What is Paid Media?

Paid media is any form of advertising or marketing a business pays to promote its products or services. It can include traditional forms such as print ads in newspapers or magazines, television commercials, radio spots, and billboards, as well as digital methods like display ads on websites or social media platforms.

The primary goal of paid media is to increase brand visibility by targeting specific demographics that align with the business’s target market. Companies can ensure their message reaches a broad audience by paying for ad placements on various channels.

What is Owned Media?

Owned media consists of all the channels over which a company has complete control. These include websites, blogs, social media accounts (Facebook pages, Twitter handles), mobile apps developed by businesses (available for download from app stores), and email newsletters companies send directly to their subscribers’ inboxes.

The critical advantage of owned media is that businesses have complete control over the content they publish and how it is presented. This allows them to tailor their messaging to their brand image while building a loyal customer base through consistent engagement.

What is Earned Media?

Earned media refers to publicity gained through efforts other than paid advertising. It includes mentions in news articles or blog posts written by journalists/bloggers who are not affiliated with the company being mentioned but find its products/services noteworthy enough for coverage, social shares/reposts/retweets/likes/comments from users on different platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc about something positive experienced about product/service offered by company; reviews left online (on sites like Google Reviews or Yelp) by customers who have had a positive experience with the brand and feel compelled to share their thoughts.

Earned media’s power lies in its authenticity. When users or influential individuals voluntarily endorse a product or service, it carries more weight than paid advertising. It is often seen as a testament to a brand’s quality and value.

The Relationship Between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media

While each form of media has unique characteristics and benefits, they are not mutually exclusive. They work best when combined to create an integrated marketing strategy.

Paid media can boost initial brand awareness by reaching a larger audience that may not yet be familiar with the business. It generates interest and drives traffic towards owned media channels like websites or social media pages.

Once users are directed towards owned media channels through paid campaigns, businesses can engage them further through compelling content tailored specifically for their target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, social media posts, etc., providing valuable information about the products/services offered by the company while also building trust among potential customers.

As users engage with owned content and find value in it, they are likelier to share it on their platforms or recommend it to others through word-of-mouth. This organic sharing contributes to earned media, including positive customer reviews.

By leveraging the power of all three forms of media together, paid advertisements drive traffic toward owned channels where meaningful interactions occur. This eventually results in earned endorsements from happy customers/users. This creates a virtuous cycle where each form feeds into another, resulting in greater brand visibility, reputation, and business growth.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. How can businesses measure the success of paid advertising campaigns?

Businesses can track key metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, sales revenue generated from paid campaigns, and return on ad spend (ROAS) to measure the success of their paid advertising campaigns. These metrics provide valuable insights into the campaign’s effectiveness in driving traffic, generating leads, and ultimately converting them into paying customers.

2. Can small businesses benefit from earned media?

Absolutely! Earned media can be a game-changer for small businesses, allowing them to generate positive buzz without spending a fortune on advertising. By delivering exceptional products or services and ensuring customer satisfaction, small businesses can encourage organic word-of-mouth endorsements that can significantly boost their brand visibility and reputation.

3. How important is content creation in owned media channels?

Content creation is crucial for owned media channels as it is the foundation for engaging with target audiences. Relevant, informative, and valuable content helps establish credibility and encourages repeat visits and sharing among users. It also plays a pivotal role in building brand loyalty and creating a community around the business.

4. Is it possible to integrate all three forms of media effectively?

Yes! Integrating paid, owned, and earned media is highly recommended for maximizing the impact of marketing efforts. By strategically planning campaigns that direct traffic towards owned channels where meaningful interactions occur with target audiences, content creators have ample opportunities to create shareable content that ultimately contributes to earned endorsements.

5. What are some examples of successful integrated marketing strategies using these forms of media?

One example could be running a paid social media campaign targeting a specific demographic group interested in fitness apparel. Directing traffic towards an owned landing page featuring engaging blog posts, videos, and user-generated content showcasing satisfied customers wearing the apparel creates an immersive experience. This strategy encourages users to organically purchase and share their positive experiences on social platforms coupled with incentives like discounts or giveaways.

Conclusion

Paid, owned, and earned media play significant roles in today’s marketing landscape. While paid media helps generate initial brand awareness, owned media channels allow businesses to engage with target audiences more meaningfully. Earned media validates a brand’s quality and value.

