Understanding Shared Media and Its Role in a Holistic Marketing Strategy
We hear a lot of talk about shared media and how to crack its code. Marketers love shared media because audiences do some of their work for them, amplifying content and making it go viral. Audiences love it as they get noticed and feel part of a trend.
Shared media is the content that spreads or goes viral on social media via other users. Unsurprisingly, it's become a vital part of modern marketing, but isn't easy to get right.
Some brands get lucky. Their content is shared organically and creates a positive impact. Some are unfortunate, and shared media amplifies a negative story about them.
This guide answers the question "Why is shared media so important?" and offers suggestions on how to get it right. We'll look at ways shared media can be part of a successful, well-balanced content marketing strategy.
Defining Shared Media
Shared media is different from the content you distribute yourself. It typically starts when one or two social media posts on your feed suddenly take off. The posts go viral and now other people are spreading them on their social networks.
It can be great, because your brand's message is being shared and amplified organically. But it also carries some risk, because you don't have complete control over how your content is presented.
Whenever users share your posts, videos, or images, it becomes shared media. Yet it can also include reviews, comments, and user-generated content about your brand. This is when shared media leaves your control.
Shared media is powerful because it comes from real people and holds far more influence.
Shared Media Vs. Other Media Types
Shared media is one piece of a larger marketing puzzle that also includes paid, earned, and owned media.
Let's focus on those other media types to understand why shared media is different.
Paid media involves ads you buy, and that covers both traditional advertising and sponsored posts to promote social media campaigns and other marketing efforts.
Earned media refers to the publicity you gain through PR efforts. For example, when you've sent out a press release and a magazine mentions your product.
Owned media is content that belongs to you, so you create and control everything in this category. Owned content includes things like your website, social media accounts, and newsletters.
Shared media differs because you don't have any direct control over it. It relys on people choosing to spread your message. That makes it more authentic, but less predictable.
Unlike paid media, shared media is free. But it's not easy to come by. You also need to feed it with a bit of engagement to keep the conversation going.
In this article, we'll look at how to make the most of shared media, and how to tackle any potential challenges along the way.
In This Guide
Types of Shared Media and Examples
Benefits of Shared Media for Your Digital Marketing Strategy
Developing a Shared Media Strategy
Potential Challenges With Shared Media
Integrating Shared Media Into a Holistic Marketing Strategy
The Last Word: Why Shared Media Is a Valuable Tool for Modern Brands
Types of Shared Media and Examples
Shared media is great because it allows brands to engage with audiences and spread their message.
Let’s explore some key types and examples that can boost your PR efforts.
Social Media Posts and Shares
Social media channels are the epicenter of shared media.
Simply posting eye-catching images, informative videos, or thought-provoking questions can spark engagement.
You're at the mercy of the algorithm here, so that engagement is really important. The best kind of shared media includes posts that encourage likes and conversations in the comments. Those are most likely to end up being picked up and promoted organically, for example on the Instagram Explore Tab or TikTok For You page.
Relevant hashtags can help with discovery, too. It might feel a little basic, but if you're promoting a new product launch then creating a unique hashtag and asking followers to use it when sharing their experiences really does work.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC is content about your brand that is created by your customers or fans. It's powerful because it's authentic and builds trust with potential customers.
Sometimes getting UGC is as simple as asking customers to share posts of themselves using or reviewing your products.
Repost the best submissions on your social media accounts, and give credit to the creators. This is great for everyone, as the brand benefits from the shared media and the creator expands their reach (and hopefully their followers) by accessing your audience.
To make UGC easier to find, you can create a branded hashtag and ask customers to include it along with their updates.
Community Building and Social Referrals
Building a community around your brand is great for organic sharing and word-of-mouth marketing (which is basically the original shared media).
Facebook groups can really shine here, providing customers with an online space where they can discuss your products. If it's a space owned by your brand, you'll have the opportunity to moderate where needed.
Wherever you are on social media, make sure you engage with your community regularly by responding to comments and questions.
You could also offer some incentives for social referrals. That's when you offer discounts or exclusive content to customers who share specific social media posts with friends. This works especially well with competitions, in which you can encourage likes, comments, and shares in order to be entered into a contest. Just be sure to look up promotion guidelines on each platform to make sure you're not breaking any rules.
