Online Marketing
Owned, Paid, and Earned Media Simplified — Pros & Cons.
Difference between Owned, Paid & Earned Media with examples.
As a business owner or an entrepreneur, it’s crucial to be aware of what Owned, Paid, and Earned Media stands for, as this understanding acts as a guiding principle to better assist you with logical budget allocation for your entire marketing strategy.
Let us start from basic as to what exactly is “Media”?
Media is nothing but a source or a medium that a company or individual relies upon to market its business to the end customers.
Traditional marketing media exists in radio, newspapers, campaigns, or banner setups, primarily one-way communication.
As we move towards digitalization, we are presented with seas of options such as websites, third-party publishing sites & social media.
In the digital marketing world, media is divided into three major types.
1. Owned Media
2. Paid Media
3. Earned Media
Owned Media
As the name suggests, Owned Media is owned and in control of the owner. The company decides how, when, what, and where to promote its business.
It can be in the form of website content, blogs, organic search engine optimization (SEO), or social media such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube.
The advantage with Owned Media is that the content and information that passes on to the end customers lies within the owner’s capacity.
Its con lies in the fact that it is the most taxing and labour-intensive of all the media and can be exceedingly slow to generate results.
Paid Media
The term “paid” is comprehensive enough for an average person to grasp that it is a paid service that a company invests in to advertise or promote its products or services.
It can be in the form of advertising banners, TV Commercials, Radio, etc., Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, Influencer marketing, and YouTube sponsored videos.
Another typical example is Google Ads, where companies pay to rank their website to the top of the search engine page (image inserted below).
This is called as Pay-Per-Click Marketing. Another example of Pay-Per-Click Marketing is in the form of a pop-up ad on a third-party’s website at the top, bottom, or sides of the home page.
The advantage of Paid Media Marketing is its turnaround time, and the results are almost immediate, unlike owned media marketing.
However, it does have its drawback, as it needs serious investment and can end up drilling holes in your pocket if you do not have a well-researched plan.
It is important to note that Paid Media results are short-lived, and it is good as long as you are spending.
Earned Media
This mode of marketing is voluntary and can be through referrals, word of mouth in person, or social media platforms through comments, posts, or reshares.
Another example is customer reviews on the company’s website, Google business page, or social media accounts.
Online publications, magazines, and newspaper articles are also examples of earned media as long as voluntarily.
To simplify it further, take, for example, the article I wrote on 5 Best Project Management Software. This is not a sponsored or scripted article; I wrote it voluntarily, which fits into the Earned Media category.
Its most influential advantage is that it needs no marketing efforts at your end, as the end customers unintentionally market your business. This work naturally for companies that deliver high-quality products & services.
Like the above two media, it also comes with a significant glitch.
Just as positive shootouts and feedback can help improve a brand’s value, the same applies to negative feedback, false news, or humour, which tarnish a brand’s reputation.
No wonder companies these days are aggressively investing in community management and reputation management hiring.
End note
No single media can survive independently. Do not limit your business to relying on one media to drive business. Test out all mediums and allocate a higher budget to the most effective platform.
An efficient digital marketing strategy should combine all media elements depending on the stage a business is moving.
You can hire a Digital Consultant or a Marketing Expert to assist you with long-term and short team business goals.
I hope you found this reading insightful. Unlike my other articles, I have tried to use the simplest choices of words to elaborate on the differences.
If I have missed anything, please feel free to drop it in the comment section below. I am always up for improvement and feedback.
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