We’ve all participated in earned media. If you’ve ever shared information about a product you purchased or reposted a funny message from a business, you’ve helped with the amount of attention a company was able to get.
Of course, you don’t just randomly post about brands. Something must occur to motivate you to share, for example a product having high quality or a blog post being exceptionally informative, to motivate you to post. Since you can’t totally manage the earned publicity you get from viewers, you can’t simply sit back and get it without putting any effort in. It takes a great deal of effort to get your earned media plan just right, similar to most aspects of marketing.
What is earned media?
Gaining attention for your brand generated as a result of natural or organic methods is known as earned media. Creating content for promotion is an incredibly effective strategy and is most difficult to execute.
There are three forms of media: personal, possessed and acquired. All forms of media that have been purchased, like a commercial that runs in a magazine, a promoted post on a social media platform, or a reference from an influencer, would be considered paid media. Owned media refers to content that is produced or distributed by the company, as well as any channels of communication that the company has authority over. For illustration, a piece of writing on your website, a message from your social media account, or an email correspondence. Some individuals distinguish social media or shared media as a fourth type of media apart from the other three.
Earned media is different from the other two forms because it is not something that can be managed or manipulated. Examples of earned media might be receiving a mention on Instagram when a person visits your store, an unasked for Yelp rating and even having somebody share one of your blog entries.
Why earned media is important for brands
Individuals depend on their confidants and relatives for endorsements, online evaluation platforms, and posts from unpaid social media authorities. These are all types of media that are gained through effort and have a major effect on the public perception of your brand.
Examples of earned media
There are a few different kinds of earned media that are typically seen, and all of them take a while to establish. A great deal of these things have occurred as a consequence of creating a good sense of community and an effective press promotion campaign.
Review sites
The reviews you obtain on platforms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google My Business constitute the earned media you get. Honest and positive reviews are earned media gold.
It is essential to be aware of not only how people interact with reviews, but also what steps they take once they have read them. After a favorable assessment of an area business, 31% check out the business’ website and 28% search for additional reviews. Most people will go over 10 reviews before feeling confident enough to rely on a company.
It is evident that reviews have a significant influence on someone’s buying choice. You will need to implement a reliable review management plan if you want to remain ahead of the competition.
Media coverage
You could possibly be assuming that all media coverage is considered as part of paid media, which would be accurate for particular categories. Your brand pays for and controls media coverage through ads or sponsored articles.
The coverage from the media that is deemed as earned media is when your name is brought up or a story is written about you without having to pay a third party. For instance, a gift guide featured your product or a TV segment reported on the newsworthy action taken by your organization.
This is where PR work comes in. It is your responsibility to distribute press releases, but it is up to another party to decide if, when, and where it will be covered.
Social media shoutouts
Social media acknowledgements can occur in several ways. The customer would have been so delighted with their time at your restaurant that they felt compelled to tell others about it. Your product fulfilled a requirement of the consumer and they would like to suggest it to others. You put up an extremely exciting post on Instagram that had to be shared with others.
You cannot determine what individuals share on social media, however, you can heavily affect their decisions. The choices you make in regards to your brand’s behavior, the quality of your product, and the level of interest in your content are all within your control. By routinely engaging in certain activities, you have a greater chance of getting recognized on social media.
Search engine results
The utilization of search engine optimization techniques is a factor in media that has been obtained through other means. With each piece of content you generate for your website, search engines take notice. If someone types a query that is similar to the content of a blog post you recently wrote, you could potentially appear on the first page of search engine results. Paid search advertising allows you to guarantee your placement, but if you utilize SEO techniques properly, you can obtain placement for free.
A successful SEO plan includes many different components, such as conducting extensive keyword research and adhering to the latest technical standards. It’s important to establish a strong foundation by providing helpful and relevant content that satisfies the desires of your viewers. As well as align yourself with the search goals and passions of your target personas to produce content which is easily seen and reposted by your consumers. You will reap more benefits from this technique than by just pursuing the most sought-after search terms that may not associate with individuals’ reasons for picking up your item or service.
5 Tips for a successful earned media strategy
Once you are familiar with the different categories of earned media, here are a few suggestions on how to raise your odds of gaining earned media. These tips can be applied across a variety of mediums and channels, making it possible to increase different types of earned media with only a single approach.
1. Create & maintain media relationships
Do you only consider speaking to journalists and media representatives when you require something to be accomplished? Media connections are comparable to any other association: you must take care of them and create faith.
A journalist may not need to utilize your product right away, but if you’ve established a rapport, they may bear you in mind for potential future circumstances. Constructing a connection does not need to be restricted to email only. Social media and PR are interconnected since they provide a way for businesses and reporters to monitor one another’s activities. Investing time in order to cultivate these connections will lead to your brand being discussed in various publications and other media outlets.
2. Create interesting & engaging content
Achieving success in content marketing requires producing content that is worth interacting with and spreading. If it resonates with the viewers, they feel the need to spread it. Sharing content through retweets and reposts is considered earned media, just as if the accounts shared it directly.
