Is It Earned Or Owned Media You Should Focus On?

As the media landscape continues to change, the line between 'earned’ and ‘owned’ media seems to get more and more blurry. 

If we go by traditional definitions, earned media is media coverage that you or your company received without creating it or paying for it. Think of the type of media you receive as a result of a PR campaign, for example a story that a journalist wrote about your new product launch.

Owned media is the opposite. It includes mentions of your brand that you created and paid for, such as an advertising space you took out in a magazine or a social media site that you created and continue to maintain. 

But what do you call a blog post that you wrote and published on LinkedIn? Or an article you wrote for a magazine? Or a positive post from a customer on your social channel? And which one is the better approach? Is one more suitable for you than the other? 

It really depends on your company’s goals.

Let’s say your goal is to promote a new piece of technology to increase leads and sales. In that case, you’re likely better off creating ‘owned’ blog posts with sharing information on social channels while leveraging SEO best practices. Or, you could land a product review in a technology publication (‘earned’ media).

Both are important parts of your PR toolbox. However, if your primary goal is to raise awareness about your company’s expertise in a certain area, contributing an article on the topic to a technology publication is a good idea. This approach could be considered both ‘owned ‘(because you’re writing the article) and ‘earned’ (because you have to get the publication to accept the article).

Let us know if you’d like to chat about your media strategy and see what you need to place your focus on in order to reach your organisation’s goals!