Did you know that in 2022, global digital advertising spending reached a staggering $626 billion spanning multiple marketing channels? This figure highlights the significance of media in today’s marketing landscape.
With a wide array of digital marketing channels to choose from, the success of your business hinges on your ability to navigate through a sea of options. Only by striking the right balance between different media types can you maximize your brand’s visibility, enhance customer trust, and drive business growth.
In this post, we’ll tackle the ever-present debate of paid vs owned vs earned media, through the lens of definitions, pros and cons, and examples. The objective here is to help you internalize what these media types are so that you can refine your marketing strategy further.
What is earned, owned, and paid media?
Digital media is categorized into paid, owned, and earned media. Let’s understand each individually to leverage the entire set and build a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
What is paid media?
Any digital marketing and advertising effort that requires financial resources to promote your products, services, or brand is known as paid media. Here are the common types of paid media:
- Search Engine Advertising: Includes paid search ads, also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, which appear at the top of Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) when users search for specific keywords.
- Social Media Advertising: Search engine marketing examples of paid media include platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. You can run paid ads through sponsored posts, videos, carousel ads, and more.
- Display Advertising: Display ads are visual banner or text ads that appear on websites, typically in the form of banner ads, sidebars, or pop-ups.
- Native Advertising: Native ads are designed to blend seamlessly with the platform or content they appear in (e.g., sponsored content). They match the look and feel of the surrounding content, providing a more non-disruptive advertising experience.
- Influencer Marketing: Involves collaborating with influencers in your industry to promote your products or services through their social media channels or content platforms.
- Affiliate Marketing: This is a performance-based advertising model where affiliates are paid a commission for each sale or conversion they generate for your business.
The applicability and efficacy of each of these options will depend on your industry, target audience, and marketing goals. Many of these also depend on how much of your marketing budget you’re willing to devote to them.
What is owned media?
Any media channels and assets you own and have complete control over are owned media. Commonly, owned media is housed on your websites, blogs, and things like email newsletters. Here’s a list of other commonly used types of owned media channels:
- Social Media Profiles: Social media examples of owned media comprise your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others.
- Mobile Apps: If your business has a mobile application, any content on there serves as owned media.
- Whitepapers/Guides/Ebooks: Creating and distributing downloadable content such as whitepapers, guides, or e-books positions your business as a thought leader in your industry.
- Online Communities/Forums: Building and nurturing online communities around your brand provides a dedicated space for your audience to interact, seek information, and engage with like-minded individuals.
- Webinars/Podcasts: Hosting webinars or creating podcasts allows you to deliver valuable content, conduct interviews, and engage with your audience in an audio or visual format. It helps in establishing your brand as a reliable source of industry insights.
- Visual Content: Owned media also includes visual content such as images, infographics, videos, and presentations that you create and share across various channels.
Many businesses don’t go beyond creating a website, and that’s a big mistake! Did you know businesses with blogs generate 55% more website visitors than those that don’t?
An active blog that allows you to share informative and engaging content with your audience is critical, but not everyone has time to contribute to it. That’s where Ranq comes in. Our world-class team of SEO experts, content strategists, and editors can help you build online momentum through highly targeted and SEO-optimized blog posts.
What is earned media?
Let’s define earned media first. Earned media refers to your brand’s organic exposure through word-of-mouth, social shares, mentions, reviews, and media coverage. According to recent studies, 92% of consumers trust earned media over traditional advertising.
It’s the modern-day equivalent of the elusive “buzz” that can propel your business to new heights. Here are the most common types of earned media:
- Organic Search Visibility: When your website ranks high in search engine results due to relevant and valuable content, it generates earned media. So, is SEO earned media? Yes, in a way. You create blogs which are owned media but the traction that those blogs create in search engine results is earned media.
- Viral Content: When your content or campaigns gain widespread attention and sharing across social media platforms, it creates earned media.
