Today, there are many different methods you can use to market your business. While traditional marketing presents various options, there is even more to consider when it comes to digital marketing. Within this type of marketing, you have three different types of media – earned, paid, and owned. Each is very different, and you might be wondering which is the best one to invest in for your business. However, this answer is not so easy. There’s no one best type of media to use in general, each has its own benefits, and you’ll likely need to have a healthy mix of all three to get the best results.
What is considered earned, paid, and owned media, and how can each benefit your business? Learn more about these three types of media!
Earned Media
Earned media is media that other people give you and is essentially your business’s PR. When people review your business, share your content, and post about your business, this is all considered earned media. Even your organic rankings could be considered a type of earned media. Google rewards optimized websites that provide value with higher rankings, so the only way of getting this is by doing the work. You worked to achieve this through providing valuable products and services, and people want to take the time to acknowledge how you’ve benefited them.
Benefits of Earned Media
Earned media can be difficult to get, but when you do, it can be incredibly beneficial. Because this type is one that you actually had to have earned with hard work, it can get you much further than other types of media. Earned media is similar to word-of-mouth marketing, which marketers in all industries agree is highly effective. People willingly vouching for your business says a lot to their peers and can be much more impactful than any marketing efforts you do on your own.
Different forms of earned media help your business earn the trust of your target audience. You’ve clearly done something right to earn the support of some people, and others will be interested to see what you can do for them as well. This is much more telling than you talking about what your business can do and makes you appear much more credible in the eyes of your audience.
Negatives of Earned Media
Of course, earned media is largely up to other people, so you don’t have much control over it. While you can encourage people to leave reviews and share your content, it’s ultimately up to them to do so. If you’re a new business and haven’t had many customers yet, earned media can be harder to get. This is something you’ll need to work towards in the future.
Paid Media
Paid media is extremely different from earned media. Rather than people providing this on their own to show support for your business, this is media that your business pays for. This can include various types of ads, sponsored content, and influencer marketing. There are plenty of ads you can choose from, such as display ads, PPC, and social media ads.
Benefits of Paid Media
As opposed to earned media, which you have very little control over, you have a lot of control over your paid media. You get to control the message your business sends out, where it’s placed, and what audience sees it. This allows you to create content that would send the most impactful message to the people who could benefit from it the most. Thanks to being able to target who you want to advertise to, you can also get your business in front of more people who might not have found you otherwise and increase your reach.
Not only does paid media give you more control, but it’s also a quick way of getting results. Ads can start working immediately, so unlike other marketing messages, you don’t have to wait to feel their impact. If you need fast results and traffic to your website right away, paid media is the way to do it.
Negatives of Paid Media
Of course, before you can utilize paid media, you need the funds to invest in it. While this can bring in results quickly, if you can’t afford the cost, it might not be the most beneficial route for your business until you can manage it.
People are also very cautious of paid media today. We all see countless ads in our day-to-day lives, and we know this is promoted content, so many people don’t pay too much attention to it. Some might think that all paid media says that a business has money to spend on ads. While many businesses use paid media and it can be extremely beneficial when done right, some might be hesitant to trust it, so this shouldn’t be the sole focus of your marketing efforts.
Owned Media
Owned media is the content that your business created that you can utilize however you want for free. This includes your website, social media profiles, blogs, and videos. Of course, every business today has to have these if they want to have any chances of succeeding at digital marketing. Earned media is something you can strive to get, and paid media can be a great addition to your marketing efforts, but you need various types of owned media.
Benefits of Owned Media
Owned media is an investment your business’s online success depends on, and one that can carry you into the future. Unlike earned media, which depends on your audience, and paid media, which depends on funding ads, owned media is much more evergreen. While what works best will change over time, and you’ll need to make improvements along the way, it provides a solid foundation that you have control over.
Negatives of Owned Media
While owned media is a must, it can be difficult to get right. While you need owned media, just doing the bare minimum can be difficult, and there are never guarantees that you’ll get the results you want. Because of this, owned media can be a lot of work and difficult to predict the outcome of.
Have a Digital Marketing Agency Handle Your Online Presence
There’s a lot to consider when marketing your business online and a huge amount of work that goes into it. This is going to be too much for many businesses to handle, especially if they want to ensure everything is done right. Instead of trying to tackle everything yourself, turn to the digital marketing professionals at ENX2 Marketing! We provide digital marketing services for everything you need to succeed at digital marketing.
Contact our digital marketing agency today for more information!
