Joins paid, earned, shared and owned media (Dietrich, 2020) into one plan that uses Shared and Paid to build audiences the brand owns, then uses Earned credibility to amplify both. Most East African SMEs are over-invested in Shared and under-invested in Owned.
Use When
- Our paid, earned, shared and owned activity is run by different people and never reinforces itself.
- Press coverage fades after a day because nobody amplifies it with ads, posts or the newsletter.
- We depend on Facebook reach and want audiences we own: website, blog, email list, WhatsApp opt-in list and SMS list.
- An owned-media audit must decide which asset to build first and how social traffic joins the list with consent.
- Leadership wants one integrated communications plan showing which pillar leads each objective.
Do Not Use When
strategy-channel-architecturefor platform roles, the conversion hub and hub-and-spoke audience flows.playbook-pr-publicityfor story angles, press materials and journalist pitching.07-email-marketing-strategyfor the detailed email programme and lifecycle sequences.- Stop before adding contacts to email, SMS or WhatsApp lists without recorded opt-in consent; deliver the consent plan first.
Required Inputs
| Artefact | Source/provider | Required? | If absent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business name, industry, country/city and the primary objective for the next 6–12 months | Client owner | Yes | Stop; a PESO plan needs one SMART objective to rank channels against. |
| Current channels, each marked active, inactive or non-existent by pillar | Client and a quick account review | Yes | Fill the channel map with the client and leave unknown cells blank as gaps. |
| Monthly communications budget, including staff time | Client owner or finance lead | Yes | Give percentage splits only and mark UGX amounts not assessed. |
| Primary audience segment | Client brief or customer evidence | Yes | Name a working segment, label it an assumption and keep the plan to three to five channels. |
| Owned assets and list sizes (email, WhatsApp opt-in, SMS) with consent records | Client systems | Yes | Treat the Owned pillar as absent and start with the owned-media assets audit. |
| Channels explicitly out of scope | Client owner | Conditional | Ask; never assume paid advertising or TikTok is approved. |
Workflow
- Confirm all seven intake answers from the PESO method; stop until the objective, budget and audience are confirmed.
- Fill the PESO channel map with the client; identify absent Owned channels, Shared channels with strong organic reach and Earned channels that have produced results.
- If the client has under 500 email subscribers and no WhatsApp opt-in list, build the Owned asset plan first with owned-media assets.
- Apply the six integration principles (below) and assign which pillar leads each objective.
- Write the strategy document from the template: priority actions per pillar with owner and timeline, integration points, budget allocation and one primary KPI.
- Apply the EA-specific guidance: WhatsApp Business as a priority Owned channel, EA Earned voices, boost-only-proven-posts, SMS opt-in status.
- Check the plan against the Quality Standards and the anti-slop gate; correct any failed item and rerun the check before the plan goes to the client as an approval draft.
PESO integration principles
- Owned first: build the email list and WhatsApp opt-in list before committing budget to Paid.
- Earned amplifies Owned: every press mention links to a specific Owned asset that captures leads.
- Shared is the middle layer: every Shared post moves someone one step closer to an Owned relationship.
- Paid amplifies all three: boost Earned content and proven organic posts, not only branded posts.
- Measure by objective, not by channel: every channel goal is SMART and tied to a business objective.
- Sequence matters: build Owned infrastructure → activate Shared channels → pursue Earned coverage → use Paid to amplify what is already working.
The full wording, with the EA reasoning behind each principle, is in the PESO method.
