Businesses have multiple options for promoting their brand and reaching their target audience. Earned media is one of these options. It involves organic or unpaid exposure and coverage for a brand.
What is earned media?
Earned media encompasses the mentions, reviews, features, and recommendations that a brand receives from third-party sources such as journalists, influencers, bloggers, and customers. Unlike paid media, which involves advertising and promotional efforts that require financial investment, earned media is the result of positive brand recognition and reputation earned through various channels. It’s essentially the result of others talking about and endorsing a brand organically. The value of earned media for a business lies in its credibility and trustworthiness. When a brand is mentioned or recommended by a reputable source or an influential individual, it carries more weight and credibility compared to self-promotion through paid advertising. This is because earned media is seen as more authentic and unbiased, as it’s based on the experiences and opinions of others rather than the brand’s own messaging.
Increased brand awareness
Earned media boosts brand visibility and expands audience reach. When a brand gets featured or mentioned in a publication or shared by a popular social media account, it reaches a fresh pool of potential customers who may not have known about it before. This increases brand recognition and awareness, driving more traffic and potential customers to the business.
Establishing credibility and trust
As mentioned earlier, earned media carries a higher level of credibility and trust among consumers. When a brand receives positive reviews or recommendations from trusted sources, it helps build trust and credibility for the brand. People are more likely to trust the opinions and experiences of others rather than solely relying on the brand’s own marketing messages.
Cost-effective marketing
One of the significant advantages of earned media is that it’s typically free or involves minimal costs compared to paid media efforts. While it may require investments in public relations and influencer outreach, the return on investment can be substantial. By focusing on building relationships with journalists, influencers, and customers, businesses can generate positive word-of-mouth and media coverage without significant financial investments.
Greater audience engagement
Earned media often sparks conversations and interactions among the audience. When people see positive reviews or mentions of a brand, they are more likely to engage with the content, share it with others, and even start discussions around it. This can lead to increased social media engagement, comments, likes, and shares.
Earned media vs. paid media
Earned media is generally acquired through organic means and doesn’t require direct financial investments. On the other hand, paid media involves paying for advertising space or sponsored content on various platforms such as social media, search engines, or publications. In earned media, the brand doesn’t have full control over the messaging and content since it’s generated by third-party sources. In paid media, the brand has complete control over the messaging and creative content of the advertisements. Earned media is perceived as more credible and trustworthy since it comes from independent sources. Paid media, although it can still be effective, may be seen as biased or self-promotional by some audiences. Paid media allows businesses to have more control over the reach and targeting of their advertisements. They can specify the audience demographics, interests, and behaviors they want to target. Earned media, on the other hand, relies on the reach and audience of the sources or influencers mentioning the brand.