Earned media is any free publicity your business gets from outside sources, not from your own advertising efforts. It’s media that you organically “earn,” hence its name. Examples of earned media are mentions of your brand on social media, positive reviews of your business on your Google Business or Etsy profile, or positive coverage of your business from the press.
This is in contrast to paid media, which is marketing you specifically pay for to get results — aka advertising. This includes your Facebook ads or TV commercials. The third in this trio is owned media, which is all the media you own and control, like your social media profile, website, and email marketing campaigns.
All three — earned, owned, and paid media — are necessary in getting audiences to notice and take interest in your business. But if you’re a small business, earned media will probably be your best friend as it’s the most accessible of the three, costs next to nothing, and is a straight pathway to building a credible and trustworthy reputation for a growing business that doesn’t have the backing of a full PR and marketing team.
Earned media vs owned media vs paid media
- Earned media: Free publicity that comes from external sources like social media mentions and positive reviews on review sites
- Owned media: Media platforms you own and control, such as your social media profile or blog
- Paid media: Marketing that you pay for (aka advertising), from Facebook ads to radio ads
How earned media works
Earned media is basically free online publicity, so for many marketers, it’s the most important form of media among the three. Getting earned media means your business is receiving organic public attention. And the more your business is publicly mentioned, the wider your brand awareness and credibility.
That’s the core of how earned media works: It’s online word-of-mouth marketing for your brand. It brings credibility to your business in an organic, authentic, and non-intrusive way. It’s when people share your post on social media without you having to pay advertising dollars. It’s when customers leave a positive review on your Yelp or Google Business Profile, or when a blogger links to your website in one of their blogs.
Media like these don’t just put your business in front of wider audiences, they also bring you more credibility in a world where over 75% of consumers trust recommendations on social media over marketing messages from advertisers.
However, earned media doesn’t always come naturally. You’ll need to put in some work to earn that free media and publicity — work like publishing content, optimizing for search engines, and building profiles on various platforms (more on creating an earned media strategy below). These put your brand out online and make it accessible to the public.
Why earned media should be part of your marketing strategy
Most of all, because it’s organic and makes your brand feel more authentic and trustworthy to audiences. It’s not, for example, another Facebook ad your audience will probably just scroll past. It’s the difference between a YouTube ad that your audience will skip and a thoughtful product review from a YouTube vlogger that people will actually listen to and take to heart.
If you’ve ever been more convinced to buy a product from a good review rather than an advertisement, then you know how powerful earned media can be.
- Earned media builds brand credibility and trust: More than anything, this is why earned media matters. Today, community influence shapes buying decisions more than brand messages. 79% of consumers say recommendations from friends, family, and fellow buyers most influence their online shopping behavior.Meanwhile, only 18% of customers trust brand advertisements. And in an era with ads on every screen and in the middle of every video, is that really surprising? Word-of-mouth marketing feels more authentic and relatable — all things you want for your brand.
- Earned media spreads your brand far and wide. The best marketing is the marketing that happens by itself. Getting earned media means your business is being spread far and wide beyond the channels you own and control, like your website or social media profiles (aka your owned media).Earned media means your brand appears on other people’s social media feeds, or even your Google Business Profile ranks higher on someone’s Google search results because it has many positive reviews.
- It builds up your brand reputation. Getting all those online mentions doesn’t just mean wider brand awareness. Google and other algorithms also interpret it as your brand being a trusted authority and source of information in the online world. And being a trusted authority helps you rank higher on Google search results and social media feeds.
Common challenges with earned media
I’m a big supporter of earned media for small businesses, but there are some things to note, too, like earned media being almost impossible to measure. Also, not all publicity about your brand will be positive. Earned media can also sometimes mean getting negative comments on your posts or bad reviews on your profiles, which aren’t things you can control.
- Earned media can be difficult to track and measure. While some social media platforms offer social listening tools that let you track how people mention your brand online, tracking your overall earned media across channels is next to impossible. This also makes it difficult to track your earned media growth over time and whether your strategies are working.
- Not all free publicity is good publicity. And you can’t guarantee or control how the public will talk about your business. Sometimes, all you can do with a bad review is remedy it with a polite and understanding response.
- Not all earned media is high quality. In a similar vein, not all earned media your business will get will be relevant. For example, getting spam reviews on your profile or bogus backlinks from low-quality sites is not uncommon. They’re unavoidable parts of the process of getting earned media. The good news: They’re easy to overcome by doubling down on building a positive reputation.
- Earned media is a long process. There’s no set formula for getting earned media, and the strategies that work will be different for every business. Getting plenty of backlinks might work for a B2B tech startup, for example, but not if you have a community restaurant, where collecting reviews might fare better. Earned media is also a lengthy trial-and-error process that entails testing different strategies before finding the right ones.
Types of earned media (+ examples)
There aren’t official “categories” of earned media, but they can generally fall into three groups: customer reviews, brand mentions, and backlinks.
