Earned Media: Building an Integrated Strategy

Earned media is an elusive form of marketing in which your company is promoted by positive media that comes from outside the company itself.  News stories, radio interviews, and positive reviews can all constitute earned media.  Earned media is alluring because it costs nothing for the business, yet can significantly increase overall revenue.

While by definition a company cannot buy or create its own earned media, there are a few strategies that can increase your company’s chances of gaining earned media.  One of the best ways to increase the earned media that your company receives is to design an integrated strategy that blends content marketing strategies with earned media potential.

Make Your Business Easy To Present.  As soon as possible, spend time developing an elevator pitch for your business.  Highlight the attributes that make your business unique, and write your company’s vision.  This makes it easier for media outlets to highlight your business in a coherent manner, without causing journalists the frustration of having to unearth your company’s vision and purpose on their own.

Develop Your Own Media Marketing Strategies.  Using media strategies such as content marketing will increase your company’s visibility and thus the likelihood gaining earned media.  Making your company searchable by developing a presence on social networks and other sites makes it easier for your company to be ‘found.’

Do Something Out Of The Box.  In order to be newsworthy, your company needs to be doing something different from the competition.  What is your company doing to stand out from the crowd?  Determine your company’s unique aspects, and don’t hesitate to make them known.

By establishing a robust marketing strategy, it will be easier for news outlets to highlight your company through earned media.  Take the time to invest in your company, and the earned media will follow.  To learn more about ways to improve your small business, please visit our website and contact us with questions or comments.

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What Makes You Newsworthy? Making Sure You Benefit From Earned Media

To promote your business and brand, paid media isn’t enough.  Although powerful and creative ads are still important for engaging and retaining customers, you can’t rely exclusively on them.  For a well-rounded marketing strategy, you need earned media as well: news reports, feature articles, blog posts, and a strong social media presence that places a focus on you and your company.

When people hear about your business via social media or by reading an article in a respected publication, the impression left on them is likely to be deeper, as they engage more with the content, discuss it, and pick up on what others are saying about it. McKinsey Quarterly has reported that word-of-mouth is a significant driving force behind consumer behavior, and the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer has found that people are generally most likely to trust reports originating from fellow consumers, particularly on blogs and social media; academics, experts in a particular field, and traditional media spokespeople (e.g. a news anchor), are also perceived as relatively trusted sources.

To experience the greatest benefit from earned media, you need to make sure that people can easily write about your business and find fresh and compelling information to share about it.  In addition to promoting yourself through paid media, providing interesting news releases and engaging website and blog content, that people will be moved to tell others about, is an important strategy that will only help you to build brand awareness.

To encourage the development and propagation of rich, newsworthy content, consider the following questions:

• Does your business have an inspiring or fascinating story about how it was founded?
• Is your business producing any important innovations?
• How has your business improved communities or changed the lives of individuals for the better?
• What differentiates you from your competitors? What is your unique vision?
• Have you or any of your employees recently achieved honors, awards, or other forms of recognition?
• How have you and your employees’ demonstrated ingenuity, leadership, strong teamwork, and/or social commitment in the business world and beyond?
• What developments do you foresee in your company and in your field more generally?

If your answers to these questions and other relevant ones are positive or remarkable in any way, the public needs to know.  Pique the interest of both existing and potential customers and attract attention from media professionals.

Contact us to develop a comprehensive marketing campaign that includes high-quality earned media.  With our personalized service, we’ll meet the specific needs of your business and commit ourselves to your growth and promotion.