Paid Media
Paid media is any advertising a business pays to place in front of an audience. It includes search ads, social media ads, display and video ads, sponsored content, and paid placements with creators or publishers. It sits alongside owned media, which is the channels a business controls, and earned media, which is the coverage and mentions it does not pay for.
Last updated: November 2026
Types of paid media
- Paid search: ads on search results, such as Google Ads.
- Paid social: ads on platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
- Display: banner and image ads on websites and apps.
- Video and connected TV: ads on YouTube and streaming services.
- Retail media: ads on shopping platforms such as Amazon Ads.
- Sponsored content: paid placements with publishers and creators.
Paid vs. owned vs. earned media
- Paid media: placements a business pays for. Reach is fast and stops when the spending stops.
- Owned media: channels the business controls, such as its website, blog, and email list.
- Earned media: attention it does not pay for, such as press coverage, reviews, and shares.
Paid media examples
A software company bidding on search terms that describe its product. An online store running Meta ads to people who viewed a product and did not buy. A consumer brand paying a creator for a sponsored video. Each one buys attention directly, which is what separates paid media from the other two kinds.
How is paid media paid for?
Self-serve platforms keep a card on file and charge it whenever spend reaches a billing threshold, or once a month. Larger advertisers are often moved to monthly invoicing. Agencies commonly pay the platforms for their clients, which turns client ad spend into a cash flow question as well as a marketing one. The total paid to platforms is the ad spend, and placing it is media buying.
How Opal supports paid media spend
Opal is a charge card built for agencies, media buyers, and brands that run paid media. Credit limits go up to $10 million and are sized on managed ad spend and cash flow, and unlimited free virtual cards give each client or ad platform its own card and spending limit.
Opal pays 1% cashback on eligible ad spend on credit accounts and 1.5% on pre-funded accounts, with no cap on what you earn. See how Opal works for agencies.
Frequently asked questions
Paid social is one type of paid media. Paid media covers every channel where a business pays for placement, including search, display, video, and sponsored content. Paid social refers only to ads on social platforms.
No. Search engine optimization earns unpaid visits from search results, so it is treated as owned or organic activity. The paid equivalent is paid search, where a business bids to appear as an ad on the results page.
A paid media specialist plans, launches, and manages advertising campaigns on platforms such as Google Ads and Meta. The work includes setting budgets, choosing audiences, testing ads, and reporting on results.
See what Opal can do for you
Learn how our spend platform can increase the strategic impact of your finance team and future-proof your company
