Newsjacking Your Way to More Customers: A Practical Guide for Local Businesses

As a local business owner, you're always looking for ways to increase your visibility and reach new customers. One way to do this is by using local newsjacking. Newsjacking is the art of taking a current news story and tying it to your brand to gain media coverage, social media buzz, and traffic to your website. When you do this on a local level, it's called local newsjacking.

Local newsjacking is a great way to create buzz for your business, but it's not always easy. In this article, we'll discuss how to use local newsjacking to drive visibility for your business.

Understand the News Cycle

Before you can start newsjacking, you need to understand the news cycle in your local area. Keep an eye on the news outlets that cover your area, including local newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels. You can also use Google Alerts to keep track of relevant news stories.

If you own a local dog grooming business, for example, you may use the following keywords for Google Alerts to monitor relevant news stories:

1. Local animal shelter
2. Pet adoption
3. Pet grooming
4. Pet care
5. Dog grooming
6. Cat grooming
7. Pet events
8. Pet rescue
9. Pet health
10. Local pet news

Stay on Top of Current Events

Newsjacking requires you to be on top of current events. You need to be quick to respond to breaking news stories that are relevant to your business. This means you need to be plugged into social media, news alerts, and local events.

One way to stay on top of current events is to create a social media calendar. This will help you plan out your social media posts in advance and ensure that you're always ready to jump on an opportunity.

Create Content That Ties into News Stories

When a news story breaks, you need to act quickly to tie it into your brand. One way to do this is to create content that is relevant to the news story.

For example, if a new restaurant opens in your area, you can write a blog post about the best places to eat in your neighborhood. You can also create social media posts that highlight your own restaurant's unique features.

Be Authentic and Relevant

When you're newsjacking, it's important to be authentic and relevant. Don't try to force a connection between your business and a news story if there isn't one. This can come across as disingenuous and turn off potential customers.

Instead, focus on stories that are genuinely relevant to your business. This will help you create content that is authentic and resonates with your target audience.

Leverage Local Influencers

Local influencers can be a valuable asset when it comes to local newsjacking. These are individuals who have a large following in your community and can help you amplify your message.

Reach out to local influencers and see if they're willing to share your content. You can also offer to collaborate on a piece of content that ties into a local news story.

An Example: How to Use Local Newsjacking to Boost Your Business Visibility

Let's say you own a pet grooming business in a small town in the Midwest. We’ll say Lima, OH.

One day, a news story breaks about a local animal shelter that's overflowing with dogs. The shelter is in desperate need of help from the community to find homes for these animals.

There is a clear opportunity here to tie your pet grooming business into this news story, so you take it as any good business owner would!

Here are the exact steps you’ll follow using local newsjacking to drive visibility for your business based off this local news story:

1. You Understood The News Cycle

Because you were paying attention to local news outlets, including newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels, and you had set up Google Alerts to keep track of relevant news stories in your niche with keywords including Lima Animal Shelter, Local Pet Adoption, etc., you saw the news story almost immediately.

2. You’re Always Plugged In Locally

You're plugged into social media, news alerts, and local events in your community and the areas that your business services. This means you're ready to act quickly if a news story breaks that's relevant to your business.

3. You Jump Into Action And Create Content That Ties Into The Local Story

As soon as you see the news story about the animal shelter and their struggles, you immediately posted on social media or reposted the story to your social media account, which ties your business into the story.

You create an image that shows a happy, well-groomed dog, with a caption that reads, "If you're thinking about adopting a furry friend from [Insert Name Of Local Shelter Here], let us help you get them looking their best! Bring your new family member to us with the official adoption papers from the shelter for a free grooming session." You tagged the shelter in your post and sent them a direct message making them aware of your offer.

This gave them the opportunity to double-down on your offer and publicize it across their own socials, which increased your visibility. When the shelter responds, you offer to help even more by giving a few of their hardest to adopt dogs a free makeover which, of course, you’ll post the before and after to your socials.

4. You’re Authentic and Relevant

Your post is authentic and directly relevant to the news story. You're not trying to force a connection between your business and the animal shelter, but rather offering a helpful service to those who are thinking of adopting a pet.

This ensures that your business comes across as generous and sincere, and not merely a local brand trying to get publicity for itself.

5. You’ll Leverage Local Influencers To Help

You reached out to local pet influencers, such as popular pet bloggers, social media influencers and veterinary clinics with Facebook and Instagram (or even TikTok) followings. You offer to collaborate with them on a piece of content that promotes the animal shelter and your pet grooming business, along with their own brand.

Together, you create a video that shows the pets at the shelter getting groomed and ready for their new homes. The video ends with a call to action to adopt a pet and bring them to your grooming business for a free grooming session.

By using local newsjacking, you were able to tie your pet grooming business into a relevant news story and create buzz for your business. You were authentic and relevant, and you leveraged local influencers to amplify your message. And in the process, you were able to help a worthy local cause that desperately needed some assistance. It’s a true win-win!

And keep in mind, this is just one example of how local newsjacking can be a powerful tool for your local business when you’re looking to grow brand awareness and reach new customers.

The catch with local newsjacking is that the opportunities happen without any notice, so you’ll want to be ready to get involved quickly. After all, you can’t schedule this type of genuine and organic free publicity!

Timeline Of A Well Executed Newsjacking

Local Newsjacking Best Practices To Maximize Your Local Reach

It’s important to remember that this strategy only works if you’re 100% sincere and never come across as if you’re taking advantage of a fellow local business or organization. Stick to these guidelines, and you’ll know that you’re approaching local newsjacking the right way:

• Stay Ethical: When newsjacking, it's important to stay ethical and not exploit tragic or sensitive news stories for personal gain. Always be respectful and considerate of the situation, and avoid coming across as insensitive or tone-deaf.

• Keep It Local: As a local business, your focus should be on local news stories that are relevant to your community. Avoid jumping on national or international news stories unless they have a direct tie to your business or community.

• Act Fast: When it comes to newsjacking, timing is everything. You need to be quick to act and respond to relevant news stories. This means having a plan in place for monitoring news outlets and social media channels, so you can respond quickly.

• Be Creative: The key to successful newsjacking is creativity. Think outside the box and come up with unique and creative ways to tie your business into relevant news stories. This can help you stand out from the competition and generate more buzz for your business.

• Measure Results: It's important to track and measure the results of your newsjacking efforts. This will help you understand what's working and what's not, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Use analytics tools to track engagement, traffic, and conversions.