Owned, Paid & Earned Media

Three essential streams in your digital media strategy, but don’t pay for what you don’t need

What drives people to your website and engages them with your content there? Maybe they saw you on YouTube. Maybe they read recommendation a friend posted online. Maybe they came across your LinkedIn ad. These are examples of three different digital media streams – owned, earned and paid media – that lead people to your brand. It’s critical to understand their differences, how they influence each other, and where to spend your budget.

Owned Media

Owned media sites are those within your control, such as websites, blogs, email and social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. Owned media sites are an extension of your brand and give people the opportunity to interact with your brand in different ways. The more owned media you have, the more chances you have to extend your brand presence in the digital sphere. Not only that, with owned social media traffic, you can drill down further into your base of followers and take a closer look at where they’re engaging. The more people you’re able to engage with through your owned social media channels, the more you’ll be able to grow your social media following.

Paid Media

Paid media is any advertising you pay for. Traditional offline channels include print, TV, radio and direct mail. In today’s online world, paid social media includes Pay Per Click and display ads on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other channels. You can also pay influencers to tweet or share your links in order to extend your reach. The goal is to target specific audiences and expose them to your brand offer and content. Paid media is a good way to direct traffic to

your owned media properties, as well as drive earned media.

Earned Media

Earned media cannot be bought or owned. It is generated when content receives recognition and a following outside of traditional paid advertising, through communication channels such as social media and online word of mouth. Word of mouth can take the form of reviews, mentions, shares, recommendations, or content picked up by 3rd party sites. It attracts people to your website and often results in their voluntarily sharing your content through their own social media channels. The exponential growth of earned media is a result of its being highly cost effective, and through the stimulus of SEO, Social and Content Marketing.

The Frugal Marketer

Owned, paid and earned media should converge at some point as you build out your marketing plan. They all work together to create the buzz around your brand that you’re looking for. But while it’s important to maximize all three streams, don’t overspend where you don’t have to. It’s not about simply going out and buying media. It’s about creating the best mix of tactics, which don’t have to be paid tactics primarily.

Talk to us! We’ll help you put together the right digital strategy for your brand, in the most cost effective manner. Because the frugal path is often the most successful.