Did you know that 92% of consumers trust earned media, while only 41% believe in paid ads? Well, this is not the only difference between paid and earned media.
Both marketing strategies have their own set of strengths and challenges, which can influence everything from brand perception to consumer engagement.
To make the right choice based on your business’s goals, it’s crucial to identify their differences, which we will explore in this article.
We’ll talk about:
- What are earned and paid media and their major differences
- Types and examples of both
- How to choose the best option for your business
P.S.: Want to double the impact of your paid media campaigns? inBeat can assist! As a growth agency, we will take care of your paid media strategy from A to Z. All our efforts are research-driven and data-backed to ensure optimized performance.
TL:DR:
Definition and Impact: Earned media is free publicity gained organically through word-of-mouth, customer reviews, and media coverage, known for enhancing trust and engagement.
Paid media involves paid advertising across various platforms, designed to quickly boost visibility and control messaging.
Trust and Credibility: Earned media is more trusted by consumers, with a 92% trust rate, as it's seen as more authentic coming from third parties.
Paid media, although less trusted, provides immediate and controlled results.
Cost-Effectiveness: Earned media incurs no direct costs but may involve indirect expenses like PR efforts; it's generally more cost-effective.
Paid media requires a financial investment, which can be substantial but is directly measurable.
Types of Media:
- Earned Media: Includes media coverage, testimonials, word-of-mouth, and influencer endorsements without direct compensation.
- Paid Media: Includes PPC ads, social media ads, display ads, and sponsored content.
Scalability and Control: Earned media offers organic growth but with little control and unpredictable scalability.
Paid media allows for adjustable, targeted campaigns with complete control over content and reach.
Decision Factors: Choosing between earned and paid media depends on budget, available resources, brand reputation, and the immediacy of campaign goals. Combining both is suggested for a balanced marketing strategy.
What Is Earned Media
Earned media refers to the publicity or exposure gained through organic means rather than paid advertising or owned media channels.
It is the recognition your brand or business receives as a result of its reputation, word-of-mouth, customer reviews, social media shares, and coverage by news outlets or influencers.
Essentially, it is the media exposure you earn due to the quality of your content, products, or services.
Brands using it can experience conversion rates of 5% or higher.
Key Characteristics of Earned Media
Some essential features that set earned media apart from other types of media are:
- Unpaid: Unlike paid media (advertising) or owned media (your own channels), earned media does not involve a financial transaction. It is gained organically.
- Credible: Earned media is generally considered more trustworthy by audiences because it comes from third-party sources rather than from the brand itself.
- Amplified reach: Positive mentions and shares can significantly amplify your reach, as they are often shared across various platforms, extending your message far beyond your immediate
Benefits of Earned Media
Earned media offers numerous advantages that can significantly enhance your brand's visibility, reputation, and engagement without the high costs associated with traditional advertising.
Some of the key benefits are:
- Increased credibility: Since it comes from third parties, earned media carries more weight and credibility than paid advertising. Consumers tend to trust recommendations, reviews, and mentions from unbiased sources more than brand-driven messages, which enhances the overall trust in your brand.
- Higher engagement: People are more likely to engage with and trust content shared by their peers or credible sources. When your content is shared or recommended by others, it generates more interaction, comments, and shares, which in turn leads to higher engagement levels.
- Cost-effective: Earned media does not require direct payment. This makes it a cost-effective way to build your brand’s reputation and reach. Instead of spending large sums on advertising, you can leverage satisfied customers and influencers to spread your message. Earned media saves money while achieving a significant impact.
- SEO benefits: Earned media, such as backlinks from reputable sites, can improve your search engine rankings. Quality backlinks and mentions from authoritative sources signal to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy. This boosts your site’s visibility and organic traffic.
Types of Earned Media
Some common earned media types encompass:
- Media coverage: This includes articles, news reports, and features in newspapers, magazines, online publications, and TV shows. You can gain this coverage for your brand by having compelling stories, newsworthy events, or innovative products that attract journalists and reporters.