Another clever way to build connections with your audience could be through live Q&A sessions. These are especially great for engagement and sharing.
Benefits of Shared Media for Your Digital Marketing Strategy
Shared media can supercharge your digital marketing efforts, even if you don't rely on it to lead your strategy.
It helps you reach more people and increase brand awareness. In this part of our guide, we'll go into those benefits in more detail.
Enhancing Reach and Organic Traffic
Shared media expands your digital footprint. When people share your content, it reaches a wider audience than you could on your own.
This boost in visibility can lead to more organic traffic back to owned media, like your website.
It can also bring more eyes to paid media, like your social media campaigns.
A viral post can expose your brand to thousands of new potential customers. Its organic nature is a real boost here too, as people will be more likely to trust your brand if it's been shared by someone they like.
Building Trust Through Social Proof
Shared media acts as third-party validation for your brand. When someone shares your content, they're essentially giving it their stamp of approval.
This is called social proof, and it can really help to build trust with potential customers.
Word-of-mouth recommendations carry a lot more weight than a direct advertisement from your brand.
Positive reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content shared on social media platforms will boost your credibility.
Cost-Effective Lead Generation
Shared media can also be a budget-friendly way to generate new leads. Unlike paid media and native advertising, the distribution of shared content is free. Many freelance professionals use a platform like LinkedIn to generate leads via shared media. They share their experiences and abilities on the platform, and their co-workers, clients, and friends interact with the posts, which automatically shares to their followers.
You don't always have to spend dollars creating high-quality, shareable content. Sometimes you already have it at your fingertips.
Developing a Shared Media Strategy
A successful shared media strategy does wonders for brand awareness.
In this section, we'll lay out a detailed strategy to boost results across your shared media channels.
Make Content That Resonates With Your Target Audience
In order to create content that speaks to your audience, you need to understand who they are.
That means doing a bit of research on their interests. Find out what they like and what they hate, and dig deep into their online habits. That's going to get you closer to topics that align with your brand and solve your audience's problems.
Use this to direct your content marketing game plan, and mix up content types - try videos, infographics, and the occasional blog post.
Remember those key search engine optimization strategies, too. Targeting relevant keywords in your content will improve your visibility across search engines.
Encourage Social Media Engagement
If engagement is lacking on your social media platforms, your shared and owned media will probably suffer. In fact, posts with little-to-no interaction are usually completely ignored by the algorithm. Often your followers won't see them at all!
To get some engagement going, you could try asking questions or running polls in the comments. You want to avoid this looking like engagement farming or bait for comments though, so make sure to keep the topics relevant to your brand.
Other tried-and-tested tactics for sparking interest and boosting shares include getting some user-generated content going, or running contests and giveaways.
Spotlighting Owned Media in Press Releases
Using press releases as part of your shared media strategy can enhance visibility of your owned channels. You just need to make sure you give publications something they'll want to share.
That means writing interesting releases with a sharable 'hook'. Ensure there are images and videos included, and an option for publications to follow-up on the release with an interview or opportunity for further info.
Include all of your shared and owned media channels in your press releases and, with any luck, your recipients will share your stories.
Monitor and Optimize Your Shared Media Efforts
Tracking your shared media performance can take your strategy to the next level.
Analytics tools like CisionOne are great for this. They can measure engagement rates, reach, and conversions, and give you an idea of the types of content and topics that perform best.
You can double down on what works and adjust or drop what doesn't.
You can also use analytics to test different approaches to find what resonates. Try varying your post timing, content formats, or call-to-action phrases, and look at the metrics to see what works with your audience.
Potential Challenges With Shared Media
Shared media can be a powerful tool, but it comes with risks.
Once something has gone viral it will spread fast, so you need to make sure that the owned media you're putting out is fairly bulletproof.
Below, we'll run through a few of the challenges that tend to come up, and how to avoid them.
Lack of Control Over Messaging
Social media can be totally unpredictable and you can't fully control what happens to your content once it's out in the world.
Users can alter your message as they reshare it. They might add their own comments or edit images in ways you didn't intend.
