Earned media is becoming a very common term, but what exactly does it mean – and how can it benefit your business?
Here is everything you need to know about earned media and content marketing.
Earned content
Social media is extremely popular now, and every day billions of posts are shared across various social media websites like Facebook and Instagram. This means that users spend their time online wading through lots of content, giving them the option to choose what they want to listen to or ignore.
Most users prefer to engage with content that they think is relevant to them, so they often ignore adverts and respond to posts that interest them (such as posts from their friends or celebrities that they admire).
However, if your advert is good enough then a user will engage with your post and even share it themselves. This is what earned content is; an unpaid mention of your brand from someone who isn’t necessarily associated with your brand. Good examples include Instagram photos of someone using your product, Yelp reviews or people sharing your advertisements on their own social media. For more suggestions and help on your social media or even content creation you could ask for specialist help from a Cheltenham PR company which can be found at options including www.targetgroup.co.uk/.
The benefits of earned content
One of the main benefits of earned content is that it is completely free (although of course, you will need to pay for the initial campaign) but it will help you to reach a much wider audience. Another one of the benefits of earned content is how popular social media is. According to WordStream, there are over 600 million Instagrammers, and many of these people have become brand ambassadors for companies without even realising it.
The final benefit of earned content is that it makes people take action, as they are more likely to trust a review from a friend than a stranger. This means that people who see earned content are more likely to engage with the content.
How to create earned content
Your content must be authentic if you want it to become earned content. Many people today don’t trust online advertisements, but if your advert is authentic and the user can relate to it they are much more likely to repost the content themselves.
