Your book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, had such a profound influence on me. And, it continues influencing my thinking today. Your thoughts about how content and ideas spread via the Internet forced me to question everything I learned about traditional marketing tactics and strategy from my MBA business school training in the late 1990's.
Your book is why I started my personal blog. If I had read this important book when it was first published in June 2007, I would have started blogging much sooner (because I didn't read it until December 2008). Blogging is the most creative and fulfilling process I've ever enjoyed in my life. And, I'm so far behind because I didn't start sooner.
In pages 50 to 53 of The New Rules of Marketing and PR you shared how the best way to start blogging is by reading and commenting on other blogs. You described a two-part learning process: (1) reading blogs teaches you blogging and commenting etiquette and (2) commenting is a great way to learn how to get your viewpoint out there.
Three and half years ago, I wrote my first-ever blog comment on your post, What We All Really Want Is ATTENTION. I still remember all the negative thoughts after posting my comment. I feared my contribution was uninsightful, long-winded, and self-indulgent. I thought the worst — that I detracted from the conversation (instead of adding to it).
But, you responded with a kind, acknowledging response (literally hours later). Your response made me feel validated (and relieved) that I properly applied your teachings. You gave me self-confidence.
And, you made me feel like I was welcome at this cool party involving the smart and engaging people who are consistently part of the Web Ink Now Community. From that point on, I couldn't wait to receive your latest post on my RSS feed so I could learn more about how you think (and continue participating in the conversation by writing more comments).
I've been eternally grateful for your kind comments on my blog posts reviewing one of your books (or when you retweet one of my tweets). Your generous acts in sharing my book reviews of Real Time Marketing & PR and Newsjacking made me feel so great!
Why? Because I look up to you! I consider you a New Media Hero! I view your comments on my blog (along with your responses to my comments in your blog) as a form of coaching or mentoring (even though we've never met in-person). It's so meaningful and generous when someone you look up to, takes the time to acknowledge something you wrote or contributed and says "thank you."
It surprises me how so few people recognize and acknowledge the power of these simple, kind acts.
When you mentioned my name and linked to my blog in your post titled: Newsjacking Via a Real Time Kindle Book, it remains the biggest thrill in my brief online career as an amateur blogger. You have no idea how much this wonderful gesture means to me — Thank you David!
I hope one day to meet you in-person and shake your hand. You're the reason I passionately pursue and continuously learn about how marketing and PR strategies continue changing at Internet speed. Every opportunity to read your books, blog, or study one of your videos, is a new chance to learn.
Thank you David for being such a great teacher and mentor. Your work and art inspires me.
And, this video conversation created by Lindsey Kirchoff demonstrates how you continue inspiring and teaching the next generation of marketing and public relations professionals.
All the best,
Tony Faustino
Note: Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like an Artist and Mitch Joel's public fan letters inspired this post. Pages 108 to 109, "Write Fan Letters," and Chapter 2: "Don't Wait Until You Know Who You Are To Get Started" from Austin's book are amazing. After reading Austin's book and Mitch's aforementioned posts, I made a public fan letters list of my heroes.
Please indulge me as I periodically publish these fan letters on this blog.
From page 109 of Steal Like an Artist: "Maybe your hero will see your work, maybe he or she won't. Maybe they'll respond to you, maybe not. The important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return."
Bottom Line: I highly recommend studying Newsjacking. It’s informative, quick-to-read, and filled with insightful how-to-examples. In fact, both books are required reading for any marketing/PR executive, business owner, or brand manager who wants to capitalize on media opportunities generated by the real-time Web.
And, We All Can Do It! David defines “newsjacking” as publishing your personal angle, ideas, or perspective into a breaking news story / event to earn media coverage for your company, brand, or products / services.
Help Journalists Write Their Second Paragraphs. When hot news strikes, journalists scour the Internet via search engines (i.e., Google) and social media (i.e., Twitter, blogs, etc.). Why? They’re seeking additional content (e.g., details, opinions, etc.) that can differentiate the point-of-view in their individual news stories.
That differentiating point-of-view or compelling content is the “second paragraph.” Journalists seek second paragraph material that:
Delivers credible, authoritative, and valuable information / perspective
Describes “why” something happened
Interprets the event’s impact and future implications
Credible Second Paragraphs Can Earn Massive Media Attention. Be fast, use targeted keywords, and provide valuable context in your Tweets and blog posts so journalists can find your contribution to a story with Google searches. Quickly writing an informative blog post and shrewdly publicizing it with Twitter may take an hour or less.
And, the impact can be huge:
“With a single hour’s work many people manage to generate more media attention than a whole year’s return on a substantial PR budget.”
“I’ve been a marketer for two decades now, and I have never seen a technique as powerful as newsjacking.”
2. Newsjacking Favors Faster, Smaller Players
Real-Time Speed is a Newsjacker’s Bread and Butter. Speed, decisiveness, and execution drive successful newsjacking. And, you must respond within the hour of a breaking news story. That’s why fast movers are great newsjackers.
David Can Trump Goliath. Plus, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors. The Fortune 500 has the same opportunity to successfully newsjack as any other organization or individual. But, their corporate hierarchies and approval processes are handicaps.
Therefore, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors:
“What’s abundantly true is that newsjacking is easier for nimbler players than its is for the lumbering giants of the corporate world.”
“To successfully newsjack or fend off a newsjack, you can’t wait for approval. You just have to do it.”
