Paid vs. Earned vs. Owned
The Difference Between Paid, Earned & Owned Media
I'm not here to bamboozle you with marketing jargon. Honestly, there are many BS marketing terms you just don't need to know. But these terms? These you need to know! They’re vital to an effective marketing strategy as they help clarify your options.
So - do you know what they are? What are their differences, and how do they affect each other?
Because you don’t live and breathe marketing - why should you? - I’ll assume not. So I’m going to lay it all out for you, in simple, no-BS language.
Paid Media
Paid media includes any marketing that you can't do for free, so think print advertising, TV ads, billboards, social media ads, Google ads, etc. Digital paid marketing is an especially good way to reach your desired target audience, because there are so many advanced targeting options available these days.
Owned Media
This is any marketing content that YOU own, like the content you publish on your website, your blog posts, your social media content, and email marketing.
Generally speaking, owned marketing content is free, and you have full control over it (platforms it is hosted on aside). This control makes it a pretty powerful tool in your marketing strategy - you have to put budget behind paid media; you can’t control earned media; but with owned media - you can always create content in the hopes of reaching your audience the organic way. This is always the place I recommend small business owners - with limited resources and limited budget - start when it comes to their marketing. In fact, it’s where I start with my own business too.
Earned Media
Earned media involves any content where other people are talking about you. This can include influencers, PR, reviews or simply advocates who share your content on their own platforms. It's also called word of mouth marketing. This kind of content is so important for building trust in your businessm as it shows potential customers that you’re legitimate and that your products or services are considered of high quality.
There can be a lot of overlap between the different kinds of media across different marketing channels. It isn’t always cut and dried. So let’s consider a few real-life examples:
SEO - search engine optimisation is considered owned media. Generally speaking, it’s a process that you carry out on the marketing content that you own - your website.
Social media - this can be all three types of media. Typically, your social media posts would be considered owned media, while social ads would be paid media. Your fants and customers that talk about you on social media would make up earned media
PR - this can also overlap all three media types - you can pay for PR services; you own the content you create like press releases; and when people talk about those press releases, that’s earned media
Is one of these more important than the other?
Well, no not really. A solid marketing strategy always incorporates a mix of all three. But, that doesn't mean you can't be successful at marketing your business without all three.
As I mentioned before, I always recommend to clients that when budget and resources are limited, focus on your OWNED media. Where you have full control. Get those foundations right before you spend money on advertising. Get that customer experience down pat, and the earned media will come. Hone your focus and concentrate your efforts where they best serve you, rather than trying to do it all and be in all the places. In my mind, it’s a waste if you’re spending money on paid ads, when your website isn’t up to scratch. And all the earned media in the world won’t be good enough, if the customers come to you and find the experience doesn’t match the reviews.
But in an ideal world, with unlimited budget, time and resources for your marketing - then you’d want to start with an ace idea - or a campaign - and filter it out across all three, making use of paid, owned and earned media opportunities. A good marketing idea will work across any and all channels and media, and by incorporating all three into your marketing mix, you will a) reiterate your message time and time again (which is good for our goldfish brains), and b) reach people wherever your customers might be, rather than missing out on opportunities because you’ve only opted for one path.
