Earned media (or free media) is content relating to a person or organization, which is published by a third party without any form of payment to the publisher.[1][2] It includes articles by media outlets, interviews with the person or representatives of the organization, or bylined editorials in trade press and other publications. It may also include social media sharing, unpaid mentions by podcast hosts and guests, or word-of-mouth marketing.[3][4]

Earned media excludes advertising (paid media) and company branding (owned media).[1]

Background

Marketing communication can be summarized as falling into four categories, (paid, earned, social [or shared], and owned) media.[5][2] This categorization is sometimes referred to as the PESO model.

Sometimes, the categories overlap. For example, paying a social media influencer to promote a product or event is both "social" and "paid" media.[2] If a company is criticized online, and the controversy is described in a news article, that could be both "shared" and "earned" media.[2]

Description

Earned media is what happens when a person or organization is spoken of by a third party, with no payment changing hands. Examples include mentions in traditional media, guest appearances on television shows, or an opinion piece in a periodical. Sometimes social media mentions, ratings, reviews, and online discussions are included in this category.[7]

Although earned media is not paid for, it is not entirely cost-free.[8] Generating earned media may require hiring staff, creating content, promoting the brand through paid media, or creating programs (e.g., a contest) that will result earned media.[8] If an advertisement or other paid marketing effort goes viral, so that other people and media outlets publish about it without payment, then the additional exposure (but not the original paid media) is earned media.[8]

While marketers can help generate earned media activity, they do not generate it directly. It is earned "through relationships, incredibly newsworthy stories, and targeted messaging", without paying the media outlet.[2] One inherent limitation, compared to paid or owned media, is that the person or organization has to convince journalists, editors, and television news producers to write a story about them, or an editor to publish an outside editorial. While this gatekeeper function serves to filter out lower quality and non-newsworthy content, it may also allow media outlets to act as censors when they do not agree with the source or its message.[1]

Further, because the person or organization does not control the message once it is in the hands of a journalist, the message may not be what they wanted, and may be negative.[2][9] As one example, while the 2016 Trump political campaign was cited as having obtained billions of dollars in earned media, one study estimated that 23% of earned media mentions were negative.[10]

Reputation

Earned media is trusted more by consumers than other forms of promotion.[8]

A Nielsen study in 2013 found that earned media (also described in the report as word-of-mouth) is the most trusted source of information in all countries it surveyed worldwide,[11] and is the channel most likely to stimulate the consumer to action. In a 2019 study by the Institute for Public Relations, participants shown an earned news story, an advertisement, a blog post, and a company blog post found the earned media story the most credible. Readers sought out and paid attention to information such as the independence and credentials of the journalist, the balance of the coverage, and the prestige of the outlet in which the story appeared.[12] Consumers are more likely to trust a voluntary recommendation from someone they know more than a paid advertisement.[8]

Metrics

Compared to advertising metrics, the value that earned media contributes to the organization's profitability and purpose is harder to determine.[2] However, various ways of estimating an advertising equivalency have been proposed by the Public Relations Society of America.[2] Sometimes simpler methods, such as the number of followers on a journalist's social media page, have been used.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bradford, Jeff. "Council Post: Choosing The Right Media For Your Message". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Dietrich, Gini (2014). Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age. Pearson Education. pp. 38–42. ISBN 978-0-7897-4886-7.
  3. ^ a b Knight, Hanne; Vorster, Lizette (2023-03-03). Digital Marketing in Practice: Design, Implement and Measure Effective Campaigns. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-3986-0888-7.
  4. ^ Stanton, Terry (2023-05-23). "What Is Earned Media? How PR Helps". Forbes Books. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  5. ^ Robinson, Steve (2021-06-10). "What is the PESO Model for Marketing?". Brilliant Metrics. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  6. ^ Coen, Sharon; Bull, Peter (2021). The Psychology of Journalism. Oxford University Press. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-19-093585-6.
  7. ^ Stephen, Andrew T.; Galak, Jeff (October 2012). "The Effects of Traditional and Social Earned Media on Sales: A Study of a Microlending Marketplace". Journal of Marketing Research. 49 (5): 624–639. doi:10.1509/jmr.09.0401. ISSN 0022-2437. S2CID 167535488.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Kelley, Larry D.; Sheehan, Kim Bartel; Dobias, Lisa; Koranda, David E.; Jugenheimer, Donald W. (2022-12-30). Advertising Media Planning: A Brand Management Approach. Taylor & Francis. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-1-000-81456-9.
  9. ^ Hardy, Jonathan (2021), "Meeting the challenges of media and marketing convergence: Revising critical political economy approaches", The Routledge Companion to Media Industries, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780429275340-5, ISBN 978-0-429-27534-0, S2CID 211451604, retrieved 2023-11-02
  10. ^ Stewart, Emily (2016-11-20). "Donald trump rode $5 billion in free media to the white house". TheStreet. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  11. ^ "Nielson Credibility Report". nielson.com. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Is Earned Media More Credible than Advertising? | Institute for Public Relations". instituteforpr.org. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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