Earned media plays a significant role in shaping the success of client campaigns. It represents the organic reach and influence that comes without direct payment, such as online reviews, social media mentions, or media coverage. Measuring its impact can often seem challenging because it’s not as straightforward as paid media. However, tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) can help agencies understand the true value of earned media and improve future client campaigns.
Why Earned Media Matters for Campaigns
Earned media offers credibility. When a brand’s content or products receive attention without sponsorship, the audience tends to trust it more. The recommendations and mentions come from outside sources, adding authenticity to the message. For any client campaign, this third-party endorsement can be the difference between potential customers scrolling past and them taking a deeper interest in what the brand has to offer.
However, getting that attention is only part of the equation. Understanding how that attention affects the brand’s goals is what makes earned media valuable. This is where measuring KPIs comes into play.
The Role of Brand Mentions
The first thing to look at when measuring earned media is the number of mentions a brand receives across different platforms. Brand mentions give an idea of how often the brand is being talked about. This includes everything from tweets to blog posts and even high-traffic news websites.
Tracking these mentions can reveal patterns—perhaps a particular piece of content or campaign received more attention than expected, or maybe a collaboration with an influencer sparked discussion. Using tools like social media listening software or media monitoring platforms can help aggregate this data in real-time.
Beyond just the number, it’s important to look at the tone of these mentions. Not every mention is a positive one, and understanding how the audience perceives the brand is just as important. Brands need to respond to negative mentions strategically and use positive mentions to reinforce their messaging.
Analyzing Share of Voice
Share of voice (SOV) measures how much of the conversation in a particular industry or category belongs to the client’s brand compared to competitors. This metric provides valuable insights into the brand’s position in the market and the effectiveness of the campaign.
SOV can be measured by comparing the number of times the brand is mentioned to the total number of mentions within its industry. If a campaign is successful, the client’s share of voice should rise as the brand starts getting more attention compared to competitors.
While a high share of voice is usually a good sign, it’s not always enough. The quality of the conversations surrounding the brand matters. If the brand has a high SOV but a lot of the conversations are negative, the KPI will point towards the need for more strategic engagement and perhaps a shift in messaging.
Tracking Engagement Rates
Earned media thrives on engagement. Without likes, comments, shares, or retweets, earned media doesn’t have the same impact. Tracking engagement rates helps determine how much influence a campaign is truly having. It’s not just about how often the brand is mentioned, but whether those mentions are sparking discussions or encouraging people to take action.
High engagement rates indicate that people find the content compelling enough to interact with, which can significantly extend the campaign’s reach. If a social media post receives hundreds of comments or a blog post is shared widely, the earned media is working effectively.
Engagement doesn’t always need to be positive to be impactful. Even critical discussions can increase visibility and spur broader conversation. Tracking this metric helps brands gauge the strength of their content and how it resonates with audiences.
Media Value as a KPI
Calculating the media value of earned media is another way to measure its impact. This metric compares the value of organic media coverage to what it would have cost had the brand paid for it. Known as earned media value (EMV), this KPI can provide a monetary figure that helps quantify the success of a campaign.
While some agencies have developed proprietary formulas to calculate EMV, the general idea is to assess the exposure the client’s brand received and estimate its cost if it had been purchased through paid advertising. Factors such as audience reach, platform, and placement all contribute to determining the value.
This KPI offers clients a tangible number that directly relates to the value of their investment in earned media. For budget-conscious clients, EMV helps demonstrate the worth of organic reach and encourages continued efforts in earned media strategies.
Looking at Website Traffic and Referrals
Earned media often drives website traffic. Whether it’s a news article featuring the brand or an influencer mentioning the product, people tend to visit the brand’s website to learn more. Monitoring website traffic and referrals is a clear way to see if earned media is working.
Tools like Google Analytics can show where traffic is coming from, including media outlets, blogs, or social media platforms. A spike in traffic after media coverage or an influencer post is a good sign that the earned media strategy is driving interest. Tracking referrals helps pinpoint which specific pieces of earned media are most effective in bringing people to the client’s website.
However, the story doesn’t end with traffic. Tracking bounce rates and time spent on the site helps determine whether the earned media generated meaningful engagement. If a high percentage of users visit the site but leave immediately, there’s a disconnect between what the earned media is conveying and what the audience finds once they arrive.
Measuring Sentiment
Understanding audience sentiment goes beyond just tracking mentions and engagement. Sentiment analysis helps gauge the emotional tone behind earned media mentions. Whether the campaign received praise or criticism, sentiment analysis helps categorize those responses into positive, negative, or neutral.
Tools powered by natural language processing can analyze large volumes of data to detect the underlying sentiment in brand mentions. This helps brands understand how audiences feel about their content or campaigns.
For campaigns that are meant to elicit strong emotional responses, such as a charity initiative or a bold rebranding effort, sentiment becomes an essential KPI. Positive sentiment correlates with brand affinity and loyalty, which are critical to long-term client retention.
The Importance of Backlinks
When media outlets or bloggers link to the client’s website, those backlinks not only drive traffic but also help boost the website’s search engine optimization (SEO). Earned media that generates high-quality backlinks can increase the client’s domain authority, improving search rankings and visibility.
Tracking backlinks is crucial, especially for campaigns aimed at increasing the client’s online presence. Tools like Ahrefs or Moz can help monitor backlinks and their sources. The quantity and quality of these links can reveal the strength of the earned media campaign. A large number of low-quality backlinks may not contribute much to the client’s SEO, while even a few high-quality backlinks from reputable sources can have a significant impact.
Conversions and Lead Generation
While not all earned media leads directly to sales, it’s important to track conversions and lead generation to understand the ultimate impact. Whether it’s through a dedicated landing page or tracking codes, campaigns that drive meaningful leads can be measured against the success of the earned media strategy.
For agencies working with clients who have longer sales cycles, tracking lead generation rather than immediate conversions might be more relevant. It allows the agency to demonstrate that the earned media is nurturing potential customers, even if those customers don’t make immediate purchases.
Additionally, tracking the quality of leads from earned media can help refine future campaigns. If the campaign is generating high numbers of leads but few conversions, the messaging or targeting may need adjustment.
Creating a Feedback Loop for Future Campaigns
Once the KPIs are tracked, analyzed, and presented, the data collected becomes a valuable asset for future campaigns. Each campaign provides insights into what worked, what didn’t, and where there’s room for improvement. Having a clear understanding of earned media performance ensures that future campaigns can be more focused, targeted, and effective.
Over time, the agency can develop a refined approach to earned media that delivers higher engagement, more significant reach, and better results for clients. Understanding these KPIs not only improves client campaigns but also strengthens the agency’s ability to deliver measurable success.
