Owned media is a concept probably known among people working in marketing agencies or professionally involved in marketing. However, for some business owners, marketing is probably just one of many responsibilities. Therefore, it is worth getting to know this, perhaps, new industry term. This concept can be essential to create a marketing strategy with optimal reach.
According to the IAB report, as many as 80% of the surveyed companies use various content-marketing tools. Generally, there are three channels through which they communicate their content. Owned media are basically the channels that the company creates and controls. It can be a company blog, YouTube channel, website or Facebook profile. Even if a company does not "own" its YouTube channel or Facebook profile, it still controls them with regard to the content posted.
The second type of media is the so-called earned media. This concept is understood as sharing content about the company, its products, services, etc., by customers, the press or the public. The important thing is that all these references are voluntarily articulated by others. The third type is paid media, i.e. various types of content for the publication of which the brand has to pay - to the owner of the portal, influencer or as part of the strategy online marketing. In the further part of the post, we will take a closer look at the former, i.e. owned media.
What is owned media?
Owned media are all company-owned channels through which the content that is created and maintained by the company is communicated. In the past, a brand's digital media consisted mostly of the company's website and little else. In today's Internet, own media consists of a number of different elements. E-mail campaigns are a popular way of staying in touch with customers. Most companies also run their own profiles on various social media. Some publish reports, e-books, company blog posts, create podcasts and webinars. All these additional media channels are classified as proprietary.
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Owned media - definition
Owned media are currently the most popular form of promoting e-commerce brands. The online store itself is a solid base of content. The other most popular forms of owned media include: a thematic blog, a dedicated landing page and your own application.
Within the owned media, we most often use tools such as: how-to content, lifestyle photo galleries, films and animations, infographics, interviews and reviews, newsletters and mailings, podcasts and webinars, reports and case studies. The content presented on the owned media is managed by the company on its own, fully deciding what style and character it will have.
Owned media is based on valuable and authentic content. They are a treasury from which brands can draw full handfuls. Choosing a specific owned media channel entails selecting specific content. Each platform has its own specifics that must be taken into account when developing a content marketing strategy. The content published in owned media must be tailored to the goal we intend to achieve thanks to it and to the needs and preferences of our target group. The launch of the owned media channel should be preceded by a thorough analysis of these factors.
Owned media is a kind of commitment we make to the user of our channels. By entering our website or blog, he believes that he will find only reliable, true and valuable content there. It is important that the creation of content is preceded by a thorough analysis of customers - their needs and problems.
Content marketing is at the heart of owned media. The times of pushy promotion of products and services are long gone. Currently, almost all companies that invest in marketing implement original content and more and more of them perceive the advantage of having their own media.
Owned media - quotes
As Jim Morrison used to say, "Whoever controls the media controls the mind." There is no doubt that the profits from owning your own media and original content with effectively implemented promotion significantly exceed the costs associated with their publication. The undoubted advantages of owned media include the fact that we have full control over them. We decide what, how, when and how often it will be published. In addition, we can personalize our messages, thanks to which they enable building long-term and valuable relationships with users. Content published in owned media, with appropriate optimization, is highly rated by Google search engine algorisms.
"Great content is the best sales tool in the world." said Marcus Sheridan. This sentence was perfectly complemented by Andrew Dawis, adding that “Content builds relationships. Relationships are based on trust. Trust fuels revenues. " Companies often perceive profiles on the most popular social networking sites as owned media. Although we have complete control over the published content when publishing on Facebook, Instagram or Tic Tocu, these media will never be "our media", unless we plan to buy shares of their owners. We lease them from whoever made the platform available, so it is important to redirect social media users to our website or blog.
According to Doug Kessler, “Traditional marketing speaks to people. Content marketing talks to them. " Creating and sharing valuable content is currently the most effective way to attract and transform potential customers into buyers who regularly use our offer. This mechanism is effective for both large corporations and small businesses. Building valuable relationships guides the functioning of every company, and the production and distribution of content that people expect will sooner or later contribute to building lasting ties with the brand.
As Jon Buscall emphasizes - “Content marketing is an obligation, not a campaign. When planning an investment in the development of owned media, it should be remembered that it will be a long-term process, requiring consistency and regular publication of valuable and original content. A very important element of running an effective owned media is a meticulously prepared content promotion and distribution plan, built on the basis of a specific communication strategy.
What is included in own media?
