Marketing used to be easy to execute because it was all about formulating a paid media strategy. The small business owner would spend their budget on print advertising with third party publications or at trade shows. Unfortunately, as the joke goes, "The business owner knew that 50% of their marketing worked, they just didn’t know which 50%!" Larger companies hired celebrities (think Brad Pitt for Chanel No. 5 and Danica Patrick for GoDaddy) to endorse their products. By enlarge, advertising was an acceptable, yet inefficient way to find new customers.
Fast forward to the Internet age where paid media is no longer the only or best choice for the small business owners. Profitable companies instead use POEM: Paid, Owned, and Earned Media marketing techniques to find and retain customers. Some marketing experts call this converged media.
Here is the difference between the three media models:
Paid media: This is traditionally print and banner advertisements. On the web, companies use Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which is sometimes called Pay Per Click (PPC) in the form of Google Adwords or Bing Ads. Companies bid for specific search terms and pay per user click. This type of marketing can be very effective for identifying new prospects. It also can scale well and costs can be controlled. Clickers are many times looking to buy right away. The main disadvantage of paid media is that it is not typically trusted by the prospect who may be afraid to click through on a sponsored link.
Owned media: This includes the company’s website, blog, infographics, social media profiles, email, and Youtube channels. The advantages of this media is total control over its content and cost. This type of marketing can be very effective for lead nurturing. The disadvantages are that many times the company’s message is not trusted and with organic search, it takes time for this information to get to prospects.
Earned media: These are recommendations by customers about the company’s products or services. Think Yelp, Trip Advisor, Amazon, social media shares and likes. The advantages of this type of media are that it is very influential with buyers. The disadvantages are that it may be negative and it is very difficult to control. Results of earned media are also sometimes hard to measure.
In fact, these earned media reviews are the most powerful marketing for any small business. In the annual Nielsen global trust in advertising survey, recommendations from people a customer knows is the biggest factor in influencing a decision. Number two on the list is not branded websites or paid ads, but recommendations posted online from previous buyers that the customer does not know. Earned media is seen as one of the most unbiased recommendations and the social proof that buyers need to take action.
For paid and owned media, it is also important not just to continually use these marketing techniques for pushing the company’s product. A lot of communication for small businesses revolves around new products or discounted offerings. Over time, the consumer gets conditioned to ignore these pitches. Use content marketing in both of these areas as a way to identify and nurture a lead. Remember, companies don’t sell, but rather customers now buy. The key is for the customer to remember the company’s brand expertise when they need to buy. A simple owned media campaign revolving around helpful content will achieve this.
The key for any small business is to find the right portfolio mix of all three POEM marketing based on budget and results. How do you focus your marketing in your small business?
