A guide for digital growth
We often speak to clients who know they need to invest in digital marketing but simply don’t know where to start or where to allocate their budget. This is particularly true for brands that are still in the early stages of digital growth.
The framework of owned, earned & paid media is a simple but effective way to assess your current digital strategy and determine where to focus next. This post will explain the differences between these three areas and how they work together to drive scalable, sustainable growth.
There are three key areas to consider when developing a digital marketing strategy - earned, owned, and paid media.
What is earned media?
Earned media is everything that happens outside of your owned channels and it’s the area you have the least direct control over. It’s driven by how customers, influencers, and the media talk about your brand.
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Blog posts featuring your product or service
- Social media mentions and shares
- PR coverage and media features
Earned media is often seen as the most credible because it comes from third-party sources rather than the brand itself. This is why influencer marketing, digital PR, and community-building have become critical for brands looking to build trust and authority.
What is owned media?
Owned media refers to platforms and content that your brand fully controls. These are the digital assets you can shape and optimise to communicate directly with your audience.
- Your website and blog
- Email marketing and CRM lists
- Organic social media channels
- SEO-optimised content that ranks on Google
Owned media is the foundation of a long-term digital strategy. Without strong owned channels, you’re constantly relying on paid ads or external platforms to reach your audience. Investing in owned media reduces dependency on external algorithms and helps increase customer lifetime value.
Read more: how to build a high-performance digital marketing strategy
What is paid media?
Paid media refers to any form of digital advertising where you invest a budget to reach a wider audience. While it’s the fastest way to scale traffic and revenue, it works best when combined with owned and earned media.
- Meta ads & Google ads (PPC, display, shopping ads)
- Social media advertising (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest)
- Influencer collaborations with paid placements
- Sponsored content or advertorials
Although brands often invest in SEO, it’s still considered owned media because it impacts your website’s organic rankings rather than requiring ongoing ad spend.
Where do owned, earned & paid media overlap?
It’s easy to see how these categories sometimes overlap. For example:
- PPC ads impact your website traffic, making it a mix of paid and owned media.
- Blogger outreach campaigns blend PR (earned) with paid placements.
- Boosting an organic post on social media creates a hybrid of owned, paid & earned media.
This is where the owned, earned & paid media framework becomes useful. Instead of viewing these as separate silos, the goal is to create a strategy that integrates all three.
How to prioritise your digital strategy
A siloed approach doesn’t work. Simply focusing on one area while ignoring the others will limit your growth. Here’s how to prioritise where to invest:
- If your owned media isn’t strong - a paid media strategy will struggle. Sending traffic to an unoptimised website or weak content funnel will only waste ad spend.
- If your earned media is lacking - consumers today seek third-party validation before making a purchase. A strong PR, community, and influencer strategy will help bridge that gap.
- If paid media is your only growth lever - over-reliance on paid ads makes your business vulnerable to algorithm changes and rising acquisition costs. Investing in owned & earned reduces long-term risk.
Final thoughts
Successful digital strategies don’t rely on just one type of media.
- Owned media is your foundation - your website, email list, and SEO content.
- Earned media builds credibility and trust through organic buzz and PR.
- Paid media amplifies reach, driving immediate traffic and conversions.
By assessing which area needs the most attention, you can prioritise efforts for maximum impact.
Need help building a digital strategy? Get in touch, and we’ll help develop a tailored approach that integrates owned, earned & paid media for long-term growth.