Let’s Talk About the Differences Between Owned, Earned, and Paid Media
Marketing is full of buzzwords and jargon: SEO, remarketing, paid media, cost-per-click. The list goes on and on. These terms are often casually slipped into marketing meetings, and half the time it feels natural to just nod your head as if you know what the flock is going on — but in reality, you’re still trying to figure out what’s being talked about with the help of vague context clues!
However, confusing jargon can distract decision makers and mask the true meaning of words– which can be really dangerous when deciding on marketing investments. That’s why it’s HAVEN Creative’s mission in life to bust up marketing jargon, buzzwords, and B.S.!
One of the best ways we can do this is to help our clients to become experts in their own communications — also known as a maven. By making them a maven, we can give them the skills necessary to make the most of limited resources and cleverly navigate the world of ever-changing industry trends.
Today, we’re going to dive into the world of media…particularly paid, owned, and earned media. We’ll talk about what each of these terms mean and how they differentiate from one another. By the end of this article, you should be able to identify which one (or ones) will best apply to your future marketing strategies. So, let’s dive in.
What’s Paid Media?
When someone talks about paid media, it’s easy to think of traditional print, radio, and television advertising. But, thanks to the digital era, paid media has taken on a variety of forms.
Paid media is content that you pay to put in front of your audience. You’re paying to promote your message on an external platform, and this can often come with a hefty price tag. Think ads or sponsored content, including Google Ads (pay-per-click), social media advertising, banner ads, influencer marketing, retargeting ads, etc.
We like to think of paid media as the icing on the cake for your owned and earned media strategies. It allows you to take your message and distribute it to new audiences by paying for additional exposure.
Depending on where you’re choosing to buy your advertising, you’ll be given access to dashboards and reporting to track the ads performance clearly and adjust your marketing strategy based on that data.
What’s Owned Media?
Every marketing channel that your organization officially owns and controls is considered “owned media”. This could be your company website, blog, social media, and other marketing strategies that are deployed under your businesses’ complete control.
While this type of media typically costs less than paid media, it often relies heavily on internal maintenance and oversight. It’s important to note that this audience reach is limited because it is an audience that already knows you.
What’s Earned Media?
Earned media is when others spread your brand’s message for you — without being paid to do so. This type of media will always be published by a third-party, on either their own website or blog, social media channel, publication, etc.
Earned media is highly effective because we live in a world where consumers are greatly influenced by those they trust, whether that be friends, family members, or peers. What others have to say about their experience with your product or brand will speak very highly of whether or not others will follow suit.
Examples of earned media include testimonials and reviews, press releases, news articles, tagged social media posts, etc.
Determining What’s Best for Your Brand
When it comes to determining the best media marketing strategy for your brand, there are a few questions you need to consider.
- What do your media assets look like currently? (Take an inventory of your owned, earned, and paid media strategies.)
- What’s working and what isn’t working — and why?
- What do your customers want and where will you find them most often?
- Do you value new customers over retaining existing customers? (While there’s value in free content on owned and earned media channels, there’s also real value in using paid media in order to grow your flock!)
- Do you have a strong budget for paid advertising?
Once you’ve clarified these things, it will be a lot easier to see exactly what is working, not working, and what you can move towards with your marketing efforts in the future. In the end, it’s important to deploy a well-rounded media strategy that includes a dose of owned, paid, and earned opportunities.
Let’s Make You a Maven
Still not exactly sure where to start? HAVEN Creative® is always here to help! We can help you to better understand your exact owned, earned, and paid media channels and determine ways to optimize your marketing strategy as we look towards Q4.
Need something else? You can also contact one of our HAVEN Mavens™ today to learn more about our workshops and pivot sessions.