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The difference between Earned, Owned and Paid media

Understanding how consumer touchpoints impact the buyer’s journey is paramount to a successful marketing strategy. The analyses of those findings orient marketing KPIs and enable tangible business improvements. 
 
Understanding the basic definitions of the different kinds of media and how to combine them can help you to plan, measure and optimise campaign results. 

Owned Media

This is the content you post on your owned social media accounts and your website. This content is totally in your control. 
 
You can plan for your owned social content by determining what your audience want to see, when it is most likely they will engage with your content, what value this content brings to your audience and how does it fit in your overall marketing strategy. 

Earned Media

Earned media refers to media exposure you’ve earned through word-of-mouth. People are talking about you for their own reasons, of their own volition. You cannot directly control this type of content, but you can engage to help make them positive and friendly channels.
 
Examples include press mentions, Facebook Groups, Twitter hashtags, and Youtube/social videos.
 
Presence in this category can be highly valuable, as they provide opportunities to positively interact with genuine fans and influencers. However, they also provide substantial risk if the conversation is not managed correctly.

Paid Media

These are your social ads aimed at leveraging your exposure. 
 
Generally marketers determine the best performing owned content and/or what earned media around their brand and then invest in ads on their top performing networks using those insights. 

Takeway

Each type of media has its pros and cons. It's up to marketers to decide which type, or mix, best suits their campaign.
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lucio Ribeiro, is a co-founder and lead strategist of specialised social media agency Online Circle Digital where he works with large and medium size brands in developing their digital marketing strategy and execution. He is considered a thought leader on digital marketing authoring articles in digital innovation and social media strategy, speaking in seminars and judging global awards.
 

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