Earned media: you get what you pay for

The popularity of “earned media” is on the rise in marketing circles, but does the cost versus reward equation actually add up? 

In the B2B marketing game, rule number one is to make sure your content gets read by the right people.  

But with a never-ending glut of content for users to choose from these days, “build it and they will come” – or “write it and they will come”, as it may be – is a poor mantra to use in today’s oversaturated media environment. 

At Prime Creative Media, we’ve seen countless companies invest time and money in having PR agencies create content for them and distribute it to media outlets in the hope of securing “earned” (that is, free) coverage for the content. 

Smart marketers have already realised that this approach isn’t working. You’re paying twice – for content creation and distribution – with no guarantee that the content will even make it into any media sources. 

In the B2B sector, the right distribution channels are reputable trade media publications that have built an engaged audience of potential buyers within an industry. 

And the fact is, they simply aren’t giving away their valuable real estate for nothing. 

Cutting out the middleman 

Earned media sounds great in theory, but like many things that seem too good to be true, it usually is. 

If priority one in content marketing is having your material read by the right people, it just makes sense to go right to the source – the publications your target market is actively engaging with for their industry news. 

Instead of spending time writing content that might not connect with your target audience and might not be featured in the publications they read, paid media usually comes with the same (or lower!) price tag, allowing you to get your message to market quickly and more effectively. 

Most trade media publishers will work directly with you to develop your content in a way that connects. Every publication at Prime Creative Media offers advertising partners written content in print or online, written by Editors and Journalists who are experts in your industry, with a focus on capturing the attention of our engaged readers. 

Like many things in life, nothing worthwhile is free – so with content, make the investment and reap the rewards!