The new world order of media and advertising demands that brands find new ways to drive consumer engagement. They must now look for ways to optimize paid, owned, and earned media. And the Holy Grail is to integrate all three sources of media into a single, consistent brand experience.

However, only 17% of chief marketing officers say earned media is truly integrated across their marketing programs and channels. Marketers have a huge opportunity to drive their brand via social engagement to create the perfect converged media combination.

But how do you create the perfect "owned media" experience for your customers, and what is the right formula for paid media to maximize your earned media opportunity?

Here is a three-step approach to creating a winning media program.

Step 1: Create owned media experiences that inspire

Your owned media properties are a huge asset, because your brand controls the content, brings focus to key messages, and ensures you have a branded presence across channels. Successful brands understand they need to both manage their social "destinations" (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and others), as well as bring social engagement experiences into their own websites.

Leading brands like Pepsi are doing this in real time while also ensuring the content is relevant and appropriate. Pepsi wanted to align its brand with all things pop culture and to generate relevant content to engage consumers year-round. Accordingly, it integrated customer conversations from social media platforms—Tweets from Twitter, photographs from Instagram, and comments from Facebook—with its website. Using moderation to filter out the noise, Pepsi displayed the most compelling content via an inspiring experience that could be distributed on any digital platform.

Step 2: Integrate social everywhere

Most marketing executives are trying to find ways to integrate and build social experiences everywhere they can. If they can do so successfully, they will provide the brand and its consumers a mutually beneficial relationship. Once customers see that they are recognized and valued by the brand, they are more likely to participate—improving the customer experience and also boosting the brand's reputation.

Every brand has an annual marketing calendar, which is full. As a marketing leader, what opportunities should you be thinking about for integration? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Marketing campaigns. What are your brand's major marketing campaigns? Usually there are at least three or four big campaigns every year. What is your "social layer" on top of those campaigns?
• Product launches. What new and innovative products is your company launching this year? How can you integrate social content onto those launches to generate and amplify consumer awareness, buzz, and excitement?
• Deals and promotions. Everyone loves a sale, a deal, or a promotion, so what better way to optimize word-of-mouth content than social media? Use this valuable asset with immersive social experiences that allow customers to interact, connect, and share brand affinity and gratitude for your promotion.