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A Guide to Paid, Earned, Shared & Owned Media for Brands

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Every brand needs adequate publicity for various reasons, primary among them are the need to communicate brand messages, product and service offerings as well as the need to educate existing and prospective customers about its brand ideals.

To achieve this, the media has proven to be a veritable means of communication with a mass heterogeneous audience. There is no gainsaying that the media is part and parcel of our daily lives and we depend on them for information to make decisions.

As such, we can infer that any brand that seeks to achieve top of mind awareness among its target customers must be willing to commit to building a solid relationship with the media and devise an effective media strategy.

On this note, it is pertinent to understand the various classifications of media ownership available for modern brands. Let’s dive in!

PESO model

The PESO Model

The PESO model is a media strategy terminology that means Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned media.
In creating a Public Relations plan for any brand, we are constantly deciding which of the media classifications is best suited for a campaign. In making this decision, we consider various factors that include, but are not limited to reach, authoritativeness, affordability, target audience profile among others.

Let’s examine the various media models in subsequent paragraphs.

Paid Media

Paid media include all forms of sponsored posts or information pieces placed in traditional or digital media to amplify a brand’s message. Traditionally, this includes advertorials, sponsored opinion pieces, sponsored radio or television programmes among others. Digitally, this includes sponsored Instagram posts, sponsored tweets, Search Engine Marketing among others.

To achieve adequate publicity, paid media platforms can be deployed to amplify the core messages of a campaign or brand to the target audience. But, it is necessary to understand that while paid media platforms may amplify messages, they may not automatically drive the desired action because of the distrust audiences have for sponsored content.

As such, overusing this media model can become counterproductive because the audience may become apathetic to the message. Therefore, one has to adopt the use of data and insights available from previous campaigns to guide the usage of paid media platforms.

Earned Media

Earned media involves securing mentions in mainstream or digital media as a result of pushing brand messages considered newsworthy and relevant to the general public. This media model is considered the most credible and authoritative because brands have limited control over what can be published.

To earn mentions in the traditional media, we are constantly working on creative newsworthy narratives for brands to be considered for publication through PR tools such as press releases, press conferences, media tours, press parleys among others.

This is without forgetting the need to build a mutually beneficial relationship with journalists and editors. This involves respecting the editorial independence of journalists, curating journalistic-styled content fit for their publications and relevant to their audience, respecting media deadlines as well as engaging media personnels in conversations.

On the other hand, bloggers and social media influencers continue to gain influential status on various digital platforms. Their position as content creators and opinion leaders make them valuable contributors to a brand’s public image.

To be at the top of the game, we are constantly identifying existing and emerging bloggers and influencers with the aim of working towards building or maintaining good relationships with them to achieve public goodwill.

Shared Media

Most of us love social media and we spend a large chunk of our day online. As PR professionals, they also provide an avenue for brands that we manage to interact with their publics. Unlike time past where the conversation was unidirectional and brand focused, the emergence of social media has enabled instant communication between both parties.

In using social media, brands have to embody personality in the process of disseminating their messages online. It is important to keep in mind that social media platforms are primarily for interactions before marketing, therefore brands must endeavor to avoid sounding too salesy.

Owned media

Digital media has given brands a golden opportunity to tell their own stories. An effective PR plan for any brand must integrate distribution of content via owned media platforms to the target audience in this digital era.

Brands can publish press releases, feature articles, advertorials and other write-ups on their websites, blogs, social media handles or email lists. Press conferences can be broadcasted via Youtube, Vimeo, Instagram or Facebook live etc

Brands can also invest in visual content creation to be distributed via its video sharing platforms. Although owned media platforms lack the coverage capacity of other media models, they offer organic followership and boost brand awareness and loyalty.

At SOL PR, we specialize in creating comprehensive and insightful PR and Marketing Communications plans designed for each media model. Contact us today

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