Think of it like a conversation in a bar. You tell a story to your friends, who tell the next table over. They tell the barman, and a few hours later he tells new customers the story. Each time the story gets told, people add their own spin on the events and their opinion. The basic facts might stay the same but your story might sound very different now.
This can happen with shared media and lead to your brand's message getting twisted or misunderstood.
Thankfully, there are some ways to avoid this. Put the focus on creating clear, hard-to-misinterpret content. Use social listening tools to keep an eye on how people are sharing and talking about your posts.
And if your message does get distorted? Just be ready to respond quickly.
Dealing With Negative Media Coverage
Bad news travels fast on social media. One negative post can spread like wildfire. You might face a flood of angry comments or see your reputation take a hit, and you might not even know why it's happened.
There is a way to help avoid this. Set up some alerts to catch negative posts early. Make sure you have a crisis communications plan in place, and be ready to respond quickly and honestly to concerns.
It's also not a good idea to delete negative comments unless they're abusive – people tend to notice and comment on it, often escalating the situation. Instead, look for ways to turn negatives into positives.
Integrating Shared Media Into a Holistic Marketing Strategy
Shared media plays a key role in elevating your brand, but it's best to balance your efforts.
There are some clever ways to tie the media types together, so let's dive in.
Combining Shared Media With Earned and Owned Media
If you want to increase the likelihood of positive shared media, you'll need to put content out there that shows your company in its best light.
For example, an ethical candy brand gets a bit of coverage across traditional media outlets. Perhaps it's successfully ranked in the top 10 ethical food brands in Canada. The candy brand would be smart to showcase that earned media on its social channels.
Don't forget to highlight media assets with sharing potential. For example, if you post blog content on social media, it can drive traffic to your site.
The aim here is for owned media to become shared media. And it doesn't end there – if you notice that social sharing is really taking off on a particular post, you could then put money behind it and use targeted ads to find new customers and turn it into paid media.
Measuring the Success of Shared Media
This is all about the metrics. Look at engagement rates, clicks, shares, and comments. These show how well your content is performing.
Monitor referral web traffic from social platforms to your website. This helps you see which channels drive the most visitors and gives you an idea of how much your content is being shared.
Tools like CisionOne can help you track these metrics across platforms. Compare your results to industry benchmarks and your own past performance.
The Last Word: Why Shared Media Is a Valuable Tool for Modern Brands
Shared media has become an absolute game changer for brands in the past decade – but you still have to treat it carefully.
Organic sharing expands your reach far beyond your immediate audience. It's like word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.
After all, when people see their friends and family sharing your content, it carries more weight than traditional advertising. Yet, your original message can change its meaning as it passes through other social media accounts, so you need to ensure your original messaging is crystal clear.
The best part of shared media is that it's often more cost-effective than traditional marketing channels. You can achieve significant results with a relatively small investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hopefully by now you have a fairly clear idea about how shared media can benefit your brand.
As we wrap up our guide, let's end on some frequently asked questions.
What Are Some Clear-cut Examples of Shared Media in Action?
Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and X all facilitate shared media.
When you post content on these platforms, you're sharing it with your followers and the wider public. This makes it easy for that content to be reshared among users.
How Does Shared Media Contribute to a Company's Overall Communication Strategy?
Shared media works alongside paid, earned, and owned media.
You can use social media to promote blog posts, share press coverage, or spread the word about advertising campaigns.
What Tools Can Companies Use to Effectively Manage Their Shared Media Efforts?
Social media management platforms, like CisionOne and Brandwatch, let you schedule posts, track mentions, and analyze performance across multiple accounts. This is great for encouraging shared media and tracking it.
Content creation tools such as Canva help you design eye-catching graphics for social posts. Visually appealing posts are more likely to be shared!
Social listening tools are great for tuning into online conversations about your brand, so you can check that the messaging around your shared content is still on brand.
How Does Shared Media Impact a Brand's Relationship With Its Audience Compared to Owned or Earned Media?
Shared platforms let you showcase your brand's personality in a more casual, conversational way.
You can get into the comments and answer any questions that customers have. That's not always an option where traditional media exposure is concerned – so it's definitely better for building a community.
