Newsjacking is one tactic that your architecture or engineering firm can add to its content marketing arsenal—to cut through the digital marketing din and standout in its geographic market(s) and/or area(s) of expertise.
Newsjacking, according to David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, is the process of injecting your brand into the day’s news and creating a twist that grabs eyes when they’re open widest, i.e. just before the story gains momentum and journalists start searching for more information (see chart left).
And then if your analysis or take on the topic is compelling enough, this could position you as a local expert on the subject.
Not only is timeliness key to success, but is also important to choose a story that not only makes sense with your brand, but, like any content marketing, is appropriate for and of particular interest to your target audience.
To get started, Meerman Scott suggests monitoring Google Alerts, then putting one of five approaches to work to promote your firm via a blog, PDF document, or video, and then sharing it widely on social media.
Valuable Information. Based on your expertise, provide analysis that positions you as a local expert.
Humor. A take on a local news story or event that is funny enough for people to take notice.
Celebrity. Ride on famous coattails and inject your brand into a celebrity story.
Event You Know is Coming. Apply your expertise to help clients prepare/deal with what may be coming.
Politics. Need to be careful here, but use your expertise to provide analysis on a political development or candidate.
Taking a story that has been a hot topic in the news as an example, your architecture or engineering firm could write a blog post or do a social media campaign on why your city would be the best location for Amazon’s new national headquarters.