All of the media assets at your disposal fall somewhere in the framework of what’s called a “converging media mix.” This represents all of the communications channels and outreach efforts you’ll use during your campaign.
There are four key strategy areas to this media mix: paid media, earned media, owned media and shared media. Here’s a little more information on each one, including pros and cons.
Owned Media Strategies
Owned media strategies use the channels that your brand controls. This may include your website, campaign microsite, blog, videos, or other assets that you maintain as part of your content marketing strategy. (Events fall under owned media, too.)
Pros: great way to create long-term relationships with existing contacts; usually the most cost effective
Cons: take the longest to scale
Shared Media Strategies
Shared media includes any channel where you have some ownership, but not complete control. All social channels fall into this category because you “share” the media with those that choose to engage with you. Shared media is vital to creating a conversation around your campaign – it’s much easier to get earned media (coming up next) if there’s chatter online about your campaign.
Pros: best platform to create a conversation; helpful when trying to get earned media
Cons: while you control what you say, you can really only control one side of the conversation
Earned Media Strategies
Traditional PR, buzz, word-of-mouth advertisement, and blogger outreach all fall into the earned media category. Once you get a buy-in from key influencers in your sphere, they will then share your content with their audiences, greatly boosting your campaign’s reach.
Pros: external endorsement from outside individuals and orgs; can significantly amplify the reach of your campaign
Cons: hardest to measure because you have limited control
Paid Media Strategies
You guessed it: paid media strategies require payment to use a channel. The most effective ads will drive your target audience to owned media in order to create more earned, and shared media.
Pros: harness the power and reach of social media (Facebook ads, Twitter promoted posts, Adwords, etc.); paid ad campaign opportunities are nearly endless
Cons: it may take some time to establish a working knowledge of digital ad platforms