- Reviews and testimonials: Positive feedback from customers in the form of reviews on platforms like Google or industry-specific sites can influence potential customers. Testimonials are particularly powerful as they come from real users who have had genuine experiences with your brand’s products or services. 63% of consumers are more inclined to buy from a website that features product ratings and reviews.
- Word of mouth: Perhaps the oldest form of earned media, word of mouth includes any organic conversations that people have about a brand. This can occur both online and offline and is highly valued because 92% of individuals place more trust in recommendations from friends and family than in traditional advertising.
- Influencer endorsements: When influencers in a specific industry or niche voluntarily speak positively about a product without compensation, it acts as earned media. According to research, this marketing tactic remains extremely profitable, as 81% of consumers say that social media posts from influencers have sparked their interest in a product or service.
What Is Paid Media?
Paid media refers to any form of advertising or promotional content that a business pays for to increase its visibility, reach, and engagement with potential customers.
This can include various types of advertising across multiple platforms, such as digital and traditional media channels.
The primary goal of paid media is to drive traffic, generate leads, and ultimately boost sales.
75% of individuals report that paid search ads help them easily locate the information they are seeking on a website or search engine.
Key Characteristics of Paid Media
Paid media plays a crucial role in modern marketing strategies by providing immediate visibility and targeted outreach.
Key characteristics that define paid media are:
- Financial investment: Paid media requires a financial expenditure to purchase ad space or time on various platforms.
- Controlled messaging: Advertisers have full control over the content, timing, and placement of their ads.
- Targeted reach: Paid media allows for precise targeting based on demographics, interests, behavior, and other criteria to reach a specific audience.
Benefits of Paid Media
Paid media offers a range of advantages that can help businesses achieve their marketing objectives efficiently and effectively.
Some of the key benefits are:
- Immediate results: Paid media can generate quick visibility and traffic, which makes it highly effective for time-sensitive campaigns. Whether launching a new product or promoting a special event, paid media ensures your message reaches your audience swiftly.
- Scalable: Advertisers can adjust their budgets and scale their campaigns based on performance and business goals. This flexibility allows businesses to increase their investment in successful campaigns and reduce spending on less effective ones.
- Measurable ROI: Paid media campaigns can be tracked and measured, which helps you provide clear insights into their effectiveness and return on investment. Detailed analytics allow you to see which ads are performing well and which need adjustment. This ensures your budget is spent wisely.
- Enhanced targeting: Advanced targeting options allow advertisers to reach specific audiences based on various parameters, such as demographics, interests, behavior, and location. This precision increases the relevance and effectiveness of your ads and ensures they resonate with the right people.
- Brand awareness: Paid media can significantly boost brand awareness and recognition, especially in competitive markets. Consistent exposure through paid ads helps build familiarity with your brand. This makes it more likely that potential customers will remember and choose your products or services.
Types of Paid Media
Some common forms of paid media include:
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads: These ads charge advertisers each time a user clicks on their ad. PPC is used on search engines and can target specific keywords to capture users actively searching for related products or services. Almost 79% of marketers accept the importance of PPC for their business.
- Social media ads: They appear on different social media platforms and can be targeted based on a variety of factors, including demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. These ads are designed to integrate seamlessly into the user's social feed. In 2023, paid social media advertising represented 28.8% of total online ad expenditures.
- Display ads: Display ads are visual advertisements that appear on various websites across the internet. They can include text, images, videos, and more and are typically placed on websites that are part of a larger ad network. Such advertisements have the potential to reach as many as 90% of all internet users.
- Sponsored content: This type of advertising involves creating content that aligns with the host website's editorial style but is paid for by an advertiser. The content is meant to blend in with organic articles while promoting a product or service. Sponsored content has a click-through rate nine times higher than traditional display advertising.
