In this blog, we’re discussing the benefits and production of earned media. But before we get into it, let’s make sure you know exactly what we’re talking about. What is earned media, at least in the marketing world?
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Earned media is publicity gained organically through shares, mentions, and word-of-mouth, and it’s a powerfully valuable form of exposure for brands. Unlike paid or owned media, it relies on the audience to spread the message, meaning that the content is deemed more credible and influential.
Read on to find out how to create content to make your business more successful through commercially viral content, by understanding the principles of earned media.
What Does It Mean To Go Commercially Viral?
‘Going viral’ doesn’t just mean racking up a million hits on YouTube or TikTok with a comical video. The distinction of commercial virality lies in the content’s ability to produce tangible business outcomes – whether that’s increased brand exposure, new leads or higher sales and conversions.
But is it even possible to engineer commercial virality, and boost your organic links and traffic through earned media?
Yes and no. Whilst there are certainly strategies and formulas you can follow to create commercially viable (and viral-able) content, the models of what people and web crawlers view as enough for something to go viral are constantly changing.
Let’s explore the basics of creating content that goes commercially viral.
Step 1: Get Your Company Branding Down To A ‘T’
This isn’t a throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks-appropriate strategy. Earned media is all about positioning your brand as the brand. To do that, you must have a comprehensive branding strategy so you can regularly and reliably produce authentic content that goes viral for all the right reasons.
The visuals are crucial. How your content looks will make just as much impact as what it contains. Use striking, high-quality photos, but reduce your image sizes with easy online tools to avoid wasting valuable time on page loading. Those two extra seconds will make all the difference.
Think about the colours of your text, your banners, the clothes people in your videos are wearing, and of course – your logo. If you want something to go viral, it must be highly palatable, but all within the consistency of your branding.
Step 2: Develop A Narrative That Appeals To Your Audience
Step away from the notion that earned media is another form of advertising. Consumers don’t like adverts – why should you believe a company’s statement that they’re the best in the business? On the other hand, if friends and family say the same thing, you’re much more likely to trust them.
One way of leveraging yourself to become a household favourite is to offer content which is easy to share and understand. You’re not just telling consumers to believe that you’re the best, you’re providing genuine value that acts as proof, whilst telling a story.
Catch audience attention with a hook, whether it’s shock, anger, humour, inspiration or awe. Your content should spark an emotional reaction that promotes further discussion. To do this, you must have a solid understanding of your demographic’s pain points, lifestyles and cultural references, otherwise your ‘trigger’ just won’t land.
Step 3: Leverage Trends Without Sacrificing Brand Authenticity
Traditionally, viral videos pave the way for similar content to be produced that leads to easily followed trends. If you see an opportunity to facilitate what’s already going viral into your own organic content, use it as a diving board to tap into the demographic who are already interested.
However, creating commercially viral content for the sake of virality can actually cause more harm than good. If you’ve made a viral-ready video that ticks all the boxes embedded within a blog post about something entirely different, you’ll attract the wrong audience who will click on – and then quickly off – your website.
To Google crawlers, this increased bounce rate creates the impression that you didn’t deliver what the web users wanted from your site. This casts doubt over the authenticity or expertise across the rest of the content you’ve produced.
So, in short – cater to relevant trending elements within your content, but make sure that it is always in line with what you’re offering as a business. Content that goes viral within a smaller but more niche demographic is infinitely more valuable.
Step 4: Keep The Momentum… & The Quality
It’s no good perfecting your viral strategy, only to produce some content that gets people talking before disappearing just as quickly.
Consistency is essential in maintaining your streak of commercially viral content – one might be a fluke, but a steady stream of content, or a piece of content that is valuable and updated regularly enough to maintain interest and relevance demonstrates your place at the top of your industry.
It’s easy to get lost in your area of expertise as a business owner, SEO specialist or marketing guru. If you’re stuck for ideas or running out of content angles, use Q&A formats from your consumer base to fuel topic generation.
Not only will this drive traffic to your blog or videos, you’ll have the reassurance that you’re providing genuinely valuable content your audience wants to see.
If you can create a downloadable PDF, a short-form video with an explanation on how to use something or an otherwise easily shareable and digestible piece of content, chances are it’s going to be shared more often – and more organically.
Step 5: Interrogate The Data & Pivot Your Strategy
First of all, understand what you’re tracking and why you’re tracking it. Simple share statistics just won’t cut it. It’s about knowing why content A performed better than content B, how far down the page readers are scrolling or how long they’re watching despite virality, and what sort of platforms are featuring your earned links
For example if they’re on business blogs or social media sites. If people are saving or downloading your content, that’s a key indicator that they plan to return to it as a valuable resource.
But metrics can’t paint the whole picture, and first impressions matter. This is where the importance of headings, striking images and bold taglines do the legwork.
Whether you’re writing the ultimate checklist, sharing a tutorial video, or uploading a downloadable guide, make sure ample focus is given to the features that will hook a user and encourage them to invest time in your content.
Basically, you want to create a strong desire for something, pique curiosity fast, and then make sure your body content provides the necessary answers or information.
Examples of Earned Media In Business
The content you create for your business with the aim of going commercially viral will depend on your business structure and offerings. For fun, fashionable companies, a scroll-stopping brand video on Instagram or TikTok can drive interest and awareness.
A user-generated challenge or competition with an impressive branded prize is another attractive approach that encourages direct engagement and builds a relationship with potential future customers, such as ‘free annual subscription to our AI text-editing software for the best novel title.’
Companies that rely on trust-building and industry expertise might prefer to stick to a more professional approach and create content that is highly shareable among corporate spaces.
For example, a controversial or bold thought piece on LinkedIn that stimulates lively debate and lots of shares. Even striking up conversation by presenting an interesting question related to your field or company can result in commercial viral success.
Commercially Viral Content: Explore The Power of Earned Media
Earned media is an incredible form of marketing once you know how to do it well. It can turn start-ups into fashionable brands, unknown businesses into household staples, and large unpersonable firms into trustworthy, reliable go-tos.
Creating commercially viral content isn’t a science – nor should it be. Through a careful blend of planning, creativity, innovation, graphic design and data analysis, you can hone your content crafting procedures to be as pruned for virality as they’ll ever be.
Don’t be disheartened if your initial attempts aren’t successful. Track your metrics, tweak elements of your content, and keep measuring your progress. You’ll be the next big thing in no time!
