Topic 6: Identifying Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned Media

Introduction

Paid, owned, and earned media are three distinct types of marketing strategies. What is the difference between them? What
should you be focusing on for your business or brand? This blog will answer all these questions and more.

What Is Paid, Owned, and Earned Media?

Paid, owned, and earned media are the three types of marketing channels that businesses can use to market their
products.

 Paid media is when the product or company pays for a message to appear. It includes advertisements,
sponsorships, and paid membership sites.
 Owned Media are those you manage yourself like, a blog or website with the content edited by yourself.
 Earned media is when other people share your content with their audience, which can cause you to reach multiple
potential customers.

While each media type has its benefits and drawbacks, successful marketers know how to draw from all three to create a
comprehensive media strategy. Paid media helps generate leads and sales while owned media allows brands to
communicate directly with customers using creative content marketing efforts. Earned media provides an opportunity for
word-of-mouth marketing which can be incredibly powerful in terms of reach and impact.

Businesses need to understand the different types of digital media to create an effective online marketing strategy. In 2021,
the average North American adult will spend 8 hours a day consuming digital content- so it's more important than ever for
brands to reach their target audiences through all possible channels.

What Are Differences Between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media Communication Channels?

Paid, owned, and earned media can be a confusing topic for marketers. All three media types are essential to
understanding and creating an effective marketing strategy.

 Paid media is any content that is paid for, such as ads on Facebook or Twitter.
 Owned media refers to the channels that you own, such as your company website or blog.
 Earned media is unpaid visibility, such as when someone shares your content on their own social media channel.

Marketers need to understand the differences between these three content delivery channels because they offer different
benefits. Paid media can help you reach a large audience quickly, while owned media allows you to control the messaging
and branding for your company. Earned media helps build trust and credibility for your brand because it comes from
recommendations from other people.

Paid Media Strategy

Paid media helps you reach a specific audience and create targeted ad campaigns that convert viewers into customers.
Paid media can be used as an alternative or in addition to organic search engine optimization (SEO) tactics like on-site
optimization and content marketing. Paid media campaigns can be expensive, so they should not be used as a replacement
for organic SEO tactics.

What Are Pros and Cons of Paid Media?

The advantage of paid media is that it guarantees your content will be seen by your target market. It is also a great choice
for retargeting or remarketing, which means reaching out to those who have already shown interest in your business. When
used in conjunction with other forms of media, such as earned and owned media, paid media can be more successful.

The main drawback of paid media is its price.

 Pros Cons

Easy to measure and gets quick results Expensive

High control over content – main message and text copy Gets even more expensive with competition

How Much Does Paid Media Cost?

The amount of money you spend on paid media will depend on campaign type, size, and frequency. For example,
Facebook advertisements can start at $1 per click, while a Google AdWords campaign can vary depending on the keyword,
ad placement, and bid. Generally, it can cost anywhere from $5 to $50 per thousand impressions.

A small, targeted ad would likely cost around $10 per thousand impressions, whereas a billboard or bus stop advertisement
could cost $1,000 or more.

What Are Paid Media KPIs

Impressions - the number of times your ad appears in SERPS. There are different types of impressions, including cost-per-
click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM).

Clicks - it indicates how many times people click on your ad.

Goal conversion rate - the number of times your customer completes the action such: as subscription, purchase, event
registration, etc.

The Click-through rate - is the percentage of people who click on a website link after seeing an ad. It can be used as a
measure of how effective your advertising campaign was, and how much users are engaging with your website.

Cost per click - is the amount company pays each time someone clicks on ads.

Cost per lead - the price an advertising firm charges advertisers to acquire a particular number of leads. It can be calculated
by dividing their total costs by the amount they would have paid for each lead.

Cost per acquisition - It is a business metric that indicates how much it costs to acquire each customer. It gives you the
information necessary to determine whether or not your advertising strategy is effective and if it is worth investing in.

What Are Examples of Paid Media?

Search Engine Advertising Campaigns/Search Marketing

Paid search engine marketing (SEM) is a form of online advertising that involves paying to have your website show up as
one of the top results for specific keywords or phrases.

Advertisers can create ads in the form of text, images, or videos, which are then displayed when someone searches for
specific keywords or phrases. SEM ads can be pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM).
Social Media Advertising

When most people think of advertising, they think of TV commercials and billboards. However, in the digital era, paid media
has taken on many new forms. Paid media includes all forms of advertising on the Internet, including social media posts
created by paid influencers.

One popular form of paid media is native advertising. This type of advertising is growing in popularity because it's a more
subtle way to reach customers than traditional advertisements.

