Social Media Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Making Paid and Earned Media Work Together

Earned media — editorial, radio, or television coverage of an event or product that you don’t have to pay for — has its roots in the public relations world. Earned media is usually free publicity through promotional and marketing efforts outside advertising. Public relations professionals have mastered the art of getting their clients earned media at a cost significantly lower than buying the media attention through paid advertisements or promotions of one form or another.

With the social media revolution, earned media has taken on a new dimension. Your brand no longer has to depend on the mainstream media to earn attention among its consumers. Your brand can also earn that attention directly by interacting and engaging with its consumers and their influencers across the social web. All of a sudden, earned media means engaging with consumers on social platforms from Twitter and Facebook to YouTube. If you can earn your consumer’s attention directly, why bother with the mainstream press? And for that matter, why bother with paid media either? In fact, journalists, too, look towards the social web for story ideas. According to research published by Brodeur and Marketwire and highlighted on Marketing Pilgrim (www.marketingpilgrim.com ), more than 75 percent of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas, with 70 percent checking a blog list on a regular basis.

Working harder to gain attention

In the early days of the social ...