• by Rob Crumpler , March 15, 2010

Paid and earned media are big buzzwords these days, and increasingly this terminology is used to categorize various digital media strategy components. The language has even captured the attention of industry analyst firm Forrester, which recently published definitions of paid, owned and earned media, and made the case for why an integrated strategy reflecting each of these elements is a winning approach for brand marketers. In a nutshell, Paid Media typically refers to bought advertising (or, in Forrester's words, "paying to leverage a channel") versus Earned Media, where "customers become the channel."

Definitions are great, yet programs designed to support paid and earned media are often developed in silos, making a truly integrated approach difficult if not impossible. This issue gets especially tricky when it comes to social media advertising, where earned media programs are heavily leaned on and paid media -- such as display or rich media -- is often disconnected from the greater social marketing strategy. The truth is, all digital media have become social and conversational, be it a customer blog or a well-known media title, which means paid and earned media need to start getting on the same page, both from a planning and execution standpoint. Simply put: paid media needs better access to conversational research and data fueling earned media strategy and earned media needs visibility into inventory planning and campaign performance to better prioritize and focus outreach efforts.

But the role of paid online advertising in a user-driven content ecosystem isn't always clear. What is the best way for these to strategies to work together to more effectively achieve common goals? Below are four tips for making the paid portion of your social strategy more effective:

Capitalize on paid/earned synergy: Look no further than this year's Superbowl for proof of paid advertising's ability to spark organic conversations at scale - 25,752 blog posts and counting according to social media research firm Initiative. Paid advertising - online or off -- gets brands the reach required to ignite massive, widespread conversations (naturally, it's the brand's job to make the message provocative enough to entice users to converse). Layering in earned media programs on top of this can breathe new life into those conversations long after the initial buy. Monitoring these conversations to better understand how they grow and evolve, extracting themes and understanding tone means that the next paid media effort can strike just the right note for the next phase of dialogue.

Understand how best to leverage paid media in a social context: Responding to customers on Twitter, creating a Facebook fan page -- when we think about social media, our minds immediately snap to earned and owned media on specific platforms. Yet, a traditional display campaign can go a long way in generating awareness and driving traffic to a Facebook fan page. Understanding the intersection points between owned, paid and earned when it comes to social is crucial for success. Standard IAB ad units are undergoing a major transformation, becoming vehicles for valuable content, offers, polls and games, all hooking into various social platforms to incent users to share and syndicate assets virally. This means paid media can now play the dual role of scaling a social effort and serving as an earned media enabler.

Use earned media best practices to make paid media smarter: Customers are indeed the channel, and no one is tuning in more fervently than...customers themselves. In 2009 blog readership grew 23 percent while portals dipped 13 percent. Peer media has officially encroached on the mainstream web, which means marketers have access to a wealth of data when it comes to where best to target paid efforts. Paid advertising no longer has to be bought by channel or vertical -- what about targeting ads to social sites based on author influence, expertise or social connections? Similar to the earned media world, listening to conversations and understanding trust connections is key to being smart about where your paid media appears across today's increasingly social digital landscape.

Use paid media to extend the conversation: You've heard it a million times; listen, then engage. But has this best practice extended across how you think about paid media as well? If you've been listening to conversations, then you should have a wealth of data about themes, trends tone, sentiment, share of voice and so on. When treated the right way, paid media is a great vehicle for adding to the conversation with a poll, a coupon, or a simple question. Monitoring positive buzz around topics like a specific movie release, organic baby food or shoe styles for spring can help you understand contextual shifts and spark ideas that enable your campaign copy and creative to better play to the preferences of your target audience.

Social media marketing is no longer nascent, and as the hype dies down, marketers are getting a clearer picture of how best to leverage these tools and platforms to engage audiences. The good news is that the social Web presents the opportunity for better communication and increased collaboration among teams supporting both paid and earned media efforts. Breaking down barriers and feeding off the same data is key -- only then can marketing strategies be truly integrated and aligned.