Instagram uses native adverts, which blend in with your feed without notice. Native ads are one of the most common types
of paid media. They're effective because they're less intrusive than other forms of advertising and people are more likely to
interact with them. Also, other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter use native ads.

Advertising on social media is highly controllable - you can target locations, people with different professions, ages,
interests, etc.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a form of advertising where the advertiser will pay an influencer to feature their products. Influencers
have large social media followings and can therefore influence the purchasing decisions of their followers.

Nowadays, many companies refer to influencer campaigns to reach their goals. For example, the renowned sportswear
company Adidas had launched an influencer marketing campaign with Kailey Jenner that promoted the sneaker line of
Adidas.

Display Ads

Display ads thas come a long way since static banner ads. Static banner ads were generally ineffective, as users became
desensitized and learned to ignore them.

Today, display advertising is much more sophisticated. There are various types of display ads, such as:

A pop-up is a small ad that appears as visitors scroll the website. They are a great way to increase user engagement
because they can retain users on your page while using the ad space wisely.

Interstitials are full-screen ads that typically appear before or after the content that the user is trying to access. For example,
an interstitial ad might show when a user tries to leave a website.

Video ads automatically pop up whenever the customers scroll past the page or specific section.
Traditional Advertising - Video, Radio, Publication, Print, TV Ads

Traditional advertising works when you create an ad and pay to have it appear on a website. It is s a marketing approach
that promotes products and services through mass media like radio, television, newspapers, or magazines.

Owned Media Strategy

An owned media strategy is a way of leveraging your existing assets to drive success for marketing and sales efforts. It
refers to original, relevant, sharable content on your website, blog, or social media accounts. Any form of content you create
and control, including blog posts, videos, infographics, or other similar is owned.

Owned media is the destination where you want customers to land, and - paid media helps you to push external traffic to
your controlled channels.

What Are Pros and Cons of Owned Media?

Pros Cons

Complete control over content – main message and text copy Small audience

Cheap to maintain and free to publish Needs internal control and management
Owned Media KPIs

Website traffic is the number of visitors or page views your website receives.

Time-on-page is the amount of time a user spends viewing your web page. This metric indicates how much content they
can view and digest before leaving or scrolling down to another page. Time-on-page gauges how informative your content
is.

Bounce rate is the percentage of users that visit a website and then leave after their initial interaction with it. Sites have
bounce rates from 1% to 80%. The higher your bounce rate, the lower the traffic and engagement rates are, which can
ultimately decrease your organic rankings.

Conversion rate is the number of people who completed your desired action after visiting or clicking through to your site. It
can be a specific action like buying, subscribing, filling out a form, etc.

Social media likes and followers - this metric indicates how famous and engaging your company's social media content is.

Newsletter open rate is the percentage of people opening your email. You can track this number via tools such
as MailChimp and HubSpot to provide insight into how effective your outreach strategy is.

What Are Examples of Owned Media?

Media of Content Marketing - Website

You should use your website blog to create SEO-oriented content pieces that get under the eyes of Google.

SEO content includes writing copies in a style that gets ranked for the related keywords. The web is the homeland of
millions of content, and you should signal to Google and other search engines that you exist.

Delivering consistent SEO content is the key that can lead your way to supremacy. It invests in trust and long-term
relationships, carrying your unique brand voice. After you do the groundwork, your efforts will result in:

 Improving Brand Awareness

 Generating Leads
 Boosting Conversions
 Increasing Sales
 Getting Loyal Customers

The web world is changing, and competition is becoming fiercer. Closing eyes on emerging trends is not an option. So,
Putting SEO tendencies off until next year will get you lost in the crowded race.
Content on Social Media Channels

Social media marketing is a specific type of digital marketing that focuses on building relationships with people through
social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. Social media marketing strives to incentivize
sharing across networks and create content that will further your brand's objectives.

A positive online reputation helps close sales easier than without one. Some customers will only buy from companies they
know have a good reputation online.

Thus, social media is a perfect place directly engage with your audience and build customer relationships.

E-Mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is the process of sending promotional emails to interested prospects, customers, or members. E-mails are
a form of direct marketing that promote products and services and inform members or prospects of new products, services,
and deals.

Email marketing is a great way to reach new customers and help them become loyal followers. It's also an effective
communication method with your existing customer base, keeping them engaged and coming back for more.

Earned Media Strategy

Unlike paid media (such as advertising), earned media doesn't require any expenditure on the part of the brand or
organization. However, cultivating relationships with third-party sources to promote your brand requires time and
dedication.

