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What The Experts Know About Media Buying — And You Should, Too

During the time you’ve owned your own business, you’ve been busy trying to keep up with the basics. But everyday, something else, like media buying, pops up that promises to take your operation to another level. It sounds good mainly because you know a few other words that sound like it — ‘social media’, ‘popular media’, and ‘media savvy’ — for example. But when you really stop and think about it, you don’t have a clue what media buying is or what it aims to do for your business.

In a nutshell, media buying is the purchasing of advertising space and time on media platforms. There was a time when media platforms were rather scant and only included things such as television, newspapers, and radio. However, the media landscape has changed dramatically in the last thirty years. The dawn of the internet, mobile phones and apps, and streaming services have all brought about new, exciting ways to reach potential customers that would have seemed impossible only a couple of generations ago.

Expertise in media buying requires more than just plunking down money to buy an ad on an app or on a website. This is what separates the experts from those who are trying their hand at getting their business’s name out there but falling short.

For example:

Connecting with the Right Audience — There is a science behind finding ideal customers, especially if you want to save time and money. The goal is to aim your advertising and marketing efforts in the direction they have the best chance of having success. This means having an actual background in advertising and marketing, experience with demographic and psychographic data breakdowns, as well as an understanding of how to find and use pertinent data for a client.

All Media Types Usable — Clearly, some media platforms will be more usable than others depending on the business. But all in all, never underestimate the power of media in all of its forms, even the old-school.

Frequency Matters — Simply trying something once and seeing how it goes is not how good media buying works. The phrase ‘relentless repetition’ should become a mantra by which your business lives by. Your message needs to get in front of the right audience as often as possible on as many media platforms as possible.

Negotiation is A Critical Skill — How much an ad costs is only ONE element of media buying. Furthermore, getting hung up on just that one thing means you’re not thinking about other significant elements of your media advertising such as ad placement, time slots, and/or payment terms.

Of course, remember that all of this has to be done while staying on budget. At least, that is what the truly great media buying experts do best. They break down the ins and outs of what their client is trying to do in the short-term and long term, understand their budget, and find ways to reach these goals. Far too often, other media buying outfits deliver excuses or perhaps trying to temper expectations to such an extent that the client wonders why they are even working with a third-party in the first place.

Finally, and this is important, if you’re a business owner and need help with media buying, you need to do more than work with a agency that has both technical proficiency and exemplary strategic credentials. You need to work with an agency that understands communication. Here at MindEcology, we’re an Austin advertising agency that has built a reputation on truly understanding our clients. Our main goal is to help you reach you highest potential. Touch base with our team today and see the difference.