Almost every marketer today is eager to use “earned media” to build their brands online. Earned media, loosely defined as the sharing of branded content via social connections, seems like a free gift to marketers; you simply create some great content and watch it spread like wildfire.
But the reality is a bit more complicated. Creating compelling content – videos, games, contests, promotions, articles etc. – is just the first step. You then have to use paid media – online, PR, events and other media buys – to encourage the spread of your content. So earned media is not really “free” after all, and it takes a lot of expertise in media planning, buying, and measurement to get it right.
Agencies are understandably getting lots of calls from clients asking to “get on this earned media thing.” Now, agencies don’t just have to do what they’ve always done – create ads and buy media – they must also attract, motivate, and engage specific audiences with a brand’s content. Agencies have to “earn” media for their clients in addition to buying it. But who is responsible for managing earned media at an agency? Certainly, activating sharing of content is a far different role that just buying media – because it involves identifying, understanding, and measuring social audiences and their sharing patterns.
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