The media landscape is forever changing however one thing that remains consistent, is the importance of earned media within any brand marketing strategy and the benefits this brings to increasing brand awareness. A strategic earned media campaign is a powerful tool to help businesses stand out from the crowd. It also builds trust and credibility with a brand’s audience, helping to create a connection with potential customers.
Earned media is publicity generated organically through channels such as news media coverage, content re-shared across social media or customer reviews. It’s free exposure for a brand, with the exception of PR fees, contrast to paid media or owned media such as traditional advertising or in-store merchandising, which has a direct cost.
All these marketing mediums have benefits, however earned media is shown to be one of the most effective ways for brands to build a relationship with their audience and here are five reasons why by Sarah Salord, Company Director at GEC PR:
- It’s proven to be the most trusted source of promotional activity – The journalist or influencer chooses to publish the content by choice, without payment. It is an endorsement of the brand or product by that media channel and therefore the most likely to increase credibility and influence a consumer’s purchasing decision. Customers sharing a positive review online is also a form of earned media and an effective way of reaching a new audience and building brand recognition.
- It’s the most cost-effective marketing method – Earned media generated through PR has no direct cost, other than PR fees if using a PR agency to manage the work. A PR agency or PR consultant will create an interesting news story about your product or brand to ensure it’s published through media outlets or social channels via their media relationships. If managing this internally, then there is no cost for generating the coverage as the journalist is featuring the content editorially – of their own choice.
- It benefits SEO – Natural backlinks generated through earned media are becoming increasingly seen as one of the most beneficial ways to improve a website’s ranking on Google. Content shared on relevant, trusted and high-authority web pages that include a link back to the brand’s website is a valuable SEO tool. This of course leads to more traffic to the website and brand marketing channels such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
- It provides consistent messaging – By creating the content yourself, whether it’s a press release, blog post or an interview with a journalist, you can control the brand messaging and angles you wish to promote. Journalists can, and will, edit copy down to suit the publication’s format or style, however the key points and messaging will remain the same.
- It’s the gift that keeps on giving – Useful, relevant and engaging content can be re-shared or published long after initial distribution maintaining a steady awareness for the brand. Customers are more compelled to share valuable content with families and friends, which increases the reach, and helps the brand to stand out. Most print articles are shared to the publications’ website or social channels, so make sure these are re-shared on your own platforms to increase the reach.
