Media types

Paid media

bought media · paid placement

Definition

Paid media is placement a brand buys from a publisher, platform, or creator. The payment can be cash, product in a contract that requires a post, or a performance fee. Control of the message is higher than in earned media and lower than on an owned URL, because the host still sets the format, the disclosure rules, and the off switch.

The line is the consideration, not the font. A native article, a YouTube integration, a newsletter sponsorship, a boosted social post, a search ad, and a speaker slot bought through a conference prospectus are paid. So is an “ambassador” post when the brief requires a mention. Calling those units earned because they “feel authentic” is how reports get a board into trouble.

How it works

Buy distribution. Name the unit, the dates, the creative owner, the disclosure, and the destination URL. Keep the clip in a paid folder. If the same creator later posts without a brief or a fee, that later post can be earned. The contracted post cannot.

Example: a skincare brand pays a dermatologist $8,000 for one Instagram reel and one newsletter mention, both linking to a routine guide. The reel uses a paid partnership label. Analytics show 220,000 views and 1,400 clicks. Separately, a beauty editor at a magazine tests the product unprompted and writes 600 words with no link. The reel and newsletter are paid media. The magazine story is earned. Mixing them into “4.2 million earned impressions” hides the $8,000 and inflates trust.

Paid can support earned without becoming it. Promoting an already-published news story as a LinkedIn ad is paid distribution of someone else’s earned work. The original article stays earned. The impressions from the ad are paid.

How it differs

Earned media has no insertion order. Owned media has no media owner to pay. Shared media is circulation other people choose; boosting that circulation turns the extra reach into paid. Sponsored content and advertorials are paid formats that imitate editorial layout. They need disclosures. They do not become thought leadership because a VP is quoted.

In search and AI measurement, paid landing pages and advertorial domains are weak corroboration. Engines that cite independent journalism are not doing the brand a favor when the only “third party” is a paid native desk.

Common errors

Leaving #ad off a contracted post and filing it as UGC. Using AVE to compare a banner buy with a news story. Paying for a “guest editorial” and pitching it to reporters as coverage. Buying links and calling the invoice digital PR.

Sources