What is earned media?
Earned media is the visibility a brand gets without buying it: press coverage, social mentions, shares, reviews, creator content made unprompted. The classic frame puts it next to paid media (bought) and owned media (your channels): earned is what others say about you.
Why it matters
Earned carries the credibility money cannot buy: a third party chose to talk about you. It compounds trust, feeds SEO through links and mentions, and increasingly decides how AI systems describe your brand, because generative engines lean heavily on what the wider web says. In a world sceptical of advertising, earned voices do the convincing paid voices cannot.
How to earn it
- Be worth talking about: product, service and content people spontaneously share. No amplification saves a boring story.
- Give the conversation material: data, points of view and creative assets journalists and creators can actually use.
- Activate the community: customers and creators who already love the brand are the cheapest press office you will ever have.
The system view
Earned rarely happens alone: paid campaigns spark conversations, owned content gives them substance, earned pickup extends them. Plan all three as one system and measure earned honestly, mentions, sentiment, share of voice, not just a clipping count.
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