Have you been wondering about earned vs. paid media, what the difference is between them, and how to capture each? Well, wonder no longer.
A healthy marketing strategy often includes a bit of each (and a third we’ll talk about later), and knowing how to utilize each is important for consistent growth.
Earned Media
Earned Media is anything gained that you didn’t pay for or create yourself.
While earned media might sound free, you will be spending time and resources trying to get it. However, it can cost a lot less than its paid alternative. Earned Media also faces less resistance than more traditional forms of advertising. A recommendation from a friend or trusted source feels a lot less like someone trying to sell you something.
So, how can you start getting earned media?
Send Out Free Products
Don’t just send your product out to just anybody for free. Do some research and find out whose opinion matters to your target audience. A YouTuber, streamer, or social media influencer who stands behind your product can add a ton of trust to your brand, as long as it’s an honest recommendation.
Create Useful Content
While you should always be making content with search engine optimization in mind (we have some stats to prove it), don’t just dump keyword-heavy blogs into your website with no purpose. Creating resources that people actually find useful will often lead to them sharing with others across different social media platforms.
Show Off Your Expertise
If you’ve created a business from scratch, chances are you know what you’re talking about when it comes to the product or service you’re selling. Find podcasts, YouTube channels, or other forms of entertainment where you can showcase this expertise. Don’t be afraid to give away some secret sauce, as long as you know they still can’t make it without you.
Paid Media
Paid Media refers to, you guessed it, any placement you directly pay to be there. This includes advertising, branded & sponsored content, and more.
While earned media certainly has an easier time breaking through to people, paid media offers such a robust set of targeting tools that it’s easy to speak directly to who you want to.
In fact, we have some tips for creating the most purposeful Facebook ad targeting strategy.
Owned Media
The final piece of the pie we alluded to earlier is Owned Media. This is any channel directly controlled by your brand.
The good news is that you can borrow a lot of the tactics used for earned media. Creating useful content and showing off your expertise both work wonderfully across your own blogs and social media channels.
The benefits of this type of media are two-fold: Just like earned media, it’s mostly free (besides the time you or your team spend on it), and the control you have over it is second to none. Talk about what you need to and speak directly to your target audience.
There are still plenty of questions to answer when it comes to earned vs. paid media. How much of your budget should be allocated to paid media? How much time should you be spending on earned media? Owned media? Answering these questions is something you could spend a lot of time considering.
Or you could just work with the right marketing agency: Siva Creative.
Let the experts at Siva drive your growth with a marketing strategy that works, so you can focus on running your business. Not sure where you stand? We’ll even audit your website and social media, for free.