7 Key Differences Between Earned and Paid Media
1. Cost
When differentiating between paid and earned media, it’s crucial to understand the financial implications of both:
- Earned Media
Typically, it incurs no direct costs, which makes it more cost-effective than paid media.
However, hidden expenses might include content creation and public relations campaigns aimed at encouraging organic engagement.
Depending on the scale, these campaigns could range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.
- Paid Media
Requires upfront financial investment for ad placements, which can vary widely depending on the particular platform.
For example, a Facebook ad campaign can start as low as $1 per day for a very small reach.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive Google Ads campaign could cost thousands of dollars monthly, depending on keywords and competition.
Its expenses are quantifiable but generally higher.
2. Reach and Targeting
The reach and targeting capabilities of earned and paid media differ significantly.
Let’s have a look:
- Earned Media
The reach of earned media is unlimited, but it can be highly unpredictable.
It precisely depends upon how much the content resonates with the audience and incites sharing. For instance, a viral tweet can reach millions, but it's not certain.
Its targeting capabilities are broad and organic, as the audience comprises everyone who finds the content relevant or engaging.
However, earned media is not a suitable option if you are looking for precise targeting.
- Paid Media
The reach of paid media is controllable and can be extensive.
For example, a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter ad can be set to target hundreds of thousands, even millions, if the budget allows.
With the available platforms like Facebook Ads Manager, you can target highly precise audiences based on demographics, interests, geography, and more. Moreover, even Google Ads allows targeting specific keywords that are searched by potential customers.
3. Control
Both earned and paid media offer varying levels of control over different aspects of your marketing campaigns.
We will discuss that here:
- Earned Media
You have minimal control over earned content as it is generated and shared by third parties like customers or journalists.
Even the message's consistency can vary, and the timing of its release is unpredictable.
Simultaneously, you would have no influence over where the content is placed, how long it remains visible, or who ultimately sees it.
- Paid Media
With paid media, you have complete control over the campaign.
You can tailor the content to ensure the message is consistent across every marketing channel. In addition, you can also strategically plan the release timing and choose specific platforms for placement.
The duration of the campaign is fully controllable as well.
This requires a significant marketing budget but offers the guarantee that the content will reach the intended audience efficiently.
4. Credibility and Trust
Although both earned and paid media are credible, it’s important to understand the slight difference between them:
- Earned Media
Typically enjoys higher levels of credibility and trust among audiences.
Since it is generated by third parties such as customers, influencers, and media outlets, it comes off as more authentic and genuine.
This organic approval is seen as a powerful endorsement that influences others more effectively than direct brand messages could.
- Paid Media
Often perceived as less trustworthy by consumers because they are aware that it is sponsored.
Despite this, paid media can still be highly credible if it offers informative content that meets the audience's needs.
Pro tip: You can enhance trust in their paid advertisements by maintaining transparency about the nature of the ads and providing useful information.
Ensuring the ads are placed on reputable platforms and aligning them with a strong content marketing strategy also adds credibility.
5. Scalability
Now, let’s have a look at how both earned and paid media differ in the context of scalability:
- Earned Media
While earned media can sometimes reach a vast audience unexpectedly, such as when a social media post goes viral, these instances are hard to predict and cannot be planned beforehand.
Moreover, the reach extends as long as the content continues to be shared by viewers, which can be momentary or extend over a longer period.
The lack of control over this process means that relying on earned media for scalability can be risky if you are seeking consistent growth.
- Paid Media
In contrast, paid media offers a high degree of scalability that can be precisely managed.
Through platforms like Google Ads or social media channels, you can increase your ad spend to boost visibility and reach a broader audience almost instantaneously.
This scalability makes paid media an essential strategy for rapid expansion, targeted marketing efforts, and entering new markets.
6. Impact on Consumer Behavior
Both earned and paid media impact consumers differently.
Let’s see how:
- Earned Media
Earned media has a profound impact on consumer behavior due to its perceived trustworthiness.
