Awareness Building & Media Strategy

We help you navigate the confusing world of online media to maximize your resources.

Advertising vs. Earned Media

To make the most of your marketing resources to increase awareness of your business, we recommend using a strategic and creative combination of Advertising and Earned Media.

First, Let's Clear Up the Confusion

People often conflate marketing with advertising. And even more so, they’re not clear on what earned media is, let alone public relations. Or how it all fits together.

On top of that, most businesses don’t realize that social media isn’t really free anymore.

We’re here to help you sort through the mess of promotional opportunities out there.

Earned Before Paid

Earned and paid advertising work in combination to help build awareness for a company. In most cases, we suggest small businesses explore all their earned media opportunities before paying for advertising. However, there are many exceptions to this rule. 

Promotional Planning Based on a Strategic Foundation

Before we can make recommendations about how to promote your business, we'll need to know your target audience, what they care about, the media they use, and the messages that will resonate with them. All this may be organized in an effective promotional strategy. In addition, developing an integrated approach to creative development is incredibly important for building momentum efficiently as well.

Understanding the Difference Can Make All the Difference

Earned Media

Earned doesn't involve paying for placement of articles or other communications, but it can cost money to produce, such as blogs on your website, social media posts, or putting out press releases.

Any of the following is considered Earned Media, which can benefit your business in terms of Search Engine Visibility as well as boosting awareness with your target audience. Earned is also often considered to be more credible than advertising (but there are always exceptions).

• There's content you control on your site, such as blogs, pillar, and resource pages. And content you control that you self-publish in other places, as in social sites like LinkedIn and publishing sites like Medium.
• Of course, social media is it's own thing, and it can either burn you out or completely drive your business. It depends on many factors, and thinking strategically about how you use social media is incredibly important.
• There's content you'd like to see appear on other websites, but it may require editorial review. This falls into the category of Public Relations or PR.

Advertising

Advertising is anything you pay for, from creating brochures through buying ads on Google. 

Before you spend a dime on advertising, let us help you understand the differences and how to choose what will work for your business within your budget.