A major benefit of being President of the United States is having your own personal security detail. Anywhere the President travels, he surrounded by not-so-undercover body guards ready to protect him/her against anything….well almost. What about crocodile attack? It’s tough to throw ones body in front of that.

With that little idea in mind the xxx insurance company of Australia decided they should offer President Obama free insurance against crocodile attack during his 2011 visit to Australia. They published the story on their blog and soon it became the second paragraph to every news story.

As international media outlets talked about Obama’s trip, they usually started the second paragraph of the story mentioning that he has even been offered crocodile insurance from xx company. This massive publicity would have been impossible to buy, but the fact that xxx had a blog and create interesting content meant that their story could be shared around the globe.

Today, every business and brand is a media company and needs to tell their story of why they are unique and different. It might not be by “newsjacking” as David Meerman Scott calls efforts like the crocodile insurance, but it should be sharing case studies, answering frequently asked questions and curating the latest news and events within their industry.

Just as consumers are now producers, so too are businesses producers and able to tell their story on their own platform, their website. They are not limited to a 30 second ad and instead can use their website like “The Furrow,” to attract potential customers by sharing information and tips. This builds trust between the potential customer and the business and sets the stage for future purchases.

After attracting readers, an effective website will provide opportunities to convert these readers into customers. It might be through an offer of a free demonstration or a free download of a white paper or eBook. By creating a call-to-action, websites can gently nudge readers towards their desired actions online and move them from the top of the funnel to the middle of the funnel. With the measuring in place, the content and calls-to-action can all be tested and improved to grow the business and leads over time.

Before we get ahead of ourselves however, we want to learn how to create compelling content on a blog and how to use a website to convert traffic into customers in the middle of the funnel. That’s the subject of our next lesson.

Additional Readings:

David Meerman Scott – Newsjacking