From 167M #TikTok videos watched to 575K tweets, we're producing a whole lot of data!
See what happens on the internet every minute. Data via @domotalk pic.twitter.com/qw1PRjoDKF
— Sprout Social (@SproutSocial) October 6, 2021
Sprout found Domo’s infographic so intriguing that they determined they should show it to their public. In this instance, Domo has gained some form of coverage.
3. Utilize all your distribution channels
Do you have your content distributed through every available channel? Don’t restrict yourself to using just social media to share your content. Distribute your content through your newsletter and get your staff to spread the word.
Utilizing an employee advocacy strategy can be beneficial in helping you to spread your best content to those who are most likely to be enthusiastic supporters of your organization. View your laborers as another form of spokesperson for your organization, and as a means for your buyers to form a link to your business.
4. Establish & demonstrate expertise
What is an effective method for having your brand recognized as knowledgeable in print sources? Show your knowledge of the industry through blog posts, social media posts, and other content you own. As you become known as an expert in your field, you will inevitably become a reliable source of information for your sector.
5. Be amazing to your customers
Around 59 percent of people have a more appreciative opinion of companies who address questions and grievances on social media. Though it has been around for some time, very few businesses have perfected the art of social customer care. When that moment arrives, those great public expressions of approval occur.
I wasn’t certain on what platform to share this, due to not being a frequent user of online media… and I don’t usually give out publicity to large businesses, yet I got something really awesome from @Chewy yesterday… pic.twitter.com/BXInY7F4So
But first: why does earned media matter?
Everybody is aware of the fact that when social media made its debut, the world of advertising was transformed. Rather than perfect models in dream-like settings, people started to request to see genuine people who had actually used the items and services that companies are selling.
This is a key characteristic of someone who is engaging with technology. Millennials have really high expectations to any company they interact with- they not only require excellent products and services, but they also want authenticity to be present. At the same time, they are very selective when it comes to making a choice. They are able to recognize an advertisement from far off, and most likely, they will just pass by it.
Compensated and owned media remain significant components of your advertising plan, and earned media is also important since it doesn’t originate from your company, which makes consumers more inclined to believe it.
There’s an SEO value to earned media, too. Google incentivizes new content, which can be in the form of press from external sources, writing like articles, tweets, and reviews, thus raising the “freshness” score and elevating your company’s ranking in search results.
Earned Media Tactics to Secure Amazing Brand Coverage
1. Creating a solid earned media strategy
Effectiveness and results can be better measured when a strategy is planned out for any marketing activity. Doing this will help in attaining the set goals in a more productive manner.
2. Generate more earned media
There are various methods you can use to begin acquiring more unpaid media coverage. Discover people who vocally promote your brand on your social network accounts and increase your interaction with them. Brand ambassadors are supporters of a product or service who communicate their enthusiastic feelings about that company to their network of friends. They are not paid, but are passionate about the brand, making them an invaluable part of the marketing strategy.
People who frequently interact with your brand on Facebook, retweet on Twitter, and write about your products on blogs could potentially become promoters of your product or service.
Interact regularly with your fans in order to foster their support. Thank them for their support. Determine if they possess a blog or website of their own. Demonstrate your gratitude to them in any way you can – this could take the form of a discount voucher or reposting one of their posts on a platform that your business uses.
3. Get in touch with journalists
Reporters and journalists always need quotes from industry experts. Look for journalists who specialize in issues that personnel in your business can talk about, and offer them a narrative concept. HELP A REPORTER OUT (HARO) is a powerful resource that can be utilized to link reporters to knowledgeable sources.
Related post: Strategic Public Relations: Planning, Process, and Execution
4. Cultivate influencers
Influencer advertising necessitates continuous endeavours, as beneficial influencer projects must be crafted around a cooperative association with your business.
Take the time to investigate the person you are going to contact for the first time before you send a message. Determine what material they generally create, what their supporters react positively to, and what matters hold significance for them. Then dispatch them an offer that mirrors that insight and intimacy. The smoother the process of agreeing to a partnership without requiring hardly any alterations, the more advantageous it is.
Be sure to reinforce your connections with influencers you are already connected with. Make sure to tell the influencers with whom you have previously worked how much you appreciate them by interacting with the things they post and sharing those things to your followers when it is suitable. When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, the most beneficial approach is to adopt a long-term mindset.
5. Participate in conferences and industry trade shows
It’s essential not to accidentally forget about the potential of building relationships and connecting with people face-to-face, notwithstanding all the digital opportunities for promotion that are available nowadays.
Connecting directly with other businesses, reporters, and professionals in the sector at conventions and exhibitions can be really beneficial in obtaining press coverage. Events nowadays tend to prompt attendees to post about their experiences on social media as it’s happening. This is done by setting up unique hashtags for people to include in their posts.
This is a great chance to get some buzz on social media from your associates and recognize some brands you are fond of.