When consumers encounter positive reviews or media coverage that is not directly paid for by the brand, they are more likely to trust the information.
This can significantly influence purchasing decisions, as recommendations from peers carry more weight than self-promotional content.
Earned media effectively builds brand loyalty and can lead to long-term customer relationships.
- Paid Media
While sometimes viewed with skepticism due to its commercial nature, paid media still significantly impacts consumer behavior, especially when strategically crafted and well-targeted.
These ads are designed to attract attention quickly and can drive direct actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or further engagement with the brand.
The compelling nature of paid media makes it essential for campaigns aiming for quick conversions and broad reach.
Moreover, when combined with a strong SEO strategy, it can enhance brand visibility too.
7. Measurement and Tracking
Measurement and tracking capabilities of these media types are different from each other:
- Earned Media
Measuring the effectiveness of earned media is challenging due to its uncontrolled nature.
However, you can still track the basic metrics like reach and engagement through traditional analytics tools.
Similarly, social listening platforms and sentiment analysis assist in monitoring how frequently and in what context your brand is mentioned.
However, the inherently qualitative nature of earned media makes it difficult to quantify its full impact on marketing efforts precisely.
- Paid Media
It offers robust options for measurement and tracking, which makes it easier to analyze the effectiveness of specific campaigns.
For example, digital advertising platforms provide detailed analytics that includes metrics such as impressions, CTR, conversion rates, and cost-per-action.
These allow you to measure the exact ROI and make data-driven decisions to optimize performance.
This is why paid media is an attractive option if you are focused on detailed reporting.
Which Approach Is Best For Your Business: 5 Factors to Consider
Wondering if you should focus on marketing your brand through paid or earned media? Let’s gauge the factors that make it easier for you to decide:
- Budget: If your brand has a defined marketing budget that can accommodate ongoing or large-scale campaigns, then paid media is a good option. Contrarily, for businesses tight on budget, earned media can be great as it costs generally less.
- Available resources: If you can source and afford digital marketing specialists, data analysts, social media managers, and paid analytics and advertising tools, then paid media is a suitable option. Conversely, if you can access talented content creators, PR professionals, and effective SEO and content management tools, earned media might be a more appropriate choice.
- Reputation of the brand: If your brand has just entered the market, paid media is effective for building a quick reputation by increasing visibility and controlling the narrative. Earned media, on the other hand, can bring fruitful results for established businesses that already have a positive public image.
- Timing: For immediate outcomes, such as in case of product launch or seasonal promotions, run paid media campaigns as they can reach a broad audience swiftly. In contrast, earned media is slower to build and also has unpredictable timings. It’s more suited for long-term strategies aimed at gradual brand strengthening.
After weighing these factors based on your goals, industry, and market position, you can select which approach will suit the likes of your brand.
However, we suggest integrating both earned and paid media for a balanced approach to leverage the strengths of each.
Earned Media and Paid Media: What to Choose?
In conclusion, paid and earned media offer distinct advantages for reaching your target audience.
Paid media provides a fast track to brand awareness and targeted reach, while earned media fosters trust and credibility through organic recommendations. However, the ideal strategy leverages both approaches.
Key Takeaways:
- Earned media builds trust through authentic endorsements but is unpredictable and challenging to measure.
- Paid media provides precise control over content, timing, and placement of advertisements.
- Earned media grows organically, fueled by customer interactions and third-party content.
- Paid media enables targeted campaigns that quickly reach specific audiences.
- While more expensive than earned media, paid media’s impact is immediate and easily scalable.
- Combining both earned and paid media offers a balanced approach.
Need a helping hand to elevate your earned and paid media efforts? You can get in touch with inBeat.
Our team of experts uses the power of compelling content and targeted advertising to create a buzz that draws attention to your brand.
Whether it's through influencer collaborations or precisely calibrated ad placements, our approach ensures that your message reaches and engages your desired demographic.
