6 minutes
Understand them to stay organized and focused
Credit Union Management’s online-only “Inside Marketing” column runs the third Thursday of the month.
Credit unions occasionally have been mentioned in the news. But primarily they have been seen in advertisements: newspapers (if there are any more), local magazines, radio, TV – and, lately, online publications.
Getting mentioned in the news and having their ads strategically placed in targeted publications/stations have allowed credit unions to perform adequately over the last few decades. But times have changed as our media world has migrated from paper to screen to mobile – now being seen not only on websites but in blogs, tweets and Facebook posts. Even more daring are the folks who produce and place their content on YouTube.
It’s an ever-evolving media world out there and you’ll get lost or left behind if you can’t keep up or stay relatively in step with it all. Here’s a way I have stayed in tune with multi-media placements over the years that has helped me remain organized and focused of where to be: Let’s look at the four different types of media:
- paid,
- earned,
- owned and
- shared.
Paid Media
Paid media is essentially an advertisement you paid for in a targeted publication or radio/TV station – or on a website for an online presence. This traditional mode is typically the one-way communication channel to get your message to the masses very quickly. It’s still effective yet expensive. As the NFL’s Super Bowl ramps up over the next couple of weeks, you’ll be seeing many, many stories about the expensive ads companies will be paying for to reach the millions of viewers who watch this game each year.
The downside to ads, besides the expense, is that they are a challenge to measure – especially the ones placed in hardcopy publications or on radio or TV. Online ads are a bit easier, as they are a bit more “trackable.” But to see if the person actually purchased your product because of an ad is a bit iffy – unless you ask.
Again, paid media still works very well if done correctly. And because of its expense, it carries a bit of clout. It says you are a player in the game. If you can afford expensive TV advertising, it gives the impression that you’re doing good business, which is attractive because people are attracted to success.
Earned Media
Earned media includes article placements, blog mentions, tweets, posts, etc., that people (usually editors) post because they like what you had to say. Your story that you pitched or provided resonated with them – and their readers – so well that they included it in their publication. This is huge.
This earned content is usually objective and tells a story of value that enhances your credibility and leadership position exponentially. Many extremely savvy companies strive to have their stories placed in their targeted media for this very reason. Why do you think big companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc., try so hard to leverage the media in any form or fashion? It continues to position them as leaders in the marketplace – and keeps people talking about them.
As credit union marketers, it should be very close to the top of your priority list to garner as much earned media as possible. It can be a game changer for you.
Owned Media
Owned media includes website, blog posts, white papers, informational videos, how-to webinars, speaking engagements, social media accounts etc., that the credit union maintains. As long as these tools provide solid content and objective value to your audience, they will definitely provide a boost to your bottom line. Make your content valuable.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here. You can appropriately tweak and use the content you already created in paid and earned media to continually pump out new, fresh material on your website. I can’t tell you how many times I go to a credit union website only to see the same thing on the homepage a few weeks later. That makes me not want to come back. It’s so easy to update your site, why aren’t more credit unions keeping their content fresh? Oh yeah, and the search engines love updated information just as much as San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick loves kissing his biceps after scoring a touchdown.
Keep your owned media fresh not only for the search engines but for your audience. They will appreciate it and return again and again for new stuff they can use. That’s value.
Spin Sucks, Gini Dietrich’s helpful PR-focused blog (from where I got the idea for this column, thank you Gini!), generates 40 percent new business for her PR firm every year. That’s a significant number that all of us should consider for our businesses. I know I am.
So put that owned media to work for you – and keep it fresh and consistent.
Shared Media
With social media now a mainstay in many marketing plans today, shared media is vital to the coveted word-of-mouth channel that so many of us desire. When your content/message is shared from a trusted source, that’s extremely valuable information that many “sharees” may act on – which could result in a spike in business. Nice.
So anything you provide that’s retweeted, posted on Facebook by others, discussed in a LinkedIn group, or shared on YouTube and Instagram creates pretty significant and credible buzz for your credit union that you should aim for every day.
To achieve this goal, you need to make your content very shareable. This means having all the social media share buttons on your site, blog, channel, etc. Make it as easy as possible for somebody to share it. If it’s practical, helpful, educational stuff, they will.
Even today’s search engines will rank you higher, the more times your content is shared. That’s incentive for you to hop on Facebook if you’ve been sitting on the social media fence, Mr. Indecisive. I’ve always thought of the social media network breakdown as:
- Facebook – business to consumer (and consumer to consumer)
- LinkedIn – business to business
- Twitter – greatest announcement, conversation starter ever whether you’re B2C or B2B
- YouTube – infotainment
- Google+ – could be all of the above, so don’t ignore G+ for long – especially with its ties to search, video and, now, social.
Today’s marketing job has never been more complicated, yet never more fun, in my opinion. To sit back and strategize where your most effective media presence will be is a communicator’s dream – a virtual Willy Wonka chocolate factory for sugar fiends.
The four types of media can certainly help you organize and manage this task to truly benefit your credit union for increased visibility, enhanced leadership, boosted credibility, and increased trust for a comprehensive message that creates nothing but value to your audience in any channel.
What is your organization doing in each of these media areas? We would enjoy hearing what’s been successful and what hasn’t worked so well in the comments section.
Mike Lawson, principal and founder of the PR/marketing firm DML Communications and the online CUbroadcast show, has two decades of journalism, public relations and marketing experience. His unique and robust knowledge allows him to meet the varied needs of editors, end-users and clients. Lawson's expertise enables him to enhance his clients' market exposure through media relations, social media tools, advertising efforts, target marketing strategies and more. He also speaks on PR, marketing and media issues to audiences nationwide.