The company should develop a diverse portfolio of owned media assets. Thanks to this, it is able to maximize the possibility of attracting the attention of potential customers. One of the most popular and important forms of owned media is Web page. Often, it is the first thing that potential customers see. A well-designed one provides visitors with all the information they can search for about the company. Regardless of the industry, the goal of a website should be to increase revenue by providing visitors with everything they need and expect.
Almost as common as websites are today social media accounts. It's a great place to grow your brand by publishing engaging content that aligns with your company's identity. Social media is one of the fastest growing areas of marketing, which is why communication strategy Owned media that takes them into account is nowadays a must have for every company.
Another popular channel for companies to tell their story and build a larger, more dedicated audience is podcasts. Also used to engage potential customers e-mail lists and newsletters. While the importance of print media is said to be losing ground, some companies still choose to physical newsletter sent or made available to customers, e.g. in their own showroom, if the company is a car dealer. As in the case of an e-mail list, an internal company newsletter allows the brand to send any content that it creates and fully controls to its customers.
Owned media - examples of activities
Developing and implementing an owned media strategy requires commitment. What can help you maximize your actions? The company can take an example from trade publications. Produced for publishers content is also their product. The purpose of this content is to help your target audience. This brings them income. Companies, in turn, often create content aimed at promoting the brand. Let's look at owned media as intermediaries between customers and the company. How to provide value to your audience through your communication channels? By asking yourself what the readers will get from reading the published content.
What else can a company do to maximize the potential of owned media? Do not be afraid to experiment, as various social networks do. They are constantly trying out new ways to keep users interested. They can introduce a new algorithm that will make some content viral without any special promotional action. They encourage the use of a specific content format. Images dominated most social networking sites in 2012-2016, while the movie era began in 2017. In the case of the latter, a gradual change in type and duration can also be noticed. By tracking what is gaining popularity, a business may be trying to create content in these formats to gain chances of increasing organic reach.
What cannot be overlooked in an owned media strategy is being up to date with the latest SEO developments. Advertising campaign Google Ads this option is definitely worth considering as a support for the brand's own communication channels with consumers.
Owned media as part of a marketing strategy
Own media are the basis of online marketing efforts due to several aspects. First, they give the company full control over whether the content is published, as the company is directly responsible for it. Another issue is the range. Targeted social media posts and content that aims to rank high on long keywords can increase your business reach faster than other reach channels. What companies appreciate about owned media is also the longevity of content that never really disappears from the Internet. Besides, it is a good solution for most companies content recycling and consequently cost-effectiveness.
Since owned media gives you full control of the resources they own, companies are free to adjust their content strategy and manage the publication schedule to suit their needs. The success of the adopted strategy may have a domino effect. When a business consistently creates valuable, engaging content, for example for its blog, it drives traffic to product pages. Additionally, it puts the company in the role of an expert in its field and builds trust in the brand. At Commplace, we appreciate the power of owned media. Soon, we will share our knowledge and support in this area with our clients, creating engaging content also for their company blogs.
Owned media build a community
Small businesses with specialized activities can successfully run a blog targeted at a specific niche. Thanks to it, they can not only inform about successes and new products in an accessible way, but also present interesting ways of using the offered products or services. At the same time, it is worth remembering to test various formats of the content presented: reviews, guide texts, photos, graphics and videos, as well as other original forms.
Large companies much more often choose to run typical lifestyle blogs, where the product is only one of the elements of a specific lifestyle. These types of blogs are dedicated to mass audiences.
Vortals, i.e. websites focused on a specific field or subject, are also becoming more and more popular among companies that decide to run owned media. Here, their specialization is as important as the quality of the content. Vortals are an ideal way to build a loyal and highly engaged community around a specific brand.
How to create owned media?
It is worth starting the creation of valuable owned media by optimizing the website and checking which products are the most popular among potential customers. It is around them that we should build our media.
There is no effective owned media without diligent work in creating and promoting content ideally suited to a given target group. The Internet is currently the first medium that we reach for in search of specific information. The question of their source is secondary. Of course, everyone cares about reaching only proven content and channels, but in practice it turns out that we simply value what we consider to be valuable at a given moment in practice.
As public relations agency we suggest - just creating valuable content is not enough. A significant part of the marketer's efforts is spent properly promoting the created content and attracting attention to a specific channel owned media. In marketing practice, the approach is that 20% of the efforts of the department responsible for content should be spent on its creation, and as much as 80% on its distribution. Our goal is to ensure that the right content reaches the right people at the right time. Even the most interesting content will become worthless if no one discovers it. In order for a given channel to serve us, it is necessary to create and implement an appropriate link circulation mechanism and invest in effective forms of content promotion.