As a small business owner, you probably wear many different hats, including one for marketing. It can be hard to keep up with all of the marketing buzzwords out there, but fortunately, you don’t need to know them all. That said, a few terms you should know are owned, earned and paid media. These are your media assets.
Let’s discuss what owned, earned and paid media channels refer to and why they are essential to your marketing strategy.
Owned Media
Owned media is any web property that you can control, such as your website, company blog and social profiles. You own these channels, they are unique to your brand and they help you extend your brand presence. Typically, owned media is the final destination – it’s where paid and earned media brings your audience.
To make owned media most effective for your brand, it’s important that it offers value to visitors. The benefits to this media is that it costs less, you have complete control over it and it’s published directly on your site. However, owned media has a limited audience and requires constant maintenance.
Paid Media
Paid media is any type of marketing channel that you pay for like pay-per-click and online ads. It’s a great way to target specific audiences, including those who have already shown an interest in your business (retargeting). Even though paid media is an investment, it works well for brands just starting out because it provides quick results.
The advantages to paid media are:
- Get instant results
- Easy to track
- Have control over the message and copy
- Target various customer segments
Of course, the downside to paid media is that it’s expensive and will continue to rise in price as the competition increases. This is why paid media should be a part of your strategy and not the whole kit and caboodle.
Earned Media
Earned media refers to any mention or conversation about your brand that comes from others. You can’t pay for this media because it’s meant to be earned voluntarily from people who have tried your products and services. Common examples of earned media include press releases, positive reviews and social media mentions.
The reason why you need earned media is because it increases brand credibility and awareness. However, it can bring up negative publicity and be difficult to collect. Having good SEO and good content are the best ways to gather more earned media.
If you need help managing or optimizing any of these assets, contact Magna Technology today. We’ll help you make the most of your web presence starting with a clean, professional website!
