Integrating Your Credit Union’s Paid, Earned and Owned Media

With the rise of social media, blogs and other “shareable” media, credit unions today have more opportunities than ever before to reach their members, potential members and community partners. Most credit union marketers are familiar with the concepts of paid and earned media, but owned media is relatively new.

Owned media encompasses social media posts, original content pushed out by your company and even photographs and other images.

First, it is important to understand the definitions of each. Forrester has some simple ones:

• Paid media: a channel a brand has paid to use. An example is a print, television or online ad, or other paid placement like a billboard.
• Earned media: a mention of your organization from a third party. Most common are news stories, blog posts (not your own) and positive, unsolicited mentions on social networking sites.
• Owned media: a channel a brand controls. Like your blog, website or social media posts.

In today’s frantic media environment, it is more important than ever that credit unions utilize a media plan encompassing all three types of media. So how can paid, earned and owned media all work together?

A local TV station in your area has a segment dedicated to consumer financial information. You write “Five Tips to Become Financially Fit” and provide them with the content for their segment. They air the tips and mention your credit union. They also post the information on their website. Earned media.

You take those same five tips and post them on your website. You grab the url of the television station’s story, post it on your Facebook page and Twitter account, and reference that these tips are also available on your website, plus more consumer information. Owned media.

You are running paid advertising about upcoming financial literacy seminars or about one of your savings accounts. In the ad, you include one tip along with your website for more information. Paid media.

It’s as simple as using the same content for your paid, earned and owned media. It takes planning and a strategy, and tools like an editorial calendar and media research, but it’s a great way to reinforce your brand, and provide a consistent message on many platforms.