What is owned media?

Owned media is the umbrella term for any media channel over which your brand has complete control. This term includes media such as your:

Why is owned media important?

Owned media is important for several reasons, not the least of which is that it’s free! It’s the “O” in the “POEM” model of marketing (Paid, Owned, Earned Media), and these three components both complement and support each other.

You have limited control over paid media and earned media; therefore, your owned media creates the foundation for the other two. Here’s where you can establish your brand voice and set the tone for how earned media will talk about you. Your brand integrity will determine how much trust and loyalty you inspire in your audience, and you create that brand integrity through your owned media.

The more owned media channels your brand utilizes, the more opportunities you have to reach potential customers with your message. Of course, not all platforms are created equal, so you’ll need to have a solid understanding of your target audience and where they consume the majority of their media.

Your content will vary depending on the platform, and you’ll want to plan your content strategy accordingly.

Paid media usually comes with guidelines and stipulations that must be adhered to while owned media means you have complete control over what content you publish, where, and when.

What is the difference between owned media and paid media?

Paid media is exactly what it sounds like it’s media that you pay for, typically through ads or sponsorships. There is some overlap in terms of paid media and owned media (for example, taking a social media post and paying to boost its visibility).

However, paid media usually comes with guidelines and stipulations that must be adhered to. You’re also using it to buy access to a portion of a larger audience.

Owned media means you have complete control over what content you publish, where, and when. And it contains content delivered directly to your existing audience.

Are they the same thing?

Yes and no! What we’ve come to know as branded media usually has a more narrative feel to it and tells a larger story associated with your brand. This may be content you share on your owned media channels, and you may also choose to share it with paid media. 

Branded content utilizes storytelling to connect your brand emotionally with your audience. Rather than the “here’s how our product solves your problem” (or even the proverbial “bite and smile”) type of advertising, branded content taps into “here’s how our product makes you feel.”

This type of content can also go a long way toward building up earned media, as these campaigns resonate with audiences and get them talking.

Unlike owned and paid media, you have little control over earned media.

How is earned media different from owned media?

Unlike owned and paid media, you have little control over earned media. It is still vitally important, though! Earned media is how other people talk about your brand and your content. It encompasses any and all content about your brand that you didn’t create yourself.

Sometimes, this overlaps with paid media (if you’ve hired a PR firm, for instance), but generally speaking, earned media is the juice. Once you’ve got other people talking about you, your brand awareness and brand authority go up! You can extend beyond your existing audience and leverage the trust and credibility that others have with their audiences. 

That’s why you need to have a solid foundation with your owned media – if you’re not telling your audience how to talk about you in the channels you have complete control over, who knows how people will talk about you in earned media channels?

If you’re just getting started, keep it simple. Select one or two owned media channels and go from there.

Get Started with Owned Media

As with any content plan, you’ll want to start with an understanding of your target audience as well as your overall content marketing goals.

If you’re just getting started, keep it simple. Select one or two owned media channels and go from there. Email marketing continues to deliver the highest ROI, so your best bet is to begin with email and build out from there. Your emails can be turned into blog posts and broken down into social media posts, so just keep putting one foot in front of the other!

But if you’re working with a small content team or completely starting from scratch, consider outsourcing your owned media to a managed content solution like ClearVoice. We’ll work with you to create a custom plan that suits your needs and resources so that you never pay for content you don’t need or won’t use.

Talk to a content specialist today and start owning your owned media!