The media world is no longer dominated by a few giants. Instead, there are many new media types including websites, blogs, social media, and podcasts. According to Barbara Cave Henricks and Rusty Shelton, authors of “Mastering the New Media Landscape: Embrace the Micromedia Mindset,” there are three main categories of media to understand today: earned, owned and rented: (Summary provided by Tom Corson-Knowles of TCK Publishing, see video below)
- Earned Media — any media that has a gatekeeper, including traditional media and podcasts.
- Rented Media — social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These are referred to as “rented media” because if the website goes away, then your community on that website goes away with it.
- Owned Media — any media channel you own and control yourself, including your own website and email list.
What is Micromedia?
Micromedia, according to Rusty Shelton, includes everyone. ” Literally, every individual, business, and organization is our Micromedia outlet, whether they know it or not. Everyone with an iPhone can be one part cameraman, one part humor columnist, one part radio host or whatever kind of media outlet they would like to be.”
Shelton suggests people starting out ask themselves the following four questions:
- Which channels should I focus on?
- How am I encouraging people to subscribe to my Micromedia outlet?
- How can I use my power as a Micromedia outlet to build high-value relationships?
- How can I leverage the power of Newsjacking?
Mastering Micromedia Strategy
According to Henricks, by mastering these three areas, a company or organization can “create positive feedback loops” that help increase influence and draw and audience. According to Henricks and Shelton, companies should make sure their campaigns utilize all three categories.
In the following video, Barbara Cave Henricks discusses “How to Book Publicity.”
