Success in generating earned media requires high quality content that has an element of surprise and/or strong PR-value. Emotion, storytelling, capitalising on a cultural moment or inspirational activism are proven, effective ways to do that. Many non-profit successes show how earned media can be generated despite a low budget. Earned media does have some value in driving sales but has a stronger role in building fame, engagement and insight for future campaign innovation.
Definition
Earned media is what consumers do on behalf of a brand. This would cover word-of-mouth, advocacy, social media activity that drives 'retweets' on Twitter, 'likes' on Facebook...