Your organization has a great story to tell, but choosing the right avenue for your story can be just as important as the story itself. Understanding when to use earned, owned and paid media, and how they can work together, can help your organization reach the right people and turn a great story into meaningful impact.
Owned Media
These are your owned platforms. Your website, social media and email newsletters are your biggest resources because you have full control over messaging and timing. This means you get to decide what is shared and how you build relationships with your audience.
💡 Tip! When you connect with someone at your next networking event, ask them if you can sign them up for your organization’s newsletter. This ensures organic growth for your subscribers.
Refresh your website content and know which pages are visited more frequently than others. Draft a blog post with fresh content connected to these pages and share this across your owned platforms.
Sharing real stories of impact on your owned channels can also make a big impact. Human-centered stories have stronger engagement, but be sure you’re being ethical and intentional about why you’re sharing. You never want to take advantage of someone’s lived experience.
Earned Media
The earned media world is ever-changing, and it’s normal if it feels like you don’t know where to start. We recommend reading up on recent news stories that are relevant to your organization. These are the reporters you should reach out to when you have a newsworthy story to share. What makes a story newsworthy? Impact, timeliness, proximity, prominence, human interest or novelty stories can spark reporters’ attention.
💡 Tip! Press releases only go so far. A simple pitch with key information can go further, and consider attaching a press release as supplemental information. And always offer a real person for interviews.
Build a media list of about five key reporters who regularly cover your issue area and start building relationships with them before expanding to a larger contact list. When you secure an interview, keep in mind that you can’t control the story. You have control over the pitch and information given to the reporters, but they decide the final story.
Securing a media story builds credibility and will help you reach new audiences. It can take time to land a story, but don’t give up!
Paid Media
Paid media can help you reach new audiences who may not know about your organization. If you have the budget for it, consider launching a paid media campaign on Meta or Google Ads. These are the platforms that tend to require fewer resources to get started.
Reserve paid media campaigns for moments that need guaranteed timing (think Colorado Gives Day!). Ad campaigns are highly targetable. These platforms let you select people by interest, behavior, geography or lookalike audiences of existing contacts.
💡 Tip! With the increase of AI features in digital advertising, always have a human review every ad before it runs. This ensures that no mistakes are made on the back end, and no money is wasted.
We are here to help you identify which avenue is right for your organization’s story. Book a call with us to learn how we can support your team with owned, earned and paid media efforts.
