Earned marketing is the attention that a brand’s product, service, or original content garners. What separates earned marketing from paid marketing, is that earned media is not bought. It occurs naturally and organically. Since social media has created a democratization of free media online, it is a beneficial vehicle to utilize in order to drive a message home. Ideally consumers will think of your company in a positive light and possibly spread that good image to others via channels such as commentary on a blog, likes, or posts.
You Can’t Put a Price on It
The value of earned marketing is immense. This is because of the power of shared content online and word of mouth. When fans of a brand become the channel that a business is expressed, then they are advocating on it’s behalf. This type of self-generated user engagement is important because when marketing is done through the referral of a friend, it creates weight and credibility in the minds of consumers, since it is not coming from the brand itself.
A Chance To Learn About Your Audience
Earned marketing allows businesses to gain insight into a customer’s perspective on how they perceive a particular company. This is useful because any feedback generated from individuals engaging with a brand can be utilized to create improvements in a service or product.
Just Like in Hollywood There’s a Twist
I won’t sugarcoat it. There are some cons to earned marketing. First off, companies can only control earned marketing to a certain extent. Businesses may be practicing great SEO and marketing to gain a good reputation, but how their brand is talked about amongst other consumers will always vary. As in all cases, there will be critics. Unfortunately, a bad review on Yelp could earn a company negative reputation, placing the business in a bad light. Despite the saying, all publicity is actually not good publicity. Also, you can’t exactly place a monetary value on a retweet. How would one begin to measure the return investment of a share?
Don’t Forget to Continue The Conversation
When online users comment on any of a brand’s social media platforms, it’s important for the company to engage the users swiftly and often. It never hurts to lend a voice to a business and humanize it. Also, consumers will feel appreciated because someone is listening to them, and they are being treated as a unique individual.