Exploring the Different Media Opportunities for Brands
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The fast-paced development of our world of tech and the integration of media, and how audiences access it, has made a huge impact on the world of PR, and is set to continue as we progress into 2025.
Understanding the nuances between owned media, paid media, earned media and shared media is critical for brands looking to build their presence by delivering the right content to the right audience, at the right time, through the right channel.
An effective content strategy doesn’t rely on a singular approach. We’re going to take a closer look at each media type, and how they interrelate to bolster marketing and PR strategies.
Owned Media
This is where all content is directly controlled by the organisation, including all social media channels and internal and external communication platforms such as their website and blog.
Owned media is the foundation of your brand, presenting company values, missions and workplace culture, without external interference.
We recommend having a strong and consistent owned media presence, using it to strengthen your reputation through a plethora of channels. This includes updating your website regularly with engaging content, using a blog to promote your offerings, or to keep social media channels active and engaging with others through comments and conversations.
Paid Media
This is content, advertising and promotions that have been paid for, perhaps to a publication. This could be in the form of printed advertorials, paid-for editorial, advertising and sponsoring. The availability of paid opportunities are endless.
Paid media offers the opportunity to control the narrative whilst targeting specific demographics that may not have otherwise heard of you. By directly controlling content, brands can tell their own story, promote their offerings, or place thought leadership articles in specific publications read by their target audiences.
PR teams can help you to leverage these opportunities garnered from effectively executed sponsored content.
Earned Media
This is defined as organic exposure that hasn’t been paid for or created by yourself. This could be through editorial liaison, thought leadership, reports and articles, to name a few – earned media is also known as free publicity, but you have to ‘earn’ your way in.
Although this form of media is published by a third party, there are ways in which marketing and PR’s can position brands for earned media opportunities, and with the way in which the public get their information has changed over the last few decades, earned media has evolved.
Trustpilot and Google reviews to bloggers ‘Top Ten…’, all are important across many sectors. In the HR sector specifically, forming strong relationships with editors and journalists and understanding the crux of HR and workplace issues is essential. Angles - DEI, Wellbeing, Productivity, Absence, RTO, and many more - are featured frequently, but a new angle or research has to be added to the current story.
Shared Media
Often considered the new age of engagement – shared media refers to content that is re-shared or circulated by external audiences, usually on social platforms. Shared media is usually a blend of owned, earned and paid media as it involves public interactions.
In an age where workplace culture is becoming increasingly important to employees and potential candidates, shared media can show-off a brand’s alignment with values such as social responsibility and work-life balance.
Shared media also offers businesses the opportunity to interact and engage with external audiences, or to create viral content, designed to be shared.
The power of social media has become a huge player in PR. With today’s enhanced connectivity influencing consumer activity, so many people trust recommendations from friends, family and colleagues when discovering new products and services. Brands want happy customers who share their experiences.
Investing your time interacting with these customers on social channels, brings brands and consumers together.
As digital marketing and social media continues to progress, so do the opportunities to capture shared media, so ensure your marketing, PR and customer service teams are all on the same page, because everything they do works towards the same shared goal.
Looking at these different forms of media, we can see each one plays a distinct and important role. By taking a cohesive approach, each one should be integrated to implement a successful and effective PR strategy.
By starting with owned media, you’re establishing a strong foundation by creating engaging content. You then amplify this with paid media, using campaigns to promote your company culture and to reach new audiences.
Building and nurturing relationships with key publications and their journalists helps to generate earned media.
Finally, encourage people to share your insights to increase your reach and influence.
If you’re looking at how media can facilitate your brand’s success, get in touch with us to discuss how we can help.
PR in HR is best place to increase recognition of your HR brand.
We know that gaining valuable PR wins in the workplace media is vital, but it’s also complex.
Amplifying your messages with PR strengthens brand awareness and credibility to a much wider buying audience. It helps build trust. It helps grow your brand.
Problematically, there are hundreds of voices clamouring to be heard by national, HR and workplace B2B journalists and influencers, and only a relative few get into the media spotlight each day.
We help your brand to be one of them, repeatedly.
We use powerful PR so our clients - providers to the HR market - rise above the noise to gain exceptional brand recognition.