Owned media is a term used in marketing that refers to the channels in which a company has direct control. This covers electronic media such as websites, blogs, and social media sites, as well as physical media like product packaging, store signage, and company-produced publications. Owned media can be understood as the foundational pieces that can be used to support other forms of marketing such as digital, influencer, and paid media.
Understanding owned media can be a key component to creating a successful marketing strategy. Knowing how to create enchanting content, attract website visitors and make the best use of available tools, eliminates guesswork and enables companies to connect with their customers in a more meaningful way.
When creating an owned media strategy, there are a few key considerations to bear in mind:
Set Clear Objectives
Knowing your desired outcome from the outset gives you a sense of direction and enables you to develop content and initiatives that will help to achieve the desired result. Objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based), and should support your overall business strategy.
Choose the Right Platforms
Choosing the right platforms is essential for developing a successful owned media strategy. It is important to consider where your target audience resides, along with what platform has the necessary features and attainable goals for your brand.
Platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest and Google Maps offer advantages as they are designed to promote businesses, while social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, may be better suited for general consumer audiences.
Develop Quality Content
Quality content is essential, as it helps to attract potential customers, keep people engaged, and differentiate a brand from the competition. Quality content should be relevant, interesting and informative, while also being consistent and regularly updated. Utilising multimedia content such as videos, infographics and podcasts can be a useful way to engage and educate customers.
Grow Your Audience
The more people that interact with your content and visit your website, the better. Utilising search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques can help to increase the visibility of your website and ensure that your content is discovered by more people.
Become a Sales & Marketing Rainmaker
Learn valuable skills to win more customers, grow your business, and increase your profits.
Furthermore, engaging in activities such as sending out promotional emails and running contests can be an effective way to grow your audience.
Analyse, Report and Fine-Tune
It is important to track the progress of your owned media campaign and use the insights gathered to discover what is working and what is not. Analytical programs such as Google Analytics can help determine visitor demographics and reveal how users interact with the website, enabling you to make the necessary changes.
General Guidelines and Best Practices
Overall, the following general guidelines and best practices should be kept in mind when developing an owned media strategy:
• Be consistent and create content regularly
• Promote content on various social media channels
• Utilise multimedia to engage with customers
• Know who your target audience is
• Keep messages clear and concise
• Track the performance of campaigns and make changes accordingly
• Aim to provide value for customers
• Use SEO to increase the visibility of the website
• Test different strategies to determine success
• Adapt to changes in the industry
An effective owned media strategy can be a powerful tool in helping businesses to reach and engage with their customers. By understanding the foundational guidelines and best practices, businesses can create content and initiatives that not only educate customers, but also help to increase brand awareness and generate leads.