Do you want to make your business as successful as it can possibly be? Of course you do. It’s what you’ve been dreaming about ever since you first got your business off the ground.
Fortunately, you can do all kinds of things to turn your business into a success. From coming up with the right prices for your products and/or services to getting more organized, you can keep your business on the right path at all times.
Using paid media, earned media, and owned media to your advantage will also be very beneficial when you’re running a business. Each of these things should be a part of your digital marketing strategy from the very beginning.
So, what are paid media, earned media, and owned media, and what sets each of them apart? We’re going to break it all down for you today so that you can start using them to move your business forward.
Continue reading to get the inside scoop on these different forms of media.
What Is Paid Media?
Paid media is a type of media that, as its name would suggest, you have to pay for when you decide to use it. Some great examples of paid media would be an advertisement that you run online or a sponsored article that you put together for a website.
Generally speaking, those businesses that are brand-new are usually going to have to utilize some form of paid media to get their names out there in the world. It can be difficult for them to get something like earned media yet since a lot of people won’t be all that familiar with them.
You can attempt to create a paid media campaign for your business on your own if you would like. But your best bet will usually be to bring a PPC marketing agency on board to assist you.
This will obviously come at a cost. But you’ll appreciate knowing that your paid media efforts are going to get results when you have the right agency on your side.
What Makes Paid Media Different From Other Forms of Media?
The biggest difference between paid media and the other forms of media is that you will need to invest some of your company’s hard-earned money into this type of media. There won’t be any getting around spending money on a paid media campaign.
But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as you can afford to invest in paid media, you’re almost guaranteed results in the end. You will be able to get your company’s paid media campaign in front of people, which isn’t always going to be the case with earned media and owned media.
For this reason, you shouldn’t shy away from giving paid media a try. It can be a very effective form of media for those companies that are trying to build some buzz around their products and/or services.
What Is Earned Media?
Earned media is a type of media that your business will essentially earn by putting great products and/or services out in the world and getting other people excited about them. People will be more than happy to sing your praises in public forums when you set them up with products and/or services that they like.
You aren’t always going to be able to get access to earned media right away since it can take time for people to begin to respond to your products and/or services. But some good examples of earned media are online reviews that people leave for your company and Instagram posts that people put up about your company.
You could make the argument that earned media is the best type of media for almost any company because the company doesn’t play a part in it at all. It feels very organic when people start talking about a particular product and/or service online.
At the same time, you will need to remember that you won’t have any control over earned media when it starts coming out. You’ll need to get comfortable with the idea of allowing others to speak on behalf of your business without you having any input.
What Makes Earned Media Different From Other Forms of Media?
Earned media is different from paid media and owned media in that your company won’t be involved with it in the slightest. Your business will simply put products and/or services out into the world and then hope that they catch on enough to get some earned media.
Many larger companies will automatically get earned media when they put out a new product and/or service. For example, when Apple releases a new iPhone, they can pretty much bank on every technology website out there releasing a review for it.
But when your business is still on the smaller side, you’re going to have to be patient when it comes to earned media. You might have to wait until you’ve put out a slew of products and/or services before you begin to get the earned media that you feel you deserve.
You might be able to increase the chances of scoring earned media by sending out press releases about your latest products and/or services or by providing those who run media outlets in your specific space with samples of products and/or services that you’re putting out.
But even then, there is no guarantee that you’re going to get earned media. You’ll have to trust in what your company is doing and hope that earned media comes eventually.
What Is Owned Media?
Of all the different types of media that we’re going to talk about here today, owned media is the one that your company will have the most control over. You’ll be able to put your fingerprints all over the owned media that you put out into the world.
Some of the best examples of owned media are the website that you’ll set up for your business and everything on it along with the social media pages that you’ll establish for your business.
You can drive internet traffic to your site through the usage of owned media. You can also create unique business content with your owned media that will turn you into a trusted name within your industry.
What Makes Owned Media Different From Other Forms of Media?
With both paid media and earned media, you’re going to have to relinquish at least some of the control that you’ll have over your company’s name and your company’s products and/or services. You’ll have to trust either a marketing agency or the general public to do right by your business when they’re creating paid media or earned media on your behalf.
But with owned media, you will be in charge at every turn. You can decide what your want your website to look like, what content you create for your website and your social media pages, and which voice you establish to represent your brand as a whole.
Owned media isn’t always going to produce the kind of splashy results that you’ll get from paid media and earned media at times. But it’s going to keep your company moving in the right direction consistently and ensure that you’re able to enjoy sustained success when you use it properly.
Which Type of Media Is the Most Important to Your Business?
You can make the argument for any of the three types of media that we’ve talked about today being the best type of media for your business. But the truth of the matter is that you’re going to need to use all three effectively to get great results.
If you rely too heavily on, say, paid media, it’ll make it appear as though your company is only successful because you’ve paid for a bunch of advertising. If you rely too heavily on earned media, you might find that the buzz surrounding your company will fizzle out once all the positive reviews about a particular product and/or service die down.
Your goal should be to use all three types of media at once to take your company to the next level. They should all play a role in pushing your company forward as you aim to make it more successful than it already is.
Use Paid, Earned, and Owned Media to Build Your Business
Now that you know the difference between paid, earned, and owned media, start using each of them on behalf of your business. You should be able to get the results you’re looking for by utilizing each of them.
It won’t be long before people are taking notice of your business. It’ll be impossible for them to ignore your company when you’re coming at them from all angles.
Find more marketing tips by browsing through our other blog articles.
