The Smart Business Owner’s Guide To Media Buying
Different Name, Familiar Territory
If you’re a business owner, and you’re asking, “What is media buying?”, don’t feel too bad because you’re not alone. However, if you happen to keep asking yourself the same question and you keep choosing to not get informed, that’s on you. That may feel a little confrontational, but at the end of the day, running a business is a tough job. The decisions you make today will have an almost immediate impact tomorrow. Plus, there are likely a few people (e.g., your employees and your family, as well as anyone who’s financially invested) that might have a stake in how well your operation runs.
A Few Things To Consider
So, with that said, let’s once again ask, “What is media buying?” In a nutshell, it is buying ad space & time on the internet, as well as other more traditional media. Think TV commercials, radio spots, billboards, and Facebook/Google ads. The main goal is to get your name out ‘there’ so that you are able to get more income. But as simple as the concept sounds, there’s a few things you need to know before you start spending money.
For starters, you might be surprised to learn that a lot of business owners mistake media ‘planning’ with buying. Planning has to do with the strategy that goes into your ad campaign. You need to ask question like:
- What do you hope to accomplish?
- Do you have specific goals to reach in the short-term and long-term?
It takes work to get some real answers. Just saying, “I want to make more money” isn’t going to cut it. Then, you need to be able to track your campaign in some way, shape, or form. Key performance indicators (KPIs) give you and your team a chance to assess how well an ad campaign is going. But the work isn’t done. If your assessment is not so great, what do you plan on doing about it?
The Hard Work Pays Still Lies Ahead
If you’ve made it this far, congrats. Far too many business owners shelve the hard work because it’s hindering their ‘hunch’ performance. Now, when it comes to media buying, you need a budget. As the old adage goes, “You gotta spend money to make money”, right? The thing is that today’s digital world, especially that of social media platforms, too many business owners try to circumvent the need to pay for anything and opt instead to blanket their online presence with what they think are ‘ads’ masked as regular posts.
Think this is a good strategy? Then ask yourself this — is there a difference between a commercial with a budget and a local TV spot with no investment at all? You might gain viral notoriety, but an ad it does not make. The marketing work being done behind the scenes will help you design the ideal ad that reaches the ideal audience. Don’t cheap out.
Old-School and New-School Unite
Business owners, especially in this day and age, need to know how best to navigate the type of media in which they invest. Placing ads in newspapers still plays a major role in attracting some customers. In fact, they may be the ideal customer that is actively seeking out your product/service. But you cannot forget about the digital world we’re all in. Hundreds of millions of people get their daily dose of the world by what is on their screen. Choosing to ignore those numbers can, and likely will, be a detriment to your success.
But in the end, remember that this is all information slated for the SMART business owner. What if you don’t know how to navigate a budget for ads? Maybe you’re ignoring an online presence because you’re not good at working online? What if you don’t know a thing about finding and breaking down data regarding your audience? The SMART business owner knows when they need help. Choosing to find a marketing agency familiar with media buying and data science to step in with their expertise will make all the difference in the world.
We’re MindEcology, an Austin advertising agency that knows a thing or two about media buying, as well as a lot about how to make data work for our clients. Reach out to us today & let us help take your business to the next level.