Earned Media

What is earned media?

In the world of marketing, the term “earned media” refers to any publicity that you didn’t have to pay for. This can take the form of news articles, blog posts, reviews, or even social media mentions. Essentially, earned media is any type of coverage that you didn’t directly buy or create yourself.

Earned media is often seen as more valuable than paid media, because it’s seen as more credible. When someone sees an advert for a product, they know that the company has paid for that space, so they’re less likely to trust it. But if they see a positive review of the same product from an independent source, they’re more likely to believe it.

Of course, that’s not to say that earned media is always more positive than paid media. Any type of publicity, good or bad, can be considered earned media.

The benefits of earned media

There are several reasons why you might want to focus on earned media as part of your marketing strategy.

First of all, as we’ve already mentioned, earned media is seen as more credible than paid media. When people see positive reviews or articles about your product, they’re more likely to trust them, and more likely to be interested in buying what you’re selling.

Secondly, earned media can be a lot cheaper than paid media. If you’re able to generate positive reviews or articles without having to pay for them, you’ll save money that you can put towards other areas of your marketing.

Finally, earned media can be a great way to reach new audiences. When people see positive reviews or articles about your product, they’re more likely to share them with their friends and followers, which means you’ll reach a wider audience than you would have if you’d just relied on paid media.

The difference between paid and earned media

It’s important to understand the difference between paid and earned media, so that you can decide which is right for your business.

Paid media is any type of publicity that you pay for, such as advertising, sponsorships, or product placement. This can be a great way to reach a wide audience, but it can be expensive, and it’s not always seen as being as credible as earned media.

Earned media, on the other hand, is any type of publicity that you didn’t have to pay for. This can include news articles, blog posts, reviews, or social media mentions. Earned media is often seen as being more credible than paid media, but it can be harder to control and predict.

How to create a successful earned media strategy

If you want to create a successful earned media strategy, there are a few things you need to do.

First of all, you need to identify your goals. What do you want to achieve with your earned media strategy? Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or build relationships with customers? Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start to create a plan to make it happen.

Next, you need to identify your target audience. Who do you want to reach with your earned media? Once you know who your target audience is, you can start to think about the best way to reach them.

Then, you need to identify the key influencers in your industry. These are the people who have the most influence over your target audience. If you can get them on your side, they’ll help you to reach your target audience more effectively.

Finally, you need to create content that’s shareable and interesting. If you want people to share your content, it needs to be something that they actually want to share. Make sure your content is well-written, informative, and visually appealing.

The top 10 earned media platforms

There are a variety of different platforms that you can use to generate earned media. Here are 10 of the most popular:

  1. News websites
  2. Blog platforms
  3. Review websites
  4. Social media platforms
  5. Forums and message boards
  6. Q&A websites
  7. Podcasts
  8. Video sharing websites
  9. Influencer marketing
  10. PR campaigns

The top 5 ways to measure earned media success

There are a variety of different ways to measure the success of your earned media strategy. Here are 5 of the most popular:

  1. Media mentions: Keep track of how often your brand is mentioned in the media. This includes news articles, blog posts, reviews, and social media posts.
  2. Website traffic: Keep track of how much traffic your website receives from earned media sources. This includes links from news articles, blog posts, and social media posts.
  3. Social media engagement: Keep track of how often your content is shared, liked, or commented on social media.
  4. Sales: Keep track of how many sales are generated from earned media sources.
  5. Customer satisfaction: Keep track of how satisfied your customers are with your product or service.

5 case studies of successful earned media campaigns

Here are 5 examples of successful earned media campaigns:

  1. The Ice Bucket Challenge
  2. Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign
  3. Red Bull Stratos
  4. Chipotle’s “Farms” Campaign
  5. Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Campaign

The future of earned media

It’s impossible to predict the future of earned media, but there are a few trends that we can watch out for.

First of all, we can expect social media to become even more important as a platform for earned media. As more and more people use social media, brands will need to find ways to stand out from the crowd.

We can also expect earned media to become more targeted and personalised. As brands become better at understanding their target audiences, they’ll be able to create content that’s more relevant to them.

Finally, we can expect earned media to become more global. As the world becomes more connected, brands will have to find ways to reach a wider audience.

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