Owned, bought, and earned media

It’s been a while since I’ve had an opportunity to write a blog. Tomorrow I will present to my peers and as I was writing the presentation on owned, bought, and earned media I thought I’d share my thoughts with you also.

In writing outreach strategies for clients, which align with their business goals, I always take into consideration owned, bought, and earned media.

Owned media is anything you own that can be leveraged for marketing purposes; apparel, office supplies, your website, social media, etc.

Website: maximize its potential; add a blog or news feed, update images, post client/customer testimonials, link to your social media profiles, backlink

Social media; post engaging, informative and timely content; images, videos, industry related information, ask questions, post surveys, piggyback on trends and topics, share content from other business pages etc.

Bought media is anything you buy; advertising in magazines, online, social media, TV, radio, billboards etc. It’s really a case of working out which of the above will bring you the greatest return on your investment. We are seeing more and more people investing in social media advertising/Facebook boosting and videos – as well as Google ad words – the most important benefit to remember about online advertising, is that it’s measurable.

Earned media

Essentially – Public Relations – the core of what Gem PR & Media does for clients on a daily basis.

Speaking opportunities: there are a wide variety of speaking opportunities in central Illinois and beyond. 

Articles, profiles, and interviews on TV, radio, in print and online. This is a great opportunity to spread the word about your business and/or services.

Awards; enter awards and nominate clients, colleagues, and partners/third party providers – not just to show that you care, but to spread the word about your organization, its people and those that it interacts with.

CSR – corporate social responsibility; this is a huge part of what we do as a business and encourage other businesses to do so also. Giving back to the community in which your business operates, and you live in, is a major plus here.

In addition to being a nice person, you’re also elevating your brand.

If you choose to dedicate time and resources to a cause make sure it is either one you are extremely passionate about and/or aligns with your business goals. 

Make sure you have the time to commit – don’t half-ass it – that’s bad for your reputation.

Use your existing skills – if you’re an accountant – offer to do the bookkeeping, if you’re a lawyer offer to be legal counsel etc.

One of the most important things to remember about public relations/earned media is longevity – this is something often forgotten … when you have an article published online, or you make a presentation/speech and someone shares a photo of you and tags your business on Facebook, or you volunteer for an organization, secure a spot on the news, and a link to the interview is shared on the website and social media platforms - the message is repeated, the exposure is wide reaching and you are now established as a go-to source – you/your business/services/products and expertise are available for anyone that is interested days, months, even years after you’ve ‘paid’ for that PR. 

So think about the ways in which you can best leverage your owned, bought, and earned media - and remember the investment is well worth it in the short - and long-term. 

Facebook Live

Like any social media platform, Facebook’s goal is to keep users active and engaged. In December, Facebook launched its live video feature for IOS. 
Facebook Live helps extend your audience reach, but won’t necessarily drive a huge amount of traffic to your website – you must encourage people to do so through your page – the contact button is a good way to increase clicks from the platform. 
If you’re going to engage in a Facebook Live campaign make sure you have a strategy and set objectives – there’s nothing worse than random content, which is uninformative and dull. And, there are plenty of examples out there! 
On a positive note, Facebook’s algorithm favors live streaming videos – however, know your audience – think about the time of day you are broadcasting and make it interesting. If you’re struggling to see how you might use Facebook Live effectively here are a few tips: 

1.    Like any online activity, you engage in for marketing purposes if you’re gong to do it, do it well! 
2.    Tell people when you are ‘going live’ – this will encourage your followers to engage with you during your broadcast if they are prepared for it. Write a description of your topic and the purpose of your discussion – what’s great about Facebook Live is that you have an opportunity to engage with your audience as you are broadcasting. 
3.    It goes without saying; make sure you have a good connection! 
4.    Ask your followers to tap on the Follow button on live videos and videos that were live and then opt-in to get notifications the next time you broadcast. 
5.    Acknowledge your commentators by name and respond to their comments. 
6.    If you develop a following and have compelling content broadcast for longer periods of time. 
7.    Be creative! Don’t bore your audience. If you want them to come back your followers need to get something out of it. 
8.    Make sure you mention your business, your services and your web address – this isn’t an advert, but with any form of marketing or PR you have to take the opportunity to promote yourself. 
9.    Facebook, in its Best Practices guide, recommends you broadcast for at least 10 minutes – make sure you have enough content to do so. 
10.    When your live stream is over the video will remain on your page so use the opportunity to repurpose this content by writing a recap post for your blog. You can even edit the video so that it’s a little more polished and ready for use on your website. 

Types of Facebook Live videos you might want to consider: 
•    Question and Answer sessions
•    Take your followers behind the scenes of your organization
•    Breaking news (news means something new, interesting and relevant) 

Remember, whatever you do, make sure you stay on brand, use key messaging and align your Facebook Live strategy and objectives with your business goals. If you’re going to take the time and time is money, to use Facebook Live prepare, promote, and create compelling content. Don’t waste your followers’ time, they are busy people and need to gain something from your post (any post for that matter, live video, photos, text or pre-records).