1. Customer reviews
Customer reviews are pretty straightforward. They can take the form of reviews on your Google Business Profile, Facebook page, Yelp listing, or anywhere else your business gets reviews. Positive reviews are an underrated powerhouse in building your online reputation. The more positive reviews your business has online, the better your brand reputation and the more easily audiences will trust you.
Positive reviews are some of the most subtly powerful earned media examples that boost your brand credibility. (Source: Google)
2. Brand mentions
Brand mentions are the widest category of earned media. They encompass everything from reposts of your content on social media to mentions of your brand in the press to shoutouts from creators.
For example, if a YouTube vlogger did an unboxing and demo of one of your products (without being paid to do so), that’s a pretty significant brand mention. Other earned media examples are if people post about their experiences with your business on social media, or if your event makes it on the local news.
While brand mentions are one of the easiest ways to get earned media, they’re also the trickiest because there’s no guarantee that all your brand mentions will be positive. You can’t control what people say about your brand online.
The best way to avoid getting negative brand mentions is not to give your brand a reason to be in one. Avoid common social media mistakes like jumping on the wrong trends without doing prior research or using misleading captions.
3. Backlinks
Finally, backlinks are links from other sources to your business. These can be links to your website from a blog or news story, or social media posts tagging your business’s profile. What differentiates them from brand mentions is that they have a direct link to your brand that people can follow. For example, Sharon Palmer, a well-known vegan nutritionist from LA, regularly blogs about the best vegan restaurants in LA, giving those restaurants free credible publicity.
Backlinks give people direct entry points into your brand online. They also help you build a solid brand presence because the more backlinks a website or social media profile has, the more likely it’ll rank on search results when people look for your product or service online.
More earned media examples in action
Earned media in the digital age can mean many things, from posts on X (Twitter) about your brand to user-taken photos of your business on your Google Business Profile. Some of my favorite examples of earned media are user-generated content like Airbnb photos from its customers, or even the ALS ice bucket challenge from back in 2014, which, in retrospect, really was one of the best examples of earned media.
- Users posting about Airbnb on X. One of Airbnb’s biggest selling points is the interior design of its homes. And when Airbnb customers post photos of their Airbnb finds, it’s free online publicity for the platform.
Airbnb customers posting photos of their stays effectively give Airbnb free publicity. (Source: Airbnb)
- Customer-taken photos on Cafe Intermezzo’s Google Business Profile. GBPs are a great platform for user-generated content (UGC). Aside from written reviews, customers can also upload photos of your business on your profile. These customer-taken photos will show up on your public profile and can sometimes help you appear on Google image results.
Customers leaving photos on your Google Business Profile is also free earned media (and boosts your trustworthiness). (Source: Cafe Intermezzo)
- The 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. One of the most memorable examples of earned media is the viral 2014 ALS ice bucket challenge. The whole challenge is a case study on organic online virality and how it can quickly gain your brand (or your cause) free media and publicity.
The 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is one of the best examples of online virality via earned media. (Source: The ALS Association)
How to get earned media: Building an earned media strategy
So, how do you start earning all that good media and publicity? One thing all the earned media examples above have in common is that they’re all organic and authentic. People create them of their own accord.
But how do you get people to make content about your business organically? The key is to make your brand accessible and credible. People should be able to reach and trust you easily to make content about your brand.
Doing this takes a combination of strategies. First, your brand needs to be active on a few different platforms. Then, there are certain actions you can take to prompt audience interactions, like entering your business in events and positioning yourself as an authoritative and trustworthy source.
1. Build profiles on different channels
First things first: People need to be able to find and interact with your brand. The two main platforms for getting earned media are Google and social media. Create a Google Business Profile (if you don’t need a website yet) and a few social media profiles where your target audience is most active and engaged.
Make sure all your business’s profiles and pages have complete information like your business name, address, website or online store, and contact information, so audiences can easily find the information they need. Then, make them easy to access. If you have a physical location, add QR codes to your Google and social media profiles around your store so people can easily leave reviews. Place links to your social media pages on your website and vice versa.
2. Publish content that’s interesting to your audience
Specifically, publish content that’s interesting enough for your audience to want to interact with. Find out what interests your audience — what they’re discussing on social media, what pain points and challenges they complain about, what content types they’re interacting with — then publish content around that.
For example, maybe your cafe’s audience is interested in the types of beans that go into their cup of coffee, so you make videos about where your coffee beans are sourced and how they’re processed.
Content that’s naturally interesting to audiences, whether via blogs or on social media, is more likely to elicit reactions and build that all-important rapport necessary for earning media.
3. Engage with your audience and reshare their content
Engagement is everything online, especially on social media. Don’t be that brand that constantly posts but never replies to comments and tags — that’s an instant engagement killer. Interacting with your people, whether by responding to comments on your blog or brand tags on social media, builds an active community that’s more likely to encourage earned media.
If you get any posts that mention your brand, show appreciation and reshare them on your profile. For consumers and customers, getting a response or a repost can promote a sense of connection. It might even give them a serotonin boost and the satisfaction of knowing they got your attention in a friendly way. Reinforce those positive feelings by engaging back.
