the economy doing good or bad? Depends who you ask. Lot of interesting things to look out for. Inflation still high. Rates for borrowing high. Consumer looks strong. Commercial real estate is a ticking time bomb (and so are banks?). Soft or hard landing?
Breaking news / black swan events
There will always be unforeseen events that happen, or even black swan events. Knock on wood that we avoid anything major, but reporters will always be looking for experts to quote any time something major happens.
Examples include: war, terrorist attack, cyberattacks/hacks, disease, famous deaths, market crashes or bubbles, lawsuits and more.
Hopefully this is enough to get your creative juices flowing.
The key to success in PR is “relevance”, and the best way to be relevant is to master newsjacking.
Good luck and have a wonderful 2024!
If you need help in getting known, contact Firecracker PR today.