For small businesses looking to compete with massive corporations online, it is important to never underestimate the role paid, earned and owned media can play in an effective marketing strategy. Here is an overview of what owned, paid and earned media entail and how you can leverage each of these elements for your small business.

SEO, web design, social media, content marketing and pay-per-click are all elements of a well-balanced internet marketing campaign, and just as all of those strategies work in unison to promote your business, earned, owned and paid media are equally necessary for online success.

Paid Media

As the name probably reveals, paid media includes online advertising that you pay for, such as Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, different types of pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, and so on. While many businesses believe they can achieve paid advertising success by simply throwing money into their campaigns, quality paid marketing goes beyond budget. By creating compelling calls-to-action, SEO-optimized copy and visually appealing landing pages, we boost paid marketing efforts for a higher return-on-investment than paid advertising alone.

Owned Media

Essentially, owned media refers to the content created by your business. This includes blog posts, eBooks, buyer's guides, whitepapers, shared content from your social media platforms, and more. In order to succeed in this category, it is important to create great, shareable content. This content will vary based on your industry and the needs of your customers. In a recent study from the CMO Council and NetLine, Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council, revealed “Buyers are not happy with vendors. Their content [tends to be] over technical, product-centric, and self-serving.” This is a failure, as marketing content is directed at buyers and prospects. Great content should be built around serving the needs of these people.

Earned Media

Earned media is similar to old-fashioned “word-of-mouth” marketing. Essentially, when customers engage with your content, sharing it with other prospects and influences, you suddenly obtain loyal brand advocates who share your business and unconsciously advertise on your behalf. While earned media is a powerful tool for your business, it requires the cooperation of paid and owned media to work, and it definitely is not something you can directly control.

To get the most out of your internet marketing, you need a combination of all three marketing elements: paid, earned and owned alike. When your website is host to engaging, customer-oriented owned media backed with paid efforts to strategically place that content where your target audience is most likely to see it and thus earn the trust of that audience, you will see vastly improved results than you can gain with one of these tactics alone.

We are experts in all of the digital marketing technologies that you need to grow your business, including: website design and development, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), email marketing, social media management, conversion rate optimization and more. Are you looking to boost your online presence with internet marketing? CyberMark International can help you! Please call 623-889-3380 today, or fill out our contact form and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible.