Paid or Earned Media for Tech Companies?
The strongest communications strategies need both
The debate around paid or earned media for tech companies can sometimes make communications sound like a choice between two competing approaches. I don’t think it is. Paid has an important place, just as earned media does. The real opportunity comes from understanding the different purpose each serves and using them together as part of an integrated communications strategy.
Earned media brings independent credibility
One of the particular strengths of earned media is the credibility that comes from editorial selection. A journalist or editor decides that a story, opinion or piece of insight is relevant and newsworthy enough to share with their audience. The organisation has not simply paid for that editorial coverage to appear.
That independent validation is powerful. But securing it requires more than sending out information and hoping it lands. Strong PR relies on understanding what matters to the publication and its readers, building trusted media relationships, and having enough industry knowledge to recognise where a client’s expertise genuinely contributes to a wider conversation.
For a specialist agency like TechComms, that industry understanding is critical. We need to understand our clients’ businesses and growth ambitions, but we also need to understand the markets around them – what is changing, what journalists are interested in and what audiences need to know.
Paid media has a different job to do
That doesn’t make paid activity less valuable. It makes it different. Paid media can give organisations greater control over targeting, timing, reach and amplification. It can help ensure valuable content reaches a defined audience rather than relying solely on people discovering it organically.
Take a piece of independently commissioned research. The findings might create an earned media story because they reveal something genuinely new about an industry. Business leaders can then explore those findings through thought leadership articles or interviews. At the same time, a white paper based on the research could be promoted through a paid email campaign or hosted as sponsored downloadable content with a relevant publication.
Think touchpoints, not channels in isolation
People consume more content across more places, often in shorter bursts. It is unrealistic to expect one article, one advert or one campaign to do all the work. Someone might first encounter a company through an earned article, see a related LinkedIn post later, receive a targeted email about the research and eventually download the full report.
Those touchpoints reinforce one another. We shouldn’t be debating paid or earned media for tech companies. Earned media can build authority and credibility whereas paid activity can extend reach and put content in front of specific audiences. Owned channels give organisations the space to develop their ideas in greater depth. Social content can keep those ideas moving and create further opportunities for engagement.
Integration is where the value lies
The question, therefore, shouldn’t be whether paid is better than earned, or whether one can replace the other. It should be: what are we trying to achieve, who do we need to reach, and which combination of communications will help us get there?
Each has a different role and a different purpose. The strongest communications strategies recognise those differences – and bring them together so that every piece of content works harder.