Earned media refers to media and publicity that was earned naturally rather than paying for advertisements. This can come in the form of news articles, interviews, or other organic means.
Earned media is often seen as more credible than paid media since it is from an unbiased third party. Meaning that the people presenting the business to the public aren't being paid to give rave reviews of your product. They are rather giving an honest and genuine opinion. This type of publicity can be extremely valuable for businesses, as it can help to build trust and credibility with potential customers. Customers like it when they can trust a brand knowing that what is actually said hasn't been skewed or includes bias.
There are a few different ways that businesses can generate earned media. One of the most common is to simply create great content that others will want to share. Content can be in the form of an informative blog post, an interesting video, or even a helpful infographic. For instance, reposts of content on social media stories tend to inspire followers of the re-posters to engage with the business.
Earned media is valuable to a business's branding. It is important that as a business you create content worthy of sharing to increase consumers naturally.
How do earned channels differ from paid channels?
Earned channels involve organic customer engagement and word-of-mouth promotion without the need for a financial investment. Paid channels require a financial investment in order to reach customers through advertising or other methods of promotion.
Fun Fact:
"According to a survey by Statista, 82% of marketers worldwide consider earned media channels (e.g. word-of-mouth, influencer marketing, reviews) as the most effective form of advertising in 2020." (Statista, 2020).