- Social Media Mentions: When people talk about your brand, products, or services on social media platforms, it generates earned media.
- Word-of-Mouth Recommendations: When satisfied customers recommend your business to their friends, family, or colleagues through personal conversations, it creates earned media.
- Online Reviews: Reviews posted on websites such as Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, or industry-specific review platforms contribute to earned media.
- Media Coverage: This includes publicity gained through media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, or online publications.
- Industry Awards and Recognition: Winning awards, accolades, or industry recognition generates earned media.
- Brand Ambassadors: Having loyal customers or influencers who actively promote your brand and advocate for your products or services generates earned media.
- Influencer Mentions: When social media influencers genuinely talk about your brand, products, or services to their followers, it generates earned media. Note that if you have to pay for these, they become paid media.
Since no direct time or monetary investment is involved in gaining traction on earned marketing channels, the way to quantify it is through earned media value.
What is earned media value?
Earned media value is a metric used to measure the monetary worth of all the benefits received through various earned media channels. It reflects the equivalent cost you would’ve had to pay if you were to acquire the same level of exposure through paid advertising or other marketing efforts.
Calculating earned media value isn’t simple. To put a number on the worth of earned media, you have to consider factors like reach, audience engagement, and the credibility associated with organic endorsements.
Earned, owned, and paid media: Which Is best?
With all those media options at your disposal, it’s natural to wonder which is the best for your business.
Pros and cons of earned media vs. paid media vs. owned media
There’s no one-size-fits-all, when it comes to the dilemma of owned, earned, or paid media. When choosing between earned, owned, and paid media, you must consider your goals, budget, and target audience. Moreover, each type has pros and cons that you must consider.
Earned media, such as social media mentions, can be highly influential and cost-effective. It can also be very fast, spreading the word about your business like wildfire! However, it’s not within your direct control and relies on elusive external factors. Also, negative mentions or reviews can impact your reputation.
Owned media, like your website and blog, gives you complete control over the content and messaging. It allows you to establish your brand, engage your audience, and drive traffic. However, building and maintaining owned media requires consistent effort and may take time to see significant results.
The best part about paid media, such as online ads and sponsored content, is that it provides immediate visibility and can deliver quick results, especially when promoting specific campaigns or reaching new audiences. However, it requires a dedicated budget, expertise, and ongoing optimization to ensure effective targeting and ROI.
A great marketing strategy incorporates paid, owned, and earned media
Now, how do you create a strategy for your business? Well, the best strategy for your company should incorporate a balanced approach, leveraging and maximizing the strengths of earned, owned, and paid media.
You have the utmost control over your owned media assets, so start there. Invest in creating valuable owned media assets, such as a user-friendly website, informative blog, and engaging social media profiles. Develop a content strategy that addresses your audience’s needs and interests.
Regularly publish high-quality blog posts, videos, infographics, and relevant content. Optimize your website for search engines to improve organic visibility. Use email marketing to nurture customer relationships.
If you use your owned media in the right way, it will organically lead to earned media. Partnering with SEO experts who understand your business and needs can help.
Next, complement your owned and earned media efforts with paid advertising. Identify your target audience and choose the appropriate platforms, such as search engines, social media, or display networks.
Aim to target the right audience and rigorously monitor and optimize those campaigns based on the right performance metrics.
Lastly, encourage customer reviews, testimonials, and social media mentions. Engage your audience, respond to comments, and encourage user-generated content. Actively seek opportunities for media coverage and collaborate with influencers.
Expand your owned media by working with Ranq!
You can exert maximum control over and effectively leverage all your hard work with owned media. That’s why you should try to expand your owned media channels first. And if you’re looking for content marketing services or SEO optimization for your online collateral, Ranq is here to help!
Ranq is dedicated to providing businesses with solid SEO content to help them thrive in today’s fast-changing digital landscape. If you’d like to leverage your owned media assets to skyrocket your visibility, contact us today!