4 Key Metrics to Measure the Long-Term Impact of Earned Media
EarnedMedia.io
4 Key Metrics to Measure the Long-Term Impact of Earned Media
Measuring the long-term impact of earned media is crucial for understanding the true value of your marketing efforts. This article explores key metrics that can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your earned media strategies. Drawing from expert knowledge in the field, we'll delve into topics such as brand search growth, search visibility, and unprompted brand recognition to help you gauge your campaign's success.
- Track Brand Search Growth and Backlink Quality
- Monitor Search Visibility and Client Acquisition
- Leverage Instagram for Long-Term Beauty Marketing
- Observe Unprompted Brand Recognition and Trust
Track Brand Search Growth and Backlink Quality
To measure the long-term impact of earned media, I look beyond short-term traffic spikes and focus on brand search volume, backlink quality, and how often we're mentioned in trusted conversations over time. One of the most important metrics is branded search growth--if more people are Googling your name after a big feature, that's a strong signal of growing awareness and interest.
I also track referral traffic from media outlets, but I layer that with engagement metrics like time on site and conversion rates to see if the audience is actually a good fit. When earned media leads to backlinks from high-authority domains, it also improves SEO, so we monitor domain authority and organic keyword lifts in the weeks that follow.
But the biggest indicator? When leads or partners say, "I read about you in..." That kind of credibility compounds over time and builds a moat no ad campaign can replicate.
Monitor Search Visibility and Client Acquisition
We measure the long-term impact of earned media by how it alters search engine visibility, sentiment, and ultimately client acquisition. We're not looking at vanity metrics like impressions--we're looking at what sticks and what converts.
Branded search results are one of our key metrics. If earned media is displacing bad content or taking up the first page of Google with high-authority, quality content, that's a win. We also track referral traffic, organic links, and engagement over time--if that earned media is being shared or referenced on an ongoing basis more than a few months post-publication.
Inbound interest is also another important sign. When prospects report back to us about something they read in a story, a quote they noticed, or media coverage we assisted in acquiring, we know the story is successful. Over the long haul, most valuable is whether earned media reshapes perception and moves real business results.
Leverage Instagram for Long-Term Beauty Marketing
Allow me to offer some observations based on a particular encounter I had while working with a beauty salon in Miami.
It is necessary to look beyond quick conversions when assessing the long-term effects of earned advertising, particularly when you are starting with limited resources. This specific salon had a very limited budget and was basically starting from scratch when I started working with it. We had tremendous growth over the course of four years, and one important lesson was the durability of some earned media assets in the beauty market.
Our social media accounts, especially Instagram, have been the most significant long-term earned media assets for this salon. Years later, new customers are still drawn to the content we produced, such as client endorsements, before-and-after photos & videos, and naturally shared service highlights. For beauty services, prospective clients mainly rely on visual channels like Instagram. About 60% of our new leads were obtained on Instagram or through local search results, where our profile and Instagram content were prominently displayed. These earned assets continue to provide value and have a lengthy lifespan.
Because of this dynamic, customer retention rate and customer lifetime value (LTV) were more crucial indicators for us to gauge the long-term impact than initial reach or engagement levels. Why? Since earned marketing, particularly through Instagram social proof, increased credibility and drew customers who were truly interested in the caliber of the service rather than a one-time sale.
Our retention rate was higher than 54%. We first attracted people by offering a free consultation and frequently exhibiting a popular technique online. They entered our CRM system as soon as they arrived. We then concentrated on establishing rapport, learning about their requirements, and suggesting or upselling more relevant therapies. These early encounters became long-term, valuable clients as a result of the emphasis on fostering the client relationship, which was first spurred by earned media prominence.
We were able to observe how the salon's early earned media initiatives resulted in consistent, profitable growth over time by monitoring retention and LTV. It demonstrated that putting in the effort to develop a solid online image and presence naturally paid off handsomely in the long run.
Observe Unprompted Brand Recognition and Trust
The long-term impact of earned media manifests in how people describe the brand when we are outside the conversation. I pay close attention to search traffic around brand terms, direct mentions in communities, and the quality of inbound inquiries over time. It is less about quick spikes and more about steady recognition. When someone brings up your story without being prompted, that is when earned media has done its job. The most valuable metric is how often trust is already established before any pitch or outreach begins.
