Why your brand needs an earned media plan

What is earned media? Earned media describes promotion and publicity that you’ve gained through un-paid efforts such as media relations, or through word-of-mouth. As marketers you should not underestimate the power of earned media. Unbiased points of views and non-paid content are imperative to earning consumers’ trust. As PR pros, and earned media specialists, we maintain strong relationships with key media players and journalists to get our clients’ brands and products the impressions they need to keep top-of-mind.

Many brand managers recognize that while advertising is a controlled medium for delivering their key brand messages, it is also necessary to have third parties, such as journalists and other influencers educate consumers about the key features and benefits of a brand.  These influencers provide credibility and brand endorsement in their own words and are often more persuasive than advertising.

If you have not considered leveraging earned media relations for your brand launch, lets look at what an earned media plan includes:

• Recommendations for measuring both quantitative and qualitative results in traditional and social media.
• Media matrix that includes various types of media that are relevant to your brand i.e. magazines, newspapers, online, blogger outlets and broadcast media.
• Media matrix also includes  “news beats” such as lifestyle, marketing fashion or food, as well as a number of story angles that are most relevant and timely for your specific brand.
• One-to-one outreach conducted by earned media specialists who have long-standing relationships with a variety of media and bloggers.

If your goal is to educate your target audiences about your brand, an earned media plan will help differentiate your brand from your competitors. Here are some key benefits of an earned media plan:

• Builds a brand’s credibility through third party endorsement.
• Provides a variety of story angles that will keep your brand relevant and top-of-mind with your target audience through launch and onward
• Creates buzz on social media that can escalate a brand’s popularity.
• Reaches niche target audiences that can’t always be reached through mass advertising.
• Often delivers incredible value and ROI through not only the quantity of impressions but also through the quality of those impressions.

So, if you’re planning for a new product launch consider an earned media plan as part of your marketing mix.

Harbinger is a Toronto-based North American marketing agency with expertise in product launches. We help brands get noticed and purchased.