Despite the letters ‘P’ and ‘R’ in our agency name, we have evolved light-years beyond those two letters. The work we do 100% affects whether someone buys or gives or volunteers or stays loyal, but we use more than one mere part of the puzzle to get clients there. The PESO model takes all the four media types (paid, earned, shared, and owned) and merges them together for an integrated, measurable, and solid communications program.  Once the content is created (owned), a true pro will use shared media to distribute it, paid media to amplify it, and earned media to qualify and endorse it. Following is a very brief overview of what PESO stands for which hopefully encourages how it can be used.

Paid: Media one pays to have delivered to specific audiences, an example of this is sponsored posts but is also inclusive of the following: social media marketing (ex: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter ads and boosted content), landing pages, qualified leads in an email marketing database, new fans or followers who come from reading sponsored content and finally leads and conversions.

 Earned: Earned media got its name because results are garnered from relationships earned with influencers, journalists, and bloggers. It’s what the PR industry is typically known for because it’s one of the few tangible things done until recently (8-10 years give or take). Quality content marketing, SEO, and various PR strategies are all superlative drivers of earned media which is a critical supporting element in PESO.

Shared: Falls under social media and user-generated content tenet. It includes not just social networking, but community, partnerships, distribution, and promotion. Popular platforms include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok.  Shared media on various social platforms is an essential part of a robust marketing plan, and its importance continues to grow by the minute.

Owned: Self-created content such as blogs, digital mailers, videos, webinars, and websites and completely integrates with the other three media types.  An organized owned media program is likely distributed through email marketing which provides a wealth of analytics and KPIs including unique visitors, bounce rates, downloads, shares, and yes, the almighty sale.