Why Earned Media is the Future of Marketing

For those of you who do not know what earned media is, I will first need to explain paid media and owned media.

Paid media is when a company pays to utilize a channel. Some examples of this are Internet display ads, flyers, sponsorships and paid searches. This type of media feeds owned media, and creates earned media. You can’t have one type of media without the other but you can put more of your time and money towards the media outlet that serves you best.

Owned media is a channel that the company controls, such as a website, blog or Facebook account. This type of media is good for connecting with already established customers and existing potential customers.

The one I am going to talk to you about is earned media. It’s special because the public becomes the channel. This type of media is a result of well-executed owned and paid media. Companies are given the opportunity to listen to their customers reviews and discussions and respond accordingly. It’s all done by word-of-mouth.

With earned media, you cannot be in control of what people say, sometimes people will say negative things. It is also a hard thing to measure and keep track of. If you keep these things in mind, you will be able to use these things in a positive way. You can respond to any negativity through the media outlets and use the negative comments to tweak your future products and services.

The good thing is that this type of media has the highest response rates. Word-of-mouth has always been the best form of communication. People trust their friends and family over a website or pamphlet. It also goes on and on well past the marketing being over. This will continue to drag in customers, because people will keep sharing with each other. With paid media, once the ads are done, they are done. It also has a much larger reach, way farther than an internet ad or flyer will get you.

Chances are, that you have looked at a review site before making a big purchase. You care more about what other people like you are saying about the product, then the company itself. Companies need to acknowledge and utilize this way of thinking.

With the way social media has taken over the universe, companies need to start focusing more on earned media. This is what is differentiating the successful and unsuccessful companies and will be even more important in the not so distant future.

MavenSocial specializes in earned media. We not only tell you who your biggest social media influencers are, but work with them to get out your message and meet your goals. We also drive traffic to your owned media such as your website to maintain and bring in customers.

Until next time,

Amanda