Introduction to the POEM Model in Marketing

Digital marketing strategies are often developed and implemented within a framework known as the POEM model. The POEM model stands for paid, owned and earned media and the framework will help any digital marketing company improve their marketing strategies and achieve goals and targets. With the POEM model, internet marketing services will look at creating content or developing strategies for different types of media.

POEM is an approach used to promote a product or service and looks at how the right mix of media types can attract more customers, deepen and strengthen relationships with existing customers, and push the business towards ultimate goals of growth and success.

In order to better understand what POEM is, a digital marketing agency should dissect the approach and consider what each letter stands for.

Paid media

The first type of media to consider in this framework for digital and social media marketing strategies is paid media, which come in the form of outbound campaigns. This is any form of media which requires a variable cash outflow to gain additional exposure.

The main goal of paid media is to deliver paid or sponsored ads and ensure it reaches the right audience. Types of paid media a digital marketing agency in Sri Lanka like Ontomatrix will incorporate in strategies include pay-per-click or PPC marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing.

Owned media

The second type of media to consider is owned media, which uses nurture and retention marketing. Owned media is media the company invests and builds and can gain additional exposure from without a variable cash outflow to buy media.

Owned media gives you the freedom to control content within endless possibilities and the goal of this type of media is to provide quality content for the audience. Internet marketing services like websites, email marketing, and newsletters are examples of owned media.

Earned media

Earned media or inbound marketing is the media exposure the brand receives as a result of other people talking about the brand. There is no cash outflow for additional exposure.

Digital marketing services use earned media to create content that can be used on the brand’s website. Blogs, which are a key tool used in content marketing, is an example of earned media as it uses articles and infographics created for the brand. The content can be then shared on social media platforms as part of the brand’s social media marketing strategy in order to attract new customers and engage with existing customers.

This enables the business to expand their audience reach while also increasing their customer base.

BENEFITS OF THE POEM MODEL

Each component of the POEM model has its own strengths and weaknesses and the core elements differ from media to media.

Benefits of Paid media

Advertisements are a key element in social media marketing and this is a type of paid media. Display ads, online video ads, and paid search are all types of paid media. One of the core elements of this type of media is the understanding that cash outflow is required in order to generate traffic.

The benefits of paid media include immediate results, scalable measures, measurable results, and ease of testing.

Benefits of Owned media

A digital marketing agency may use a brand website, a brand’s social profile, a mobile application or seeded content to reach the target audience. These channels are considered owned media. Owned media can be a cost-effective method of strengthening relationships with existing customers and attracting new customers.

Longevity, loyalty, and ease of targeting are other benefits of this type of media.

Benefits of Earned media

Internet marketing services focus heavily on engagement and earned media comes in the form of likes, shares and comments, as well as blogs and forums, ratings and reviews, and other conversations. One of the core elements of earned media is the effort that goes into these strategies and tactics. However, visibility can continue even after effort stops.

The benefits of earned media include cost effectiveness, visits that are of a higher quality, and the role played by earned media to build trust among existing customers and potential customers.

Considering the key differences and benefits of paid, owned, and earned media and the POEM model as a whole, it is safe to say that one can arrive at three main conclusions. The first is that content created and uploaded on owned media becomes earned media when it receives high user engagement and paid media when the content is sponsored or boosted.

The second conclusion is that paid media is often the foundation to driving the audience to owned media, where they will share it, turning the content into earned media. For this reason, companies usually start with paid media.

Finally, a digital marketing company may use these three media in a strategic combination to ensure the content has a higher chance of being seen and consumed by the target audience.