For example, you should create valuable content that ranks on Google to derive attention. So, SEO is a crucial player in
earning media exposure (just as it does with owned media). By producing high-quality content that addresses the needs
and concerns of your target audience, you can position your business as a leader in your industry. It will help you get
mentions from relevant publications and social networks.

Startup brands should always aim to produce good quality content to increase their chances of earning publicity. However,
earned media takes time and effort - so don't expect quick results.
What Are Pros and Cons of Earned Media?
Pros Cons

Boosts brand awareness can also break the reputation

Strengthens the reputation takes lots of effort and is difficult to earn

Earned Media KPIs

Number of Mentions - it measures how many times your website was mentioned by another company.

Referral Traffic - it gauges how many visitors followed the mentioned link on a third-party source and interacted with your
webpage.

Publicity Value - how many out of referral visitors completed desired actions such as purchase, download, registration, etc.

What Are the Examples of Earned Media Marketing?

SEO Search Results

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a form of earned media. In other words, you invest time and resources into creating
content on-site that will rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs). Unlike paid ads, which are immediate, SEO can
take time before you see results. However, when used in combination with owned media - such as a website or blog - it's an
effective marketing strategy.

Earned media is a form of publicity that you generate through content marketing. When you produce content that addresses
common pain points among your target audience, you'll be seen as a thought leader in your field. This type of publicity can
help drive leads and sales to your business.

Earned Publicity in Media Sites

There are several ways to get free publicity or earned media, and one of the most common is by sending out a press
release. Your business needs a unique product or story that will catch the attention of reporters and editors. Additionally,
sponsoring an event is a great way to gain publicity and exposure for your company.

Earned Mentions in Social Media and Third-Party Sites

Some companies send their product or service to influencers. In return, they receive influencer mentions - a post dedicated
to them.

In the other case, people voluntarily share company social media content and help them expand their brand awareness.

Social media is most effective when used in tandem with paid and owned media. Paid advertising (such as boosted posts)
drives users to your website or social media page, where they are then exposed to your owned content (such as blog
articles or white papers). If this content is interesting or helpful, the user may share it with their followers on social media,
creating earned media. Earned media is free advertising, as it comes from people who have voluntarily shared your content.
 Word-of-Mouth

Word of mouth is a type of marketing that uses personal recommendations, testimonials, and reviews to create word-of-
mouth buzz about products or services. It includes situations where consumers recommend products or services to friends
and family.

Third-Party Review Websites

Businesses, large and small, need to be aware of the impact that online customer reviews can have on their bottom line.
Positive reviews are great, as they can lead directly to increased sales. However, negative reviews can also be a problem,
as they may cause customers to hesitate before doing business with you. Companies need to encourage positive reviews
and manage any negative ones that may arise.

What is shared media?

Shared media is when your brand or product is mentioned in media, particularly social media. It could be posts on platforms
such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and LinkedIn. Like earned media, shared media may come from any source,
including other companies, customers and anyone else who feels compelled to mention your product without your
prompting.
Examples of shared media include:
Social media content
Content that relies on sharing
Shared media is usually generated by your customers and followers. You have no control over shared media, which can be
wonderful if your product creates a buzz on social media but disastrous if you have an issue that creates negative attention.
Things can go viral quickly and it’s out of your control.
Shared media is ideal for engagement, consumer interaction and generating a conversation about your brand. It can often
spread to an audience you might not be able to reach through paid media.

Topic 7: Pursuing Content Marketing Perfection

Content marketing strategy is your high-level plan for creating and distributing content to grow your audience and reach
various business goals. Some content marketing examples include:
 Blog posts
 Emails
 Newsletters
 Social media posts
 Podcasts
 Ebooks
 Videos

The goal is to send the right message to current and potential customers.

A content plan—sometimes referred to as a “content calendar”—is a written plan to help you manage your distribution
schedule.
Now that we’ve gotten the content marketing definitions out of the way, let’s talk about why it’s important to have a content
marketing plan in the first place.

Why Have a Content Marketing Strategy?

 A content marketing strategy helps you achieve specific goals, define clear success metrics, and create processes for
specific improvement.

This is more effective than haphazardly producing content and hoping it does the job.

In fact, 80% of marketers who are extremely successful in content marketing have a documented strategy.

Other benefits of a content marketing plan include:

 More online visibility: The more consistently you post, the more customers you can attract. Provide educational, useful
content that addresses users’ pain points.
 More leads: Because a good content marketing strategy drives traffic, it can also drive leads
 More authority: The more useful content you share over time, the more people in your niche will see you as an authority
figure
 More customer engagement: Loyal customers are often repeat customers. Engage with those who comment or respond
to what you share.
 More budget: If you can prove your marketing success, it will likely be easier to ask for a bigger marketing budget in the
future

Clearly, it’s a good idea to come up with a plan before creating and sharing content.

