Owned media refers to any web property owned and controlled by your brand. The most obvious example of proprietary media is your company’s website. Other examples of owned media include a company blog and social media pages on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Having your own media allows you to increase your brand presence online. Your proprietary media is unique to your brand and forms the foundation of your digital marketing strategy.

The term paid media refers to marketing where you pay to get sales or drive traffic to your owned media pages. Examples of paid media include advertising on sites like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as influencer marketing.

The benefit of paid media is that it can help create more brand exposure and drive highly targeted traffic to your website that converts. The term spontaneous media refers to exposure or publicity gained from alternative methods to paid advertising. A good way to think about earned media is like word of mouth, except it happens in the digital realm. Examples of earned media include endorsements and ratings, as well as content engagement in the form of shares, likes and comments.

The biggest drivers of earned media are quality branded content and strong search engine rankings. Acquired media is important because it helps publicize the brand. Having compelling content and SEO strategies can help put your owned media in the right position for higher engagement rates.

What type of media is right for my business?

Own media should form the foundation of your digital marketing strategy and online brand presence. Both paid and spontaneous media are effective ways to gain additional exposure for your owned media pages.

Acquired media should be a goal for any business with a content marketing strategy, as it helps increase brand awareness and can provide a good return on investment. Well-targeted quality content can help you get earned media.