Earned Media is content published by a third-party which isn’t paid for, such as favourable customer reviews, social media posts by consumers about a brand and so on. These can help drive brand awareness, generate brand persona and direct traffic towards owned media such as websites, blogs and social media for that brand.
Earned Media is often generated by loyal customers and brand advocates and can be incredibly beneficial as it utilises the increased trust consumers have for fellow consumers rather than a brand.
Essentially, if a brand uses paid advertising or owned media to promote the message of high quality in their products, consumers will dismiss that as biased marketing content. On the other hand, Earned Media – coming from fellow consumers without payment – is more trustworthy and, therefore, carries a more impactful message.