Marketing POEM - Paid Owned Earned Media - The FITTR POEM

Have you heard of the Marketing POEM? It has become a crucial component of marketing success in the digital era. First lets find out what POEM is:

POEM, also known as Paid Owned and Earned Media, is a framework that categorizes various types of media channels used in marketing to reach and engage with target audiences.

A brief look at each component of POEM:

Paid media refers to advertising channels where marketers pay to gain visibility and reach their target audience. In digital marketing this includes channels like search engine marketing (SEM), display ads, social media ads, sponsored content, and influencer partnerships. Paid media allows brands to amplify their message, target specific demographics, and increase brand awareness through strategic placements and promotions.

Owned media refers to the channels and assets that a brand owns and controls. This includes the brand's website, blog, social media profiles, email newsletters, mobile apps, and other owned platforms. With owned media, brands have full control over the content, messaging, and customer experience. It allows for direct communication with the audience, building brand loyalty, and establishing thought leadership. Owned media also provides opportunities for content marketing, storytelling, and engaging with customers in an authentic and personalized manner.

Earned media refers to the organic exposure and attention a brand receives through word-of-mouth, public relations efforts, and positive customer experiences. It includes media coverage, social media mentions, reviews, shares, and recommendations from influencers or satisfied customers. Earned media is driven by the reputation and credibility of the brand, as well as the quality of its products or services. It relies on building strong relationships with stakeholders, providing exceptional customer experiences, and fostering brand advocacy.

While each component of POEM has its unique strengths, the real power lies in integrating them effectively. Paid, owned, and earned media work together to create a cohesive and comprehensive marketing strategy. Paid media can drive initial awareness and reach, owned media can nurture and engage the audience, and earned media can amplify the brand's credibility and social proof. By aligning these channels and leveraging their strengths, marketers can create a holistic approach to reach and engage with their target audience throughout their customer journey.

Let us take the example of an organization that has done a very good job at utilizing the POEM framework: FITTR (Formerly SQUATS)

FITTR is a mobile and web-based fitness and wellness platform that aims to revolutionize the way people approach health and fitness. It was founded in 2015 as a Whatsapp and Facebook group. Today, with a strong online community of over a million users, FITTR provides a comprehensive ecosystem of tools, resources, and expert guidance to help individuals achieve their fitness goals. The platform offers personalized workout plans, diet recommendations, and access to a wide range of fitness content. It also provides certifications and training programs for fitness enthusiasts and aspiring coaches, empowering them to pursue careers in the fitness industry.

FITTR seeks to fulfil a very vital gap in the health and wellness industry – lack of validated scientific information available to the general public. They seek to dispel fitness myths and misconceptions (bro science as they call it). The biggest brand ambassador for the brand is the founder himself – Jitendra Chouksey, who is very active on social media and openly follows the lifestyle that he advocates. He also takes the lead in dispelling fitness myths through a series of podcasts and posts.

In paid media, FITTR runs ads on all major platforms like Google (search, display, video and app), social media and sponsored banners. Ads revolve around the different programs they run, limited time offers and app downloads. At present they have reduced paid ads, but their ads still remain impactful.

In owned media they have an extensive library of content related to fitness programs and nutrition on their app. This content is free to consume and is designed to guide users in gaining knowledge about and adopting a fit and healthy lifestyle.

On social media FITTR creates engaging content through regular posts around trends in fitness and answers to questions posed by hundreds of users. One of the biggest strengths of this owned media is that a lot of this content is created by the founders and qualified trainers associated with FITTR and openly seeks to dispel myths and educate uninformed users about the latest research in the fitness industry. All this content has documented links to research papers and journals for validation. There are also frequent webinars and sessions hosted by the founders and trainers.

Earned media is the biggest strength of FITTR and has propelled them to an enviable position. The biggest volume of earned media comes from detailed posts on social media from thousands of people who have reached their fitness goals and achieved amazing results either from information they gained from the FITTR app and social media pages or helped by coaching from FITTR coaches (certified from INFS).

These posts are very detailed with before and after pictures and eloquently tell the story of how these people had tried so many different things for many years but failed to lose weight or reach their fitness goals. They give full credit to FITTR and its coaches for guiding them, educating them and helping them achieve their goals and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

They unabashedly declare their loyalty to FITTR and its founder Jitendra Chouksey. Many of these users have gone on to get certified from INFS and joined FITTR as coaches.

The brand is doing a superb job in generating earned media. Thousands of people who have benefitted from FITTR put up long posts about their journey with FITTR. In fact, many of these start with the line: long post alert. FITTR actively drives the generation of earned media via the following initiatives:

1)     FITTR and its trainers actively encourage happy clients and users to post about their journey on social media. Many of these posts get comments and replies from the founder himself which motivate more people to put up such posts.

2)     FITTR actively assists many clients in putting together professionally edited videos about their fitness journey and helping them showcase their story on social media. Some of the more successful journeys are featured and promoted on the FITTR app and Facebook page. Some posts are personally put up by the founder, himself a popular fitness influencer.

3)     Every quarter FITTR organizes an online fitness event called Transformation Challenge. This event is a massive source of valuable earned media as successful contestants regularly post about their progress on the app and social media.

4)     Many former clients of FITTR have now become certified coaches and work with the company as trainers. Their success stories on Facebook and their trainer profiles are valuable positive reviews on FITTR’s success.

In my opinion, FITTR provides one of the classic examples of optimum usage of POEM and where it can take you. Paid and owned media can make you very good. But it is earned media that can catapult you to greatness. And FITTR is doing a lot of things right in that direction.

Can you think of some other brands that are getting the POEM right? Do let me know.