Converged Media. Earned Media. LOCAL: SIMplified. Converged Media in a Digital World

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1 Paid Media Owned Media Converged Media Earned Media LOCAL: SIMplified Converged Media in a Digital World

2 What Is Converged Media? Gone are the days where big brands and local businesses could safely focus on just one digital media type to reach their consumers. Brands today must integrate and align their media channels in order to be successful in their digital marketing strategy. The integration of channels results in converged media. The term converged media represents the overlap of any combination of paid, owned and earned media types. The Altimeter Group published a very comprehensive study in July of 2012 that does a great job of explaining the converged space: Regardless of whether a brand manages its converged media efforts with one tool or several, it s important to recognize converged media is here to stay and begin addressing the opportunities that come along with it now. JON SCHEPKE, SEW NOV 2012 Paid Media Traditional Ads Promoted Brand Content Converged Media Owned Media Corporate Content Sponsored Customer Brands that ask for shared Press Coverage Earned Media Organic 2

3 Brand Converged Opportunity While not a new term, converged media is a relatively modern concept for many digital marketers that presents opportunities, challenges and questions. Before brands can begin to capitalize on converged media, they must first understand the different media types that overlap to create converged media in a digital marketing environment. Let s define converged media from a SIM Partners perspective: Paid Media Traditional Ads Bid Management Technology Content Management System Earned Media Organic Owned Media Corporate Content Social CRM Paid media This includes pay-per-click (PPC), mobile PPC, social PPC, mobile search, mobile display, etc. Paid Media Pay-per-click (PPC) Mobile PPC Social PPC Mobile Search Mobile Display Owned media This refers to location pages, mobile location pages, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, Google+ Local pages, YouTube channels, etc. Owned Media Location Pages Mobile Location Pages Facebook Pages Twitter Accounts Google+ Local Pages YouTube Channels Earned media This includes local SEO, mobile SEO, Google+ Local and Bing listing optimization, customer reviews, and more. Earned Media Location SEO Mobile SEO Google+ Local and Bing listing optimization Review Generation Platform 3

4 Paid Media Paid media includes any form of advertising where a media buy is involved. In the digital marketing world this includes pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, mobile PPC, social PPC (such as standard marketplace ads on Facebook), mobile search ads, mobile display ads, etc. Paid media has traditionally led marketing initiatives, but advertising alone is no longer as effective as it once was, unless complemented by other media channels. According to the Altimeter Group, it is now more important than ever for brands to coordinate and align their owned and earned media with their paid media campaigns, as consumers today view brand messaging across a myriad of channels and devices. Managing the Paid component of Converged Media can be complicated and time-consuming. One thing that can help is to implement a best-in-class bid management tool. Often times these are complex algorithms that will take into account the thousands of moving parts in a SERP and make optimizations towards your campaign goals. NEIL MAHONEY DIRECTOR OF ECOMMERCE, SIM PARTNERS 4

5 Owned Media Owned media refers to channels owned or fully controlled by the business or brand. This includes the business s location page, mobile location page, blog, Facebook page, Twitter accounts, Google+ Local pages, YouTube channel, etc. An important aspect to owned media is content development. A majority of owned media in the digital marketing world is content marketing, or content a business or brand develops and pushes out to media channels that does not involve any media buy. Successful management of converged media will take practice, and CMOs and CTOs must work together and break down silos with technology to make it work. Brands must remain flexible to maximize success and minimize potential stumbling blocks. Regardless, companies must act now or risk wasting the opportunity. JON SCHEPKE, SEW NOV 2012 TM Location Page & Mobile Page powered by Velocity 5

6 Earned Media Owned and Paid media seem to be fairly well understood by most digital marketers. Earned media, on the other hand, is a more difficult concept to grasp and perfect. It is also the most sought after, due to the inherent credibility it contains via consumer perspectives. Examples of earned media in digital marketing include customer reviews, social media posts, social sharing of content and more. Earned media is defined as any user generated content regarding the brand or business that is created and/or shared by users. Earned media cannot be created or controlled by marketing teams but often results from efforts in the paid or owned media arenas through the accumulation of Likes, shares, retweets, customer reviews and other user-generated content that features a company. Word of mouth meets the web. Many brands struggle to generate earned media, but the following strategies from a recent SIM Partners article in Search Engine Watch: Converged Media: Maximizing Consumer Engagement in a Digital World can help: Make sure owned and paid content is unique and valuable as quality content drives earned media. Work to gain the attention of key influencers who increase value by sharing your content with their followers; not all Likes are created equal. TM Reviews Platform example powered by Velocity 6