Take a look at how brands like Duolingo and Wendy’s built active online fan bases that consistently give them free publicity. It’s because they also consistently keep audiences engaged. Show up for audiences and they’ll show up for you.
4. Send press releases before important events to get press coverage
The most established way to earn media coverage for your business is by sending press releases to get your business in the news. Make sure you have a noteworthy event or angle for journalists to cover, like the grand opening of a new store, a new business acquisition, or a notable product launch.
Then, write your press release, and send it to the press. For local coverage, your local weekly paper, town magazine, or regional news stations will likely have a form or email where you can submit copy and photos to accompany your story. Sending a press release is the most credible way to gain coverage about your business from the press.
Press releases aren’t as inaccessible as you might think and are a good option to consider if you have an event or announcement you want to send out to the wider public. For small businesses, the best press release service we recommend at Fit Small Business is EIN Presswire. It’s helped hundreds of small businesses get their stories in front of journalists.
5. Make it easy to leave reviews about your business
Reviews are one of the core parts of earned media. Whether you’re using Google Business Profile, Yelp, Etsy, or Amazon, keep your review links in accessible places. If you have a physical location, place QR codes around your store.
You can even physically ask for reviews — most people are happy to leave them if they have a positive experience. Request reviews via email or SMS post-purchase if you have a fully online setup.
6. Hack social media engagement through challenges and contests
Here’s one trick I learned to prompt social media engagement and publicity: Hold contests and giveaways. If you sell products, offer giveaways whenever you launch a new product. If you offer services, provide a free service as a prize for a contest. Some examples of contests are photo submission contests, “reply and tag to win” contests, or getting the highest number of likes on a themed photo.
7. Invite bloggers and the press to important events
Bloggers and reporters usually have a dedicated beat covering small businesses during noteworthy events like store openings, key new hires, or unconventional publicity stunts. If you have a newsworthy event similar to these, invite the press by writing a media advisory and send it to your target journalists or bloggers.
However, don’t just target a generic mailbox like “contact@news.com.” For example, if your cafe is launching a new menu, invite a few local food bloggers. If your gym is hosting a grand opening, invite your local news publication’s lifestyle reporter. Likewise, tailor your pitch to each blogger and news publication. Explain why you think your event is relevant to their audience.
8. Participate in small business events and expos
Joining small business events like conferences, fairs, and trade shows is almost a guaranteed way to get earned media. Events like these have the express purpose of helping you promote your small business and network with fellow small business owners. They also usually have reporters on-site to cover the event, and potentially get your business some publicity.
There may or may not be an entrance fee depending on the event. Websites like the US Small Business Administration and Small Business Expo usually list small business events in your area, or check out your local community center.
9. Publish authoritative blogs or original data that position you as an expert
The more authority your business has in your niche, whether you run a vegan restaurant or an auto repair shop, the more likely it is to get earned media. Being an authoritative source makes other bloggers and news outlets more likely to reference your work.
For example, if you run a vegan restaurant, you might publish blogs about how vegan restaurants work and what goes into making vegan food — insider insights that others wouldn’t know about. Content like this increases your credibility and makes you more likely to be referenced as a resource by other people.
10. Offer yourself as an expert or source to journalists
Journalists always need sources. Offer yourself as one in your particular niche to earn free media coverage, even if it isn’t your business that’s being covered. For example, say you own a vegan restaurant and a reporter writes a story about veganism in your local area.
They might need a quote or soundbite to back up their story, which could come from you and earn some publicity for your business. This is much easier if you maintain connections with journalists who have already covered your business or position yourself as an expert authority in your niche (see above).
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Earned media is any free publicity you get from people outside your business. It can take the form of social media posts about your brand from users, media coverage about your business by the press, or reviews about your business on review sites.
Earned media is one of three forms of media that market your brand, along with owned media, which is any media you own and control, like your website or social media page, and paid media, which is paid advertising for your business.
Earned media is sometimes called “user-generated content,” but they’re not always the same. While user-generated content (UGC) falls under earned media, not all earned media is user-generated content, because earned media also encompasses press coverage, not just online media. Earned media is sometimes known as “earned content” or “organic visibility,” which all mean the same thing.
While earned media can sometimes include PR strategies to gain press coverage, it specifically includes free, organic publicity. For example, earned media also includes positive reviews about your business from customers or social media reshares and mentions of your brand, both of which are organic and unprompted content from regular people. The biggest difference between earned media and PR is that it includes free, authentic publicity from regular, non-PR people.
Bottom line
Earned media is more commonplace and important than you think. Earned media, aka free publicity, grants your business a wider public presence and greater credibility because of its authentic, straight-from-the-people nature. In a world where customers trust fellow customers and peers more than marketing professionals and brands, that’s important.
Incorporating earned media into your marketing strategy starts by making your brand visible on multiple platforms and prompting engagement and coverage through strategic content and events.
