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Being a part of the management team of any company is a big responsibility that requires a various skill set and a deep understanding of assorted facets of the business. Achieving such a position often requires years of exertions, experience, and its justifiable share of challenges.
CEOs, particularly, are sometimes tasked with overseeing many facets of an organization’s operations, from sales growth to financial stability and brand management. While executives are undoubtedly knowledgeable, there may be one area that usually escapes their attention: earned media.
Why earned media matters
Earned media plays a major role in a company’s success story due to its ability to strengthen credibility, enhance a brand’s fame, and expand the reach of its message. Unlike paid media, which incorporates promoting, earned media includes press coverage, social media mentions, and word-of-mouth referrals. Consumers have greater trust in earned media since it is perceived as unbiased and authentic.
Research conducted by YouGov indicates that over 90% of consumers place their faith in earned media. Positive reports from reputable sources not only confirm the credibility of the organization, but additionally introduce it to latest audiences, thereby increasing brand visibility and awareness. Additionally, acquired media initiates conversations and interactions, fostering deeper audience engagement and strengthening brand loyalty. In fact, a major part – from 25 to 40% — all traffic and lead generation comes from earned media. By harnessing the ability of earned media, organizations can amplify their message, gain authority of their industry and drive sustainable growth.
Why top managers often miss earned media
In my company’s experience, CEOs and leadership teams are likely to overlook earned media as a consequence of several misconceptions:
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Perception of meaning: Some CEOs underestimate the importance of earned media in comparison with other marketing channels. They may not fully understand its impact on brand fame, trust and consumer perception.
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Resource limitations: Developing a solid earnings-driven media strategy takes time, effort and resources. CEOs could also be prioritizing areas of the business that deliver immediate returns, disregarding the long-term advantages of established media initiatives.
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Measurement challenges: Many CEOs mistakenly consider that earned media is difficult to measure. However, advances in analytics tools reminiscent of GA4, UTM tags, and media monitoring software have made this highly measurable.
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Focus on immediate ROI: CEOs often feel pressured to deliver a right away return on investment, which causes them to overlook the time-consuming nature of the media strategies they develop.
Perhaps most significantly, earned media is a long-term strategic tactic that CEOs must master to appreciate its full potential. Unlike paid media, which regularly produces immediate results but comes with a high price tag, earned media requires patience and persistence. While paid placements can cost hundreds of dollars, securing coverage through channels reminiscent of captioned articles only requires an investment of time in writing and presenting.
While this process may not provide immediate satisfaction, the trust-building results it generates over time are invaluable. CEOs who value and have interaction with earned media can reap significant advantages by way of credibility, fame and sustained audience engagement.
Reframing the narrative: Aligning earned media with the marketing sales funnel and buyer journey
Challenging conventional wisdom, I noticed that earned media is more versatile and influential than commonly believed. It permeates every step of the marketing sales funnel and buyer journey, from constructing awareness to constructing loyalty.
Consider this scenario: You create a persuasive written article that showcases your industry knowledge and answers common challenges your customers face. The article is published in mainstream media, generating awareness of your brand. You then share the article on social media, targeting consideration-stage users who’ve already engaged together with your brand. Additionally, you incorporate the article into your website content and email newsletters, nurturing prospects within the consideration phase. Once your prospects enter the conversion phase, you will use the credibility of your article to extend conversions by strengthening their trust in your brand. Finally, within the loyalty phase, you utilize testimonials, a type of earned media, to strengthen brand support and deepen customer loyalty.
For internal public relations and marketing executives, bridging the gap in understanding at the manager level is a formidable challenge. While traditional business education often overlooks earned media, its potential for exceptional results stays undeniable. Encouraging executives to make use of earned media requires patience and persistence, accompanied by a compelling demonstration of tangible advantages. As the business landscape evolves, urging executives to turn into acquainted with earned media can unlock latest avenues of growth and elevate the organization’s narrative to latest heights.