7 Challenges While converged media has existed in various forms for years, changing consumer media consumption habits prompted by the rise of the Internet, social networks, tablets, smartphones, etc. have sped up the evolution of paid, owned, and earned digital media. Today, these three categories naturally overlap, and brands should focus on developing a fourth, opportunity-rich digital media type: converged. As is often the case, addressing untapped opportunity brings challenges; converged media is no different. In order to move toward a converged media model, companies must overcome a variety of issues. Several top issues facing organizations looking to move into converged media are: As the Internet of things becomes a reality, in 10 years media will be embedded into and around common objects. Products, appliances, and tools will contain data. Initially, this information will be paid and owned, but very quickly earned components will develop and commingle with other information. ALTIMETER STUDY, JULY 2012 They are afraid to leave their comfort zone Brands are slowly but surely becoming aware of the need to integrate paid, owned and earned media. Often times, however, those that first realize the importance of a converged media approach are still not willing to leave their comfort zone and be an advocate for change. It is important that a company recognizes a leader to direct the overall integration and convergence of the media types. Living within departmental silos It is often hard for companies to escape the departmental silos, but it is crucial that each department work together and align their messaging and strategy. The public relations team, social media team and advertising department need to be consistent with their messaging across all channels as well as implement the same standards for analytics and measurement. Without cross channel attribution, this model is a failure before it even begins. Lack of marketing automation tools and technology Brands need to access tools like a CMS, marketing automation, analytics and social CRM. With the wide range of digital marketing channels that need to be managed, brands are in need of marketing automation tools and technology that are scalable, adaptable and allow for cross channel reporting and attribution. 7

8 Strategy and Success Brands can overcome the challenges of moving to a converged media approach by developing a strong strategy and leveraging tools, technologies and an automated approach. Marketers should consider the following tips for leveraging convergence for their brands: Have a Content Strategy for Your Brand and Locations that Works Across Paid, Owned, and Earned CMO s need to lead how content flows between each of the different teams. Consumers now follow a more complex path across paid, owned and earned media, so it is important that these departments all work together to create a seamless experience from channel to channel. Achieve Earned With Scale Brands should utilize tools and technology that allow for a scaled approach to earned media. These tools should take a scalable approach to producing user-generated content such as customer reviews and social sharing. Alignment of Teams Paid, earned, and owned decision makers must be aligned to plan brand strategies through technology solutions and partners or agencies. It is crucial that not only the internal organization be aligned but that they also work closely with outside technology providers, partners and agencies to ensure there is a consistent message, value, look and feel across all channels. Reporting and KPI s (Real Time) Performance measurement and reporting are especially critical in earned media. Brands must have a meaningful method of evaluating the engagement of their customer along each step of the customer s journey. Work Closely With Partners That Have Deep Expertise in Tools and Data (proprietary or strategic partnerships in technology): By leveraging the right tools and data, brands can automate these efforts and achieve a great deal with their converged media strategy. Brands should carefully choose the right automated technology and partnerships to help them expand their efforts and easily measure the results. The Connective Tissue for these three media types within converged media consist of these items: Bid Management Technology, Content Management System, Social CRM. The best technology will help large brand advertisers connect the dots between Paid, Owned & Earned media. This will allow for cross channel attribution, so large advertisers can spend their online budgets more effectively based on pre-defined KPI s. JON SCHEPKE CEO, SIM PARTNERS 8

9 Planning Your Brand s Digital Roadmap Don t be overwhelmed by the convergence. To help you as you prepare your digital strategy, we have created a short checklist to guide you. We have claimed and optimized Google+ Local listings for all locations. Our digital marketing efforts (social, local, mobile) are siloed. Our Brand employs adaptable, scalable technology that allows for cross-channel optimization and reporting. We distribute one clean, unified data set for all locations through an aggregator (e.g. Localeze, etc.) on a weekly/monthly basis. We can easily and effectively update that data set. We have a Brand strategy for optimizing Google+ Business pages to improve organic ranking. Our Brand has implemented marketing automation technology. We have a strategy to ensure data integrity within Apple Maps. We utilize a content management system that creates and controls optimized location pages/websites for each location (dealer, agent, franchise, store, etc.). Our Brand utilizes the same content on all location pages/websites consistently. YES NO DON T KNOW To Learn More About Converged Solutions: CONTACT US: info@simpartners.com VISIT US: 9

10 SIM Partners is dedicated to creating innovative digital marketing products and services that provide ongoing value to our customers. Top home services providers, hotels, insurance companies and other consumer brands trust SIM Partners to keep thousands of locations visible and accessible in top search engine results, mobile devices, social networks and other sources of local information. A technology company at its core, SIM Partners offers a full suite of holistic solutions that include data distribution, their Velocity TM platform, video, mobile app development and performance reporting. CONVMED Sherman Ave, 3rd Floor Evanston, IL Phone: (800) Graham St. Suite 250 San Francisco, CA Phone: (800)