How paid, owned, and earned are becoming one:

• Earned (social) content has become mainstream. We’re past the point of experimentation. Nearly every industry requires mass deployment.
• Facebook’s recent announcements clearly indicate earned content is now becoming paid, and owned content needs to be paid to achieve mass appeal within a Facebook page.
• We’re starting to see the corporate social strategist cross the aisle to work with direct marketers. Advertising agencies are extending their budgets into the social world. Political and coordination issues will emerge as these once separate groups come together.
• Brands that integrate paid, owned, and earned media will benefit because they will reach customers in the most effective manner.
• Consumers don’t consciously differentiate between ads, corporate content, and what their friends say, but instead indiscriminately use a variety of content sources.

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