Newsjacking Lives and Dies by Speed. The graphic below describes the newsjacking process. Notice how speed drives the entire newsjacking process:
Tracking and staying on top of breaking news
Deciding quickly on your response
Publishing / Publicizing the response instantly
3. Chapter 6 – Ka-Ching: CEO Bags a Cool Million with a Single Blog Post
A Classic, Must-Read Newsjacking Blog Post. Joe Payne is the CEO of Eloqua, a company specializing in marketing-automation. When he learned and verified Oracle entered his industry space, he quickly wrote this blog post: Oracle Joins The Party.
There are multiple reasons why this blog post and the surroundingcircumstances make it a classic, newsjacking case study:
The post provides a valuable and quotable industry perspective
Payne crafted and posted this blog post quickly
The blog post contains verifiable details and statistics
He outflanked a larger competitor (e.g., Oracle) using new media tools
Payne’s Blog Post Earned Major Media Attention, Credibility, and $1 Million. When industry analysts and journalists searched Google for news about Oracle, they found Payne’s content-rich blog post. And, they quoted it verbatim.
In the following examples, I attached the hyperlink to the actual media coverage if the page still exists:
Business Week – Eloqua Guarantees Success for Market2Lead Clients Affected by Oracle
The aforementioned media coverage (and other coverage) increased Eloqua’s credibility. In addition, Payne and his team combined the blog post’s media coverage with immediate, next-morning business development follow-up. These combined activities brought Eloqua software deals worth $1 million in new revenue among six (6) new clients.
That’s a great outcome especially without the luxury of a multiple phase PR campaign or massive advertising budget.
4. Chapter 7: Become the Go-To Gal (or Guy) in Your Industry
Blogs Are Powerful Newsjacking Assets. Long form content achieves four (4) things:
Provides keyword rich content for search engines to index
Increases the probability journalists will find your blog post when searching Google
Delivers context rich details (hard to do in Twitter and Facebook)
Positions newsjackers as reputable and credible reputable industry authorities
Here’s a direct quote from David: “If a blog develops a reputation for serving up informed, insightful, authoritative, articulate, quotable and timely commentary on issues in your industry, journalists will learn to seek you out when issues arise.”
Knowing Your Issues / Topics Cold Leads to Long Term Credibility. Newsjack the issues and topics in which you are well-informed. That knowledge will make your newsjacking perspective valuable, credible, and authoritative.
Long term credibility is vital in building an authoritative reputation and relationships with journalists. Even more importantly, that credibility and reputation dictates why journalists may or may not seek your input in future news stories.
Why Amdocs and Jeff Barak Are Telecommunications Billing and Customer Care Industry Authorities. In Chapter 7, David describes how Amdocs and Jeff Barak used their company blog to comment on regulatory changes in their industry. Barak wrote this blog post, No Need to Be Bill Shocked, while the FCC conducted meetings in late 2010 to discuss legislation about bill shock.
Journalists searched Google for the latest news about this FCC legislation and found Barak’s blog post. His post earned coverage from industry publications (like this one from Penton Media’s Connected Planet blog post — Not Being Shocked by Bill Shock).
5. Learn from Newsjacking Mistakes: The Golden Rules
The Golden Rule Objective (Direct Quote).“When intervening in a news story you should add value – information or insight that contributes to the public’s understanding of the situation.”
The Four (4) Golden Rules. Kenneth Cole didn’t have the benefit of David’s advice before sending out that tweet. We now have that luxury:
* Be dignified and statesmanlike. See the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)
* Be positive and upbeat, never mean or vindictive. Again, see the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)
* Write articulate text in full sentences without chatty slang, industry jargon, corporate-speak (i.e., mission-critical or cutting-edge) or social media shorthand (e.g., IMHO)
* Don’t get too cute or clever — especially where human suffering is involved. See aforementioned Kenneth Cole tweet
6. Newsjackers Monitor News 24/7 Via RSS Feeds
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Feeds Are a Newsjacker’s BFF. David describes how setting up RSS feeds to your favorite news sources, analysts, industry publications, and blogs enables real-time news monitoring. And, staying abreast of leading news events gives you the competitive advantage to respond fast. David mentions these RSS services in his book:
Google Reader
Newsfire
Fast Responders Earn Attention. Here’s a how-to video I made two years ago on using RSS (e.g., your iGoogle Home Pages) to monitor postings of your favorite blogs to increase your chances of being an early commenter on new posts. Why? Early commenters earn the author’s attention (especially if you’re the first commenter).
The same principle applies when monitoring news sources in real-time and responding quickly to capitalize on a newsjacking opportunity:
7. Learn How to Maximize Twitter’s Real-Time Capabilities
A Newsjacker’ Must-Have Weapon For Monitoring News Flow. Twitter’s real-time capabilities make it the ultimate rapid response, news monitoring tool. You can find great second paragraph content and breaking news stories by:
Catching key phrases by creating columns in Tweetdeck and HootSuite
Using Twitter’s search function
Setting up a “news” column in Tweetdeck or HootSuite (i.e., a dedicated news column focusing on all the news sources you follow)
A Powerful Fast Response Distribution Channel. When it comes to publicizing and “pushing out” newsjacking blog posts quickly, Twitter rules. Remember, journalists search Twitter to find differentiating second paragraph content.
Use Twitter Hashtags (#). Therfore, include hashtags (the pound key – #) in your tweets to mark them with the unique identifier about a particular subject (i.e., #Cairo). Remember, the hashtag, makes it easier for journalists to instantly locate in Twitter all references to a particular topic. Plus, tweets with hashtags are curated in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first).
Twitter Can Help You Directly Contact a Journalist. Most journalists provide or publish their Twitter ID (i.e.@firstnamelastname). Verify their Twitter ID with a quick Google search. Then, include his/her Twitter ID in your tweet so you can directly point him/her to your blog post.