The Earned Media Opportunity

PR Newswire recently called on Outsell, a research and advisory firm that focuses on the rapid convergence of information, media and technology to conduct an independent research with CMOs and other key marketing decision-makers in the United States on their use of earned media and how earned media plays into paid, owned, and earned aspects of marketing.  The research revealed that the rise of earned media is eroding the growth of paid media.  Although Asia Pacific market was not represented in the research, the findings should be of interest and may have implications to the day-to-day activities of the marketers, communicators and PR practitioners in this part of the world.

Three key earned media questions were particularly answered during the research.  These questions are critical for CMOs who want to monetize earned media as an element of their marketing programs.

Question 1: Is Earned Media Effective?

Among the three type of media, Marketers rate owned media as the most. However, earned media is widely rated as more effective or equally effective as paid media.

The research analyzed marketers’ rating of the problems they encountered and identified that two problems are suited for earned media to resolve.

• 72% rate “Difficulty identifying and engaging with the right prospects at the right time” as a problem and barrier toward achieving their marketing objectives.
• The No. 1 ranked factor for allocating spending is “Maximizing pre-qualification of our prospects”

In earned media, the fact that influencers can choose at their own will create a domino effect, influencing many others to convert at higher rates than paid media. This makes earned media especially effective in increasing prequalification of prospects and increasing engagement with the right prospects.

It is noted that CMOs are shifting their marketing budget allocation to have equal weights on paid and earned media, with remaining 20% to owned media.  They are starting to see needle moves with more sharable content, more invitations to speak at conferences (vs paying to speak) and more media pickup (vs paid advertorials).

Question 2: Is Earned Media Widely Used, or on the Bleeding Edge?

 The studies show that earned media methods are largely used by B2B marketers with the following findings:

• Earned media is rated as much more effective by marketers under 40 than by those over 55.
• Top earned media methods: regular press releases, pursuing speaking slots, encouraging testimonials, publishing case studies, and monitoring social media.
• Technology, biotech/pharma, and financial services firms rate earned media the highest.

Having said that, CMOs also felt that earned media cannot work in a silo, and as the lines between paid, owned and earned media continue to be blurred, the use of which media is also dependent on the specific goal of the marketing campaigns.

Question 3: Can Firms Improve Their Earned Media Results?

To improve the results generated by earned media, marketers are using the following methods:

• Hire and Assign Staff to specifically monitor and engage on social media services.
• Manage Customer Communities to foster buzz, provide customer service, and repair negative buzz.
• Publish Press Releases Regularly using PR services. While frequency is key, it is also important to know the tips on writing a good press release to ensure it grabs the eyeballs of your target audience.
• Pursue Side-By-Side Rankings by industry analysts or consumer ratings services.
• Seed Story Ideas to journalists and industry analysts, including using a PR agency to assist
• Pursue Speaking Engagements at industry conferences.
• Purchase Native Advertising Stories that appear on branded media channels.
• Encourage or Incent customers to rate your product or service on Yelp, Amazon, or another third-party review service.
• Rely On and Encourage Testimonials on your own sites and marketing materials.
• Continually Generate Case Studies and Success Stories on your own sites and across multiple platforms.

Although it was found that large firms gave these methods higher ratings, the top four listed methods are also rated effective by 40% or more of marketers in small firms.

This research underpins the importance of earned media and that it is here to stay for many years to come. It will become increasingly critical to include earned media in the marketing mix with its ability to drive strong ROI. In addition, marketers, communicators and PR practitioners should invest in engaging with and nurturing relationships with influencers and blending them into the marketing mix appropriate to each situation in order to amplify the reach of earned media.

Creation of quality content through effective storytelling is a way to engage with your target audience and gained earned media via word-of-mouth. Download the ebook: 10 tips to leverage the power of storytelling and learn tips which will help to transform your content marketing effort.

Last but not least, success is also dependent on the use of analytics with touch points embedded throughout the customer journey to encourage feedback so as to improve on marketing campaigns.

A full copy of the research report is available for download here.