You may have heard the term “owned media” before and wondered what the heck people are talking about. Today’s article sheds some light on these new terms and distinctions that have come about in the last several years and how thinking about these in new ways can help you in your business.

Owned Media: This is media that you create and control. Yes – YOU! In control of the media. This includes things like your blog, podcasts, webinars, teleclasses, social media, articles, your YouTube channel, memes you create, your newsetters, infographics, and so on.

Paid Media: This is media that you pay for like Facebook or Twitter ads, paid TV or radio shows (infomercials), magazine ads, and advertorials.

Earned Media: This is what people traditionally think of as “PR.” This is when your name is mentioned in the media, you have a feature article written about you and/or your company, or make an unpaid appearance on a TV or radio show. This also includes press releases and requires activities like media relations which means targeted pitching to the media.

Why are these distinctions important? Because you can benefit from all three of these categories, and you can have them all feed off of each other to boost your effectiveness when you use them the right way.

For example, let’s say you are a career coach and you are quoted in an online article on Monster.com. Congratulations on your earned media! You now have bragging rights! But don’t stop there. Share a link to the article in your owned media channels (your web site, blog, newsletter, social media channels and so on) and add the Monster.com logo to your next Facebook or trade magazine ad (paid media) to further enhance your credibility.

In another example, let’s say that you are writing an article series on your blog this month covering topic X. Obviously, writing articles and placing them on your blog is your owned media. But you can write and issue a digital-optimized press release (earned media) to announce your article series and drive traffic to your blog. If you wish, you can also place an ad on Twitter or Facebook (paid media) to drive more traffic to your blog and increase readership of the series.

The more you can leverage each type of media, the more effective your marketing can be. Call me crazy, but this is what I call SUPER FUN! I see it as leveraging all the incredible things that you are already doing.

Want more help with this?  Sign up for a free consultation with me here: http://risingstarpublicity.com/strategy-session/

 

© 2015 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing