Newsjacking vs Evergreen Content: Which Is Better? [Marketing Mojo Video]

May 2017

Every time we set out to determine a topic for our content, we’re faced with a choice between two approaches. One is newsjacking — latching on to popular topics in the news that people are talking about — and the other is evergreen content — content that is interesting and relevant to our audience no matter what’s going on.

Which is better for building traffic and engagement? Check out today’s Mojo video to find out:

Each approach has its own unique set of benefits: newsjacking topics will give you a big spike followed by a steep decline, while evergreen content will deliver a more steady stream of traffic and engagement. The key here is balance.

If you’re ready to learn more about creating irresistible content, grab a copy of The Content Marketing Coach: Everything You Need to Get in the Game … and WIN. To learn more about the book and to download a free chapter, visit contentmarketingcoachbook.com!

<strong>Today’s Video Transcript</strong>
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Monday Morning Marketing Mojo 22nd May 2017

Hey folks! Rachel here with your Monday Morning Marketing Mojo; coming to you on a very gloomy day, here in Houston Texas. We’ve got some big rains going on right now, but I think we need them, so you know, make the best of it, and hey! It’s always sunny here at Resonance headquarters.

I’ve got Cooter, oops! Other side, Cooter the Beagle’s behind me. Cooter hurt his paw this morning, poor thing. Of course he was running around like a maniac and that’s how he hurt it so, you get older, you don’t bounce back like you used to, so hoping he feels better soon.

Anyway welcome to this week’s mojo and today I want to talk about newsjacking versus evergreen content, and which is better for building traffic and engagement.

So first of all let me tell you what I’m talking about. When we’re talking about newsjacking let me give you an example. A few weeks ago I put out a podcast episode called something like “What We Can All Learn from United Airlines’ Fiasco,” and this has to do with that big news item a few weeks ago where a United Airlines customer was physically dragged off a plane because he wouldn’t give up his seat. Huge PR disaster, their stock cratered, I’m sure you heard about it. So that’s an example of what we call newsjacking, and that is latching on to a topic that is already in the public mindset, people are thinking about it, they are talking about it, there are lots of conversations going on.

Contrast that to a different podcast episode that also came out a few weeks ago, and this was about how to build referrals through content marketing, now this is an example of what we call evergreen content. This is something that people are going to be interested in, no matter what is going on in the news. No matter what current events they’re talking about around the water cooler. Everybody is always interested in getting, or everybody in my audience I should say, is always interested in getting more referrals for their content marketing, and that is the difference between newsjacking and evergreen content.

So the next question obviously is which one is going to be better for my brand, which one is going to get me more traffic, and which approach is going to get more engagement? Well, I’m here to tell you there is no simple answer, but it’s not that difficult.

When you create newsjacking content, remember you’re tapping into the topic that is already buzzworthy, that people are already talking about. So when you do that you’re going to see a big spike, because that topic is popular, but as that topic fades from the public mindset, you are going to start to see a very steep drop off, and then it’s going to linger around you make it the occasional post. Getting back to the podcast episode, if United Airlines had another big screw-up, maybe it would get a little more of a bounce, but pretty much once that topic is over then that’s it for the amount of engagements that you’re going to get.

Contrast that with evergreen content. That is something that is not dependent on what is going on in the news and what people are talking about, so with that content you’re going to see a more steady flow of traffic. You’re not going to see the big spike that you do with the newsjacking, but you’re also not going to see that very steep drop off. So a good content marketing program incorporates both approaches because you want the benefit of newsjacking, latching onto those popular topics, also letting your audience know that you are in tune with what’s going on in the world, and then we also want that evergreen content to keep that steady flow of traffic and steady flow of engagement.

So my recommendation is, as do so many things this comes round to the Pareto Principle. I recommend 80% of your content to be evergreen and 20% you can devote to newsjacking, tapping into those popular topics.

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Now, caveat emptor, when you engage in newsjacking, remember to do it strategically, and remember to keep your audience in mind. You don’t want to force any topics into your content. You don’t want to say, “What the 2016 Olympics Has to Teach Us About Self Storage,” or something just really goofy like that. Don’t make any huge leaps, because your audience is not going to go along with that; they’re going to really see that you’re just trying to tap into buzz worthy topics.

So newsjacking 20% — do it wisely, do it strategically always showing respect for your audience — and then have the other 80% of your content be evergreen that you’re going to be delivering over and over again for months and years to come.

If you want to learn more about creating irresistible content I recommend (Oh! Look at poor Cooter poor baby boy, I hope you feel better soon) to learn more about creating irresistible content, grab your copy of “The Content Marketing Coach- Everything You Need to Get in the Game and …Win! ” You can also download a free chapter and see what experts like Joe Pulizzi, Jay Baer and Jeffrey Hayzlett had to say about the book at http://contentmarketingcoachbook.com/. So log on today grab your free chapter.

I wish you a wonderful week, I hope Cooter gets to feeling better and we will see you again next Monday. Take care.

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About the Author

A self-described geek who can recite entire episodes of South Park by heart, Rachel Parker has had a passion for content ever since she was old enough to hold a crayon (purple, please).

As Founder and CEO of Resonance, Rachel helps businesses publish content that connects with their audience … and converts those followers into customers. She’s also the host of the Content Marketing Podcast and author of the book The Content Marketing Coach: Everything You Need to Get in the Game … and WIN!

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