14 - How Your Hotel Can Benefit From Newsjacking (Pokemon Go Edition)

Pokemon are everywhere and Pokemon Go is everywhere in the media right now and everyone is trying to get their own little piece of attention from this world-wide phenomenon by trying to newsjack these imaginary monsters. This is the inspiration for an episode dedicated to newsjacking. What is Newsjacking and how can your hotel benefit from it? In this episode of the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, we offer examples of great newsjacking and also where it may have gone terribly wrong for some folks. We give our opinions and offer some simple do’s and don'ts. In The News http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Hotel-guest-satisfaction-plateaus-as-perks-become-standard https://skift.com/2016/07/12/airbnb-scores-another-corporate-travel-win-with-amex-global-business-travel-deal/ Show Notes: Our Pokemon newsjack: http://www.fueltravel.com/blog/7-ways-pokemon-go-can-benefit-hotels/ When to Newsjack Timing is everything if you want to be effective at newsjacking. Like most things that involve time, there’s a bell curve that can predict the life cycle of any news item or event. It starts with the news breaking, soon after that, journalists are going to be scrambling to get more information and put out their own spin on the subject. After that, the public gets excited or hyper-aware of the event. Next, the topic reaches fever pitch and peaks. Finally, the news item will slowly die as it drifts through the old news phase and it’s inevitable irrelevance. To most effectively newsjack, you have to be out of the gates fast. You need to create your own spin on the story between the time that the story breaks and the time that journalists produce their own content. Your goal should be to get included in the journalist’s stories because that will give you the maximum impact. The other thing to consider related to when to newsjack is more of a common sense thing. Pick your topics wisely. The following are fair game for newsjacking: Sporting events Celebrity mishaps Popular TV show premiers and finales Award shows Political shenanigans Major holidays and anniversaries (depending on the event) Avoid anything that is tasteless or that would tarnish your hotel brand. For example: Disasters or tragedies of any kind High-profile criminal activity Controversial subjects Don’t trivialize something that is important to people How to prepare your hotel to be a newsjacker Monitor the news - you can set up alerts from most major news outlets. You may also monitor what’s trending on Twitter. Do keyword research - ensure that your content is using the words and phrases that have the highest search volume Know your stuff - spend some time learning about the news item or event. You want to make sure that you have all of the information before you jump in with two fee. Determine your angle - come up with something novel or unique that ties your hotel to the news item or event. You have to have something to say to be newsworthy. Get it done fast, but make sure it’s good - timing is critical, but so is the quality. Don’t rush it out if it’s not ready. Be sure to allocate the appropriate amount of time to the task at hand. This will ensure that people pay attention to you amidst the noise. Spread the word - As with all content marketing, distribution drive the train. Be sure to not only push the information out on your social channels, but consider sending out a press release to local media outlets as well. They are the folks that you really want to engage. Don’t forget the call to action - Brandin is great, social followers or email subscribers are better and better than any of those are hotel bookings. Think through your approach to ensure that you move these potential guests that are paying attention to you down the sales funnel. That could be an email popup or a special offer. Follow on Twitter: @fueltravel @stuartbutler @marketingmeisha @pdimaio