What Is Paid Media?

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Learn more about the different types of paid media, why it’s important to a successful marketing strategy, and how to effectively use it to reach your audience.

[Featured image] A person browses web pages on their phone and computer while drinking a cup of tea, looking for examples of paid media.

Key takeaways

Paid media is any promotional content a business funds to reach its target audience.

  • Sponsored social media posts, video ads, and pop-ups are all examples of paid media.

  • The two primary pricing structures in paid media are cost per click (CPC) and cost per mille (CPM).

  • You can enhance your marketing strategy by better understanding when and how to use paid media. 

Discover what paid media is and how it differs from earned media. Afterward, consider enrolling in Google’s Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate to learn how to attract and engage customers through digital marketing channels like search and email. 

What is the meaning of paid media?

Paid media is any content that a business invests in to reach its target audience. Paid media includes pop-ups, sponsored social media posts or blogs, video ads, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Social media and search engines are the top places that use paid media, but you can also find it in places like website banners or emails.

By paying other businesses to display your ads and media, you have the opportunity to reach audiences that would be hard to find organically. Paid media typically has two types of pay structures: cost per click (CPC) and cost per mille (CPM).

With CPC media, you pay for the ad space based on the number of times people click on the ad’s link, making it ideal for driving direct traffic to a specific campaign or website. CPM media is where you pay a set rate per thousand impressions or views, regardless of performance—best for brand awareness campaigns.

What are examples of paid media?

Paid media is available in a wide variety of forms, each one tailored to its specific platform. For example, social media platforms typically offer the chance to work with influencers or media personalities to advertise your products or services. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X each have their own advertising platforms where you can create image or video-based ads and select the audience you’d like to reach and your budget. 

Search engine paid media includes keyword-based ads that appear when people search for specific phrases on Google or Bing. You can also purchase banner ads that display on websites, emails, and mobile apps.

How effective is paid media?

Integrating paid media into your business’s marketing strategy can help you tailor a campaign to a specific audience for a predetermined budget. Considering that these efforts cost money, it’s important to be intentional about the types of ads you’re creating, the purpose behind the campaigns, and your target audience.

Successful paid media campaigns involve more than simply spending money on ads. For example, if your target audience tends to participate on social media platforms, but not with video, then video ads would not be a productive use of time and money. Customizing your paid media to the right platforms and audiences can help increase your return on investment (ROI) and conversion rates.

Paid media vs. earned media: What’s the difference? 

Earned media, or free media, is the exposure you gain through public relations (PR) or word-of-mouth. It is typically more budget-friendly than paid media. However, if you’re looking to target specific audiences or need greater visibility, paid media might be a more suitable option.

Read more: What Is Earned Media?

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