What is earned media?
Earned media — often referred to as earned content—is any kind of content or material that is written about you or your business that you have not created on your own or paid someone else to create. Despite this kind of content typically being produced by a third party, there are methods that marketers use to position themselves for earned media opportunities. In many ways, earned media could also be referred to a publicity, too. You haven’t paid for this content the way you would an advertisement—which means your products, services, or actions are what garnered this attention. Of course, the way new information is distributed has changed drastically over the past three decades. For the longest time, earned media was only produced during a segment about new products on the news. With this continuous advancement in information sharing, there can be questions like: “what is earned media?”
Different forms of earned media
To be clear, earned media is not any form of content, media, or publicity that you have put money into. Specifically, if you were to pay a publication to write a flattering article about your business, you are utilizing paid media. The understanding of paid vs. earned media can often get skewed, perpetuating avoidable confusion. Examples of earned media include posts on social media, reviews written by customers, and word of mouth. The consumers of today are largely influenced by their friends, family, and the content they see on their timelines. The re-telling of experiences with businesses and products is no longer limited to the dinner table or the break room at work, since information can now be shared in real-time via the internet and social media. And a vast majority of people listen to these stories to make purchasing decisions. So much so, according to research conducted by HubSpot, nearly 60% of people in the United States favor the opinions of their loved ones when they come across a new product, service, or business. With the continual evolution of digital marketing and social media, earned media is also growing into a pivotal attention-grabber for businesses.
Social Media Posts
Oftentimes, the various social media platforms available today focus on topics that trend across the globe. Within each of these platforms, too, exist smaller, niche communities that focus on specific industries. When a customer decides to post about a business, product, or service, they are providing earned media.
Customer Reviews
The days where your customers’ opinions were solely spread over the phone or at the dinner table are over. When people love or hate something, they put it out into the world by writing reviews on sites like Yelp, Google Review, TripAdvisor, Amazon, etc. Every review—good, bad, and ugly—is earned media.
Word Of Mouth
At first glance, “word of mouth” may seem completely unrelated to earned media and digital marketing; however, it is a cost-friendly and effective piece of earned media. Every time your business impacts a customer, no matter if it’s positively or negatively, you become part of their everyday conversations. Because of this, marketing and customer service teams should strive to provide entertaining content and exceptional service to make your customers happy. The happier your customers, the more positive pieces of earned media you get.
How to receive earned media
It might sound odd, but earned media is great because it isn’t controlled by businesses—which enhances transparency, credibility, and trust, while reducing the presences of bias at the same time. So, how do you get more pieces of earned media made about you? A good start would be creating content that people would want to share. Most of the time, content is shared if it is helpful, funny, or a combination of the two. Then, once the content is posted, making a conscious effort to interact with your customers on social media is a critical next step. Social media is what keeps you and your customers together. Without it, you are practically strangers. It’s an impactful tool that brings you closer to your customer, where you can encourage them to talk about your business and its offerings. Last, but certainly not least, is ensuring that your customers are happy—which is non-negotiable. Just because someone is a customer of yours does not mean they will instantly promote your brand—which is why you need to go the extra mile to exceed their expectations. Going above and beyond makes your brand more attractive and lovable—which produces more loyal fans who are eager to talk about and refer your business. In fact, according to research conducted by Oberlo, nearly 55% of people on social research products because they are interested in them. Clearly, no matter if you’re discussed online or in-person, it’s great to have your customers talking about you.
If you’re looking for ways to enhance your messaging and marketing, reach out to our in-house team of experts at Divine Design & Marketing to learn more!
