In the past few months, the Moment Lab appeared in over 30 news hits about Meghan Markle. How did we accomplish this? Through 30 press releases? Nope. By paying for a PR Newswire release? Wrong. We succeeded through newsjacking.
Newsjacking is a strategy where you pitch an expert to comment on the news. Instead of pushing a client’s brand as the story, you hijack a news cycle, so that they’re included in a story that’s already trending. We make this a part of many of our publicity clients’ strategies. Each week, we will sit down and get our clients’ thoughts on their news, and then we will pitch them as experts.
For instance, let’s say there’s a trend story in Bloomberg about rising interest rates impacting luxury real estate. We will get our real estate agent clients’ thoughts, create a quote, and then pitch it widely to reporters. This is an opportunistic strategy to A) boost SEO and B) keep clients’ names in reporters’ inboxes, so that when they need a quote, they reach out for comment.
Here’s how this worked for the Moment Lab inserting itself into the endless Markle drama. As publicists and marketers, we are celebrity experts. Recognizing Markle as a celebrity, we analyzed the latest news about her from a PR and marketing perspective. We then formulated soundbites (a.k.a. snappy, short quotes) about our analysis and emailed it to reporters covering the Royal family and/or Markle. A few reporters picked up our quotes, and then others aggregated their story and also used our quotes. Suddenly, we were trending.
The newsjacking worked because journalists recognized us as experts and we gave them quotable one liners. Through op-Ed’s and various interviews, we established ourselves as thought leaders, so reporters trust us. They also know we give them the goods. Newsjacking only succeeds when you deliver memorable, punchy quotes, and wealways entertain reporters in interviews and statements. If you’re boring, journalists won’t quote you, and nor should they. Who wants to read something boring?
Of course, reporters know us because we work in the media. But newsjacking also works for people outside the marketing and publicity sectors. Reporters need quotes from sports experts, doctors, economists, businesspeople, and more. They just need to know these people so they can get their quotes. That’s why it’s vital for experts to work with a marketing and publicity team.
If you think you’re an expert who journalists may want to quote, reach out to the Moment Lab. We would love to help you newsjack and appear in the press. It’s newsjacking time!
