{"id":1681,"date":"2015-08-24T12:49:17","date_gmt":"2015-08-24T12:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newswire.com\/blog\/?p=1681"},"modified":"2018-12-21T10:44:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T15:44:03","slug":"what-is-earned-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newswire.com\/blog\/what-is-earned-media","title":{"rendered":"What Is Earned Media?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to marketing your business, building your brand, and ultimately growing your bottom line, there are a few ways to go about it. You\u2019ve probably heard of paid search and organic search when it comes to contact marketing. Paid search is when you pay for placement on search engine results, and organic is when it happens \u201cnaturally\u201d or without paying for it. There is a similar concept when we\u2019re talking about media coverage and awareness. It\u2019s called earned media.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Earned Media?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three different types of media for online marketers. They are owned, paid, and earned media. Owned media are channels that are within your company\u2019s control. For example, you control what you publish on your blog and on your social media pages. Paid media is exactly what you\u2019d expect \u2013 it is media that you paid for, and generally refers to advertising. If you buy an ad placement on a website or in a publication, that\u2019s paid media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Earned media is different.<\/em> It refers to media that you generate through a variety of channels and all of it is in the control of others and is influenced by how they respond to your information. For example, you share a report on your social media page and 5,000 people like, share, or comment on that report. That\u2019s earned media. If the local newspaper picks up your report and story then that\u2019s also earned media.<\/span><\/p>\n

It includes concepts like word of mouth marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and press release marketing, to name a few. Earned media is just that; it\u2019s earned. It cannot be bought or owned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So how effective is earned media and how can you get more of it? Let\u2019s look at effectiveness first.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Effective is Earned Media?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s flip the conversation for a moment. Think about what type of information you\u2019re more likely to trust\u2026 an advertisement for a service or a peer who says they used the same service and had a great experience? It\u2019s pretty much a no-brainer, right? You\u2019re going to trust the peer over the company ad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your audience feels exactly the same way. Regardless of who they are or what your business model is, they trust earned media or word-of-mouth type messages over paid or owned media. According to Nielsen, 85% of consumers regularly or occasionally seek trusted expert content when considering a purchase. (Source: http:\/\/www.inpwrd.com\/nielsen<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

How Can You Get More Earned Media?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Content is the foundation of earned media. To strengthen your brand and motivate more interactions amongst your community of prospects and customers you must:<\/span><\/p>\n