Outputs
| Artefact | Consumer | Acceptance condition |
|---|---|---|
| Completed PESO channel map | Client owner and channel leads | Every relevant EA channel has a PESO type, state and goal, or a blank marked as a gap. |
| PESO integrated communications strategy document | Client leadership | Priority actions per pillar each carry an action, owner and timeline; integration points are specific. |
| Budget allocation by pillar | Client owner or finance lead | Paid, Owned, Shared and Earned lines total 100%. |
| Primary and secondary KPIs | Client owner; meta-roi-framework |
One measurable primary KPI with a baseline and end date. |
| Owned-media asset and consent plan | Digital team; 07-email-marketing-strategy |
Opt-in method and consent record defined before any list is contacted. |
Evidence Produced
| Evidence | Format | Acceptance condition |
|---|---|---|
| Channel audit record | The filled channel map with source and date | Reach and investment figures trace to platform data or are marked unknown. |
| Consent status register | Table per list (email, WhatsApp, SMS) | Every list shows opt-in method and record, or is marked not ready to use. |
| Assumption register | Table in the plan | Budget, audience and reach estimates that lack evidence are labelled. |
Capability and Permission Boundaries
Read and search only; analysis is read-only. Publishing, spend, live account changes, outreach and personal-data processing need explicit, action-specific client authority. No contact is added to an email, SMS or WhatsApp list without recorded opt-in consent.
Degraded Mode
Without the client's current channel list and budget, return the narrowest qualified result and mark the affected checks not assessed. The four-pillar explanation, a blank channel map for the client to fill and an Owned-first build sequence can still be delivered.
Decision Rules
| Condition | Action | Failure or risk avoided |
|---|---|---|
| The brief requires cross-channel orchestration and budget roles | Build a PESO system with hand-offs; use strategy-channel-architecture for platform-role selection alone |
A list of channels with no integration or ownership |
| The Owned pillar needs its own asset plan, or the client has under 500 email subscribers and no WhatsApp opt-in list | Build it with owned-media assets before committing Paid budget | Paid and Shared traffic with no consented owned asset to capture it |
| The client has no website and no opt-in mechanism | Do not recommend Paid yet; build Owned infrastructure first | Paid traffic with nowhere to go and no way to be captured |
| The client posts on Facebook daily but has no email list or opt-in | Pause or reduce Shared output temporarily and move that time to Owned | Building on rented land |
| A post is proposed for boosting | Boost only content with at least 20–30 organic engagements | Paying to push content the audience has already ignored |
| SMS is proposed | Establish whether it is an opted-in Owned list or a bought Paid blast; confirm opt-in compliance first | Unlawful or wasted bulk messaging |
| Resources are limited | Run three to five channels well rather than ten poorly | Thin effort everywhere and nothing remarkable |
| A channel cannot be linked to a measurable outcome | Question whether it belongs in the mix at this stage | Activity reported as strategy |
Quality Standards
- All four PESO pillars are defined accurately with EA-relevant channel examples.
- The channel map is complete, fillable and covers the major EA channels.
- All six integration principles are stated with actionable implications, not theory.
- Owned-first is explicit as the foundation of the plan, not an afterthought.
- WhatsApp Business is treated as a priority Owned channel.
- The budget allocation table is included and ready for the client to populate.
- Dietrich, G. (2020) Spin Sucks is cited as the source of the PESO framework.
Anti-Patterns
- Press coverage that links only to the homepage. Fix: point each Earned mention at a landing page, blog post or catalogue that captures leads.
- Boosting branded posts while Earned proof sits unused. Fix: boost strong press mentions, testimonials and reviews that already carry social proof.
- Treating Earned media as newspapers only. Fix: include influential Facebook pages (10,000+ followers), WhatsApp group administrators and community voices alongside Daily Monitor, New Vision, NTV Uganda and Spark TV.
- Skipping email because clients are sceptical. Fix: frame email list growth as insurance against platform dependency.
- Building full Meta Ads campaigns before testing boosts. Fix: in Uganda, start by boosting proven organic posts; build campaigns later.
- Adding bought or scraped contacts to lists. Fix: deliver the consent plan first and add only opted-in contacts.
References
- PESO method, channel map and strategy template: read when running the intake, explaining the pillars, filling the channel map, writing the strategy document or applying EA guidance.
- Owned media assets: read when the Owned pillar needs an asset audit, email or WhatsApp list-building and consent plan, blog-to-social pipeline or owned publishing rhythm.
strategy-channel-architecture: read when each platform needs a role, a conversion hub and an audience flow.playbook-pr-publicity: read when Earned actions need story angles, press materials and pitching.07-email-marketing-strategy: read when the Owned email programme needs lifecycle sequences.meta-roi-framework: read when building the KPI framework and budget justification.- Anti-AI slop production gate: read when drafting the strategy document.