News-Driven Marketing: What You Need to Know
On the surface, headline news and marketing might seem unrelated, but when you look at how consumers respond to trending topics or news, developing a strategy around these events could catapult your brand to new heights.
Today’s most successful brands strive to stay relevant in a cultural climate that is constantly changing. When companies try to tailor their marketing campaigns to current events, news, and trends, the result can be new business opportunities. Using events and trends to create a marketing strategy can be more complicated than it sounds, however, so it makes sense to gain a thorough understanding of trend-inspired marketing before making the leap.
Sometimes It’s Okay to Follow Trends
Before you think about building a marketing strategy around the news, there are a few things to consider. Most businesses want to preserve their brand image, so it’s important to remember that not all trends are good trends. Jumping on the latest and greatest can work, but only if it’s relevant to your brand and if it’s done strategically. Ads that tap into current events and news can also be taken offensively by audiences. This can cause irreparable harm to the business and even drive away loyal customers.
To ease a brand into advertising inspired by news, start with lighthearted trends and news, which tend to appeal to a broad range of customers of various ages and demographics. Creating a strategy that not only reaches your ideal customer, but also appeals to the masses, is a great way to maximize your campaign. Staying current can also convert customers into fans who value a brand that aims to stay timely and relevant.
Figure Out How Your Business Relates to the News
For some businesses, it may be difficult to see how their brand relates to what’s currently happening in the news. It is up to marketing pros to look for current events that could align with the company’s products or brand image in some way.
Identifying topics that directly impact your target audience is the first step; you don’t want to reference news that your audience doesn’t care about or hasn’t heard. Always make sure that the strategy is well thought out and avoid campaigns based solely on appearing trendy — you can run the risk of creating something your established customers can’t relate to.
Identify Goals and Recognize Opportunities
It’s important to consider what your goals are with a news-driven marketing strategy. Common goals include driving more traffic to your brand’s website, increasing sales, boosting brand recognition, converting leads, or engaging with a new segment of customers.
When it comes to successfully using the news to influence your marketing strategy, it’s best to take an opportunity as soon as you see it. By definition, the news is timely, so you don’t want to let it get stale. One easy way to dip your toe into news-based marketing is to use holidays and major events like the Super Bowl, Academy Awards, or Comic Con. Planning marketing content around such events is easier, because you know about them weeks in advance and can plan your strategy accordingly. For big events that affect your industry, you may want to have a strategy for content in the build-up to the event, during it, and afterwards.
Another news-based marketing technique is called newsjacking. This can be difficult to pull off effectively, as it involves piggybacking on a breaking news story immediately, to draw attention to your brand. Speed is the name of the game here — you want to respond to the breaking news quickly. It’s also important to have a legitimate tie to the news story in question, or consumers will immediately see your ads as self-serving. The goal is to come across as smart, relevant, and (depending on the news) fun.
One classic example of newsjacking is Oreo’s clever ad during Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. A power outage stopped the game for 33 minutes. Oreo’s marketing team responded quickly with a tweet saying “Power out? No problem” accompanied by an image of an Oreo in a spotlight on a black background and the words “You can still dunk in the dark.”
This ad worked because it was playful and clever, extremely timely, understandable by a broad audience, and inoffensive. That’s a major point to keep in mind — obviously, you wouldn’t want to make jokes about serious news, or seem like you’re trying to profit off someone’s suffering or misfortune. However, you can still take advantage of more serious trending news and issues, as long as they are relevant to your company and its products, and if your content is providing real value to your audience.
Is Trend-Influenced Marketing Right for You?
Using current events and trends in your marketing is a great way to boost your brand image and position your company as timely and relevant. It can drive greater traffic to your website and social channels, and even convert leads. Be smart, be relevant, and don’t offend people, and you may find that news-driven marketing works for you.
