What Is Earned Media & How You Can Add It To Your Marketing Strategy

Earned media is pure gold in marketing. Over the years, it has evolved from simply a PSA from news outlets and now includes social media shoutouts, online reviews, blog posts, and so much more. It is imperative in the current competitive digital landscape to know what earned media is and how you can incorporate it into your marketing strategy. 

What Is Earned Media?

You likely know what paid media is and you might even know about owned media (the content that you control on your own platforms), but do you know what earned media is and how to, you know, earn it? 

Earned media includes content that is shared by a third party, about your brand, that you don’t pay for. This can include unpaid publicity through media outlets such as television stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, or digital publishers, online reviews, coverage on blog posts (that you do not own), social media shoutouts, and your traditional word-of-mouth marketing.

When you see an influencer talk about a product and claim that “this is not sponsored”, that is earned media for the product brand.

Unless there is a disclosure of paid advertising on a brand story in a newspaper or an online article, that, again, is earned media. 

We come across earned media every single day, and as a brand, receiving and utilizing earned media should be a key element of your marketing strategy. 

How Can You Add Earned Media To Your Marketing Strategy?

It sounds like a dream to receive publicity for your brand without paying for it, doesn’t it? But it’s not free. You still have to earn it. 

So how do you earn media coverage and publicity, and make this a key element of your marketing strategy?

Develop A Product Or Service That Is Worth Talking About

You have to start by having a brand, product, or service worth talking about. It doesn’t have to be the most innovative product on the market or the most successful service offering to be found, but some element of your offering or brand needs to be buzz-worthy. What is your unique selling proposition and what are you doing differently?

Create Content Worth Sharing

If you are creating quality, shareable content, your audience is far more likely to share it and spread the good word about your brand. Whether your content is high quality or more lo-fi, it needs to tell a story or provide value in some way.

A great example of a brand that has made itself buzz-worthy through content is Duolingo. The language product itself may not be something that media outlets, influencers, or your friends just randomly bring up in a segment or conversation, but the unhinged content that the brand produces certainly does. Just go have a look at how many unpaid articles are floating about out there that touch on Duolingo’s TikTok strategy. They couldn’t keep themselves out of the limelight if they tried!

Practice Social Listening & Make Your Customers Love You

Social listening is key to developing and honing an earned media strategy. Keep close tabs on what people are saying about your brand, your industry, and your competitors online. When you know what’s being said in online reviews, round-up blog posts, and social media shout-outs, you can adjust your strategy to meet the needs of your customers and ideal customers and go above and beyond to make them a major fan. This will lead to positive earned media.

Prioritize Relationships

Sometimes, it is really about who you know. A thoughtful earned media strategy depends on the relationships that you’ve built with your customers, influencers, and media outlets. Now, we wouldn’t recommend buddying up to a journalist simply to get free coverage, but authentic relationships often lead to fruitful campaigns. Creating valuable relationships can be the difference maker in receiving earned media. 

Finally, one of the most important factors in an earned media strategy is understanding that it can’t be your only strategy. A strong marketing strategy includes earned media, owned media, and paid media, all of which work together to build awareness and conversions for your brand. 

Earned media may not be free, but it is an extremely valuable piece of the marketing puzzle that should not be overlooked. If you’re curious how you can implement this in your marketing strategy, Sammy Hill Creative can help! Complete our Inquiry Form to book a discovery call with us.