Owned media refers to all media assets that are maintained and controlled by a brand. It serves as the foundation of your paid and earned media efforts.
What Is Owned Media?
Owned media refers to all the properties that you own and have full control over, including websites, blogs, and social networks. From these touchpoints, brands can connect with prospects in ways that third-party avenues are unable to provide.
So how does owned media differ from paid and earned media?
Unlike owned media, which doesn’t need to be purchased, paid media refers to all the assets that you pay for, including ads and sponsorships. Earned media, on the other hand, are assets that are given voluntarily by consumers. Examples include customer reviews, retweets, and shares.
Paid and earned media drive traffic to your owned media. Depending on the quality and value of your owned properties, your prospects may convert into paying customers.
Examples of Owned Media
There are many types of owned media properties. Aside from websites and blogs, gated resources—such as ebooks, reports, and case studies—are owned media too.
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Website/Blog
The company website is arguably the most important type of owned media available. Aside from providing a space for selling your products and services online, a website serves as a gateway for continuous engagements with consumers. You can provide valuable content through your blog. By asking visitors to sign up, you can reach out to prospects and keep them up to date with promotional emails and newsletters.
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Social media
Social networks have become such an integral part of business. Whether through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you can engage with audiences on a personal level. You can humanize the brand and maintain a consistent voice when you reach out to audiences.
Although you can control the messaging and branding through your social channels, you don’t own these popular social networks. Additionally, you have to follow the terms and conditions they’ve set. Some might call them shared media instead of owned media for that reason.
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Gated content
Gated resources, such as case studies, ebooks, and whitepapers, are also owned media. They’re hosted within a website but aren’t available to readers until they fill in a form. These are often used to help brands gain valuable data about prospects.
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Forums
Whether you use self-hosted software or social media, online forums are owned media, where you can share content and build a community. If these forums are on social media, they’re governed by the terms and conditions of their respective platforms. In such cases, some people might argue that they‘re shared media.
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Email marketing
Email marketing counts as owned media. That’s because even if you’re hiring a third-party service or tool, you own the email list, as well as the content.
Depending on the platforms you use, your assets might cost you a few dollars to several hundred dollars to set up. That’s just for the domain and hosting of your website. With a plug-and-play platform, you can launch your assets in no time. However, you also have the option to take your time and put more thought into your channels.
The Importance of Owned Media
Along with paid and earned media, owned media is one of the cornerstones of online marketing. It enables you to create and maintain a consistent brand voice. It also lets you influence the purchasing decisions of consumers.
Here are a few other reasons why owned media matters:
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Full control
Since you have complete control over your owned media properties, you have the freedom to decide what content you want to share. You also get to choose when you want to share your content.
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Cost-effective
Compared to other media assets, owned properties enable you to distribute content at little to no cost. You don’t have to pay for your content to show up before your target audience.
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Published directly on your site
You can publish content directly on your website, blog, or social media channels.
Your owned media is an essential part of your marketing strategy because it helps you nurture long-term relationships with consumers. It also enables you to earn other forms of media. If you consistently produce compelling content on your owned properties, you’ll eventually receive earned media, such as guest posts, interviews, and podcast invitations.