Wondering how to develop a content marketing strategy? Let’s discuss five key elements you need to know first.
 5 Elements of a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy

An effective content marketing strategy should have these five core elements to be successful:

1. Audience personas
2. Brand story
3. Content marketing mission
4. Business case
5. An action plan

Let’s see why these elements are essential and how you can start implementing each of them.

1. Audience Personas

It’s difficult to tell your brand’s story if you don’t know who’s listening. That’s why the first step is to identify the
audience you’d like to target.

Here are a few ways to do that:

 Survey your existing customers

 Research industry trends
 Identify who you don’t want to target
 Keep tabs on who your competitors target
Once you have your audience in mind, you can use our free Buyer Persona tool to put them into writing.
 A formalized persona will help you clearly and succinctly communicate your audience to your stakeholders. And anyone
involved in brand messaging.

Start by exploring these persona examples for inspiration.

2. Brand Story and Positioning

A brand story is a summary of your company’s history, mission, purpose, and values.

Defining your brand story can help you identify the right messages and topics to address with your content. That helps you
choose the right direction in your content marketing strategy.

Your story should focus on:

 The hero of your story (your customer) and their goals and challenges
 Your brand’s personality
 The purpose of your brand and key brand values
 The way your product and your content can help reinforce all the above and empower your hero

Keeping your brand’s story in mind when making content will create a consistent experience for your audience and build the
right image on all your content marketing channels.

Here are some questions to help you brainstorm your brand story and positioning in the market:

 Who are my existing and potential customers? What are their goals?
 Who are my top competitors? How do they market their brands?
 What is my brand’s unique value?
 What problems does my product solve?
 What makes my product a better choice over my competitors?
Use your answers to shape the main pillars of your brand story.
 You can also use this free brand storytelling template to complete this step and document your efforts.
This step can be especially beneficial for small businesses and startups that can leverage their unique backgrounds and
identities.

3. Content Marketing Mission Statement and Owned Media Value Proposition

Owned media refers to any digital marketing channels that you have control over. Like your website or social media.

To establish your brand as a credible content publisher, define your owned media value proposition.

In other words:

What unique value does your brand’s content provide? (This should be unique from your competitors’ content.)

This will help you create a content marketing strategy that sets you apart from your competitors.

Another important item to include in your strategy is your content marketing mission statement. It should summarize why
you are creating content and provide information on who can benefit from it.

Make sure your content marketing mission statement includes the following elements:

 Your audience: Who are you creating content for?

 The benefit: What information or answers will you provide?
 The outcome: How will your content help your audience achieve their goals?

Here’s an example:

“Our content is where digital marketing managers find multimedia information about SEO and content marketing so they can
help their companies grow via organic channels.”
4. Business Case and Content Marketing Goals

Providing value to your audience is an integral part of a successful content marketing plan. But in addition to attracting new
readers and followers, content marketing should drive your business forward.

Creating a documented business case will help you or your team better understand the benefits, costs, and risks of
implementing a content marketing strategy in your company.

A business case is a project management document that outlines why particular tasks should be executed and how their
benefits outweigh their costs.

To get started, identify the business goals your company needs to achieve and figure out how content marketing will bring
your company closer to those goals.

Additionally, what resources do you need to invest in your content strategy? And what results do you want to generate?

This will allow you to come up with a firm budget for content creation and marketing.

You can track approved tasks in a project management software like Asana:
 5. Action Plan

Finally, add your main content marketing campaigns and projects to your content plan.

Using a formal content plan will help you think through each content marketing strategy step individually.

Make sure to cover the following while content planning:

 Choose content topics for each campaign

 Determine which content formats you will produce
 Pick the channels for content distribution

Key elements to include in your calendar are:

 Topics or keywords
 Target dates
 Headlines
 Categories or clusters
 Content formats
 Target personas
 Success metrics

REFERENCES:
Chaffey, Dave. (2020). Digital Marketing ePub Book. Pearson E-Book / Mind Mover
Chaffey, Dave & Smith PR. (2018). Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and Integrating Online Marketing.
Routledge
Dahl, Stephen. (2018). Social Marketing: Theories & Applications. SAGE Publishing
Diamong, Stephanie. (2019). Digital Marketing: All-in-One. John & Wiley Sons, Inc.
Deiss, Ryan and Henneberry, Russ. (2017). Digital Marketing for Dummies. John & Wiley Sons, Inc.
Social Media Marketing. 2020. 3G E-Learning Smart Library
Social Media and Ourselves. 2020. 3G E-Learning Smart Library
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