By understanding the power and potential of each form of media, businesses can develop integrated marketing strategies that leverage their strengths synergistically to drive brand visibility, reputation, and, ultimately, business growth.

The post Understanding the Power and Potential of Paid, Owned, and Earned Media appeared first on Green Country Content Marketing.

 Who Is Your Audience?

Refrain from making assumptions about your audience – instead, analyze your existing social media following to gain insights into their demographics and behaviors. 

Some of the questions you should answer include the following:

• What is their age?
• Average Income?
• Location?
• Interests?

Collecting and analyzing the information you need to understand your target audience can be daunting. That’s why many companies turn to customer relationship management software to store and sort this data. You can also look at your current social media analytics to see who is already following your company. In addition, it can help you learn much about your audience’s posting preferences and interests.

Define Your SMART Goals

As you begin your social media marketing campaigns, you must create goals to help direct your marketing efforts. To define your goals, use the SMART technique. SMART stands for:

• Specific: You need goals for each campaign. For example, you want to increase followers by 30% for the quarter. That can help you gear content to gain new followers. With a specific goal, your content will be effective.
• Measurable: How do you know you are succeeding if you can’t measure your goals? You have to be able to use metrics to track your progress to know if the campaign works or if you need to make changes.
• Achievable: The goals you set should be achievable. Let’s return to the example of increasing your social media followers by 30%. Is that a realistic prospect for your social media channels, or are you being unreasonable with that number and maybe need to lower the percentage for now? Setting unrealistic goals can be discouraging for you and your employees. 
• Relevant:  So far, you have written out specific, measurable goals that are achievable for your company, but are they relevant to the campaign you have in mind? For example, you don’t want a plan to increase followers and then set up a campaign that doesn’t focus on building brand awareness. 
• Timely: When we speak about timely, we mean that you want to put a time frame on your goals. They shouldn’t be open-ended. Having a time limit of, say, increased followers in a quarter will allow you to set specific checkpoints to see how well you’re doing and if you are on track to meet that goal.

There is a lot of testing and trial and error regarding social media marketing. There are many moving parts, and what worked well with one campaign may not work with another. However, SMART goals give you a starting point and a method of checking in.

What Are Your Social Media Marketing Metrics?

Some campaigns will have different marketing goals. That is why you need to determine your metrics as you set your SMART goals. For social media, you may set your goals to be tracked through

• Engagement
• Impression
• Views
• Reach
• Mention

Once you know how you want to measure your results, it is easier to assess the success of your campaign and help create new goals for future campaigns.

Selecting Multiple Social Media Marketing Channels

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, not all social media channels work for all companies. Some businesses thrive on Facebook, while others do better on Instagram or Pinterest. It all depends on where your customers spend their social media time and how you market to them. 

That said, using multiple channels to ensure you reach all your customers is okay. Most people have more than one social media profile, and you can post on different ones to ensure they see you. The great thing about using multiple platforms is that you can use their unique structures to keep your content fresh.

What Is Your Posting Schedule?

Like with blogging content, you need to have a consistent posting schedule. Social media algorithms change and adapt to new trends over time. However, the rule of posting regularly has always stayed the same. Regular posts help to keep your business showing up in customer news feeds, as blog posts can help with organic searches for your website.

Don’t post just anything. You should ensure all content is relevant to your company and marketing campaigns. 

Customers like to see that the companies they do business with want to reach out and connect with them. It feels more personal if the company is on social media regularly and happy to converse with its clients. This leads us to our final point.

Focus on Engaging with Your Customers and Not on Selling

Marketing campaigns aren’t always about selling; that should not be your ultimate goal on social media. However, that does not mean you shouldn’t offer your goods and services, tell customers about sales, or even introduce new products or services on your social media page. Of course, you should, but that should not be the main focus. 

Instead, it should be about engaging with your audience. You should quickly respond to questions and comments so they know you care about them. As I said, customers like it when the companies they work with do that. 

Businesses that do engage with their audiences have seen a high return on investment. 83% of customers value that experience, and it shows. While you need to set up a strategy that works for you, a good start would be to schedule an hour a day to communicate with your customers on social media. If your audience has any pressing concerns, you should answer those as quickly as possible.

Social media marketing is about the customer, not your business. Discovering who your customers are, where they hang out online, and engaging with them frequently are all part of social media marketing. Next week we will continue learning how to effectively market on social media, including finding the best platforms for your business.

The post Social Media Marketing Guide for Beginners Part 1 appeared first on Green Country Content Marketing.