Is your paid media reaching the right audience in the right place at the right time? If not, you could be missing out on a large chunk of your deserved market share. The trick to getting your message out is to work with a media buying agency. Here are the three steps you must take to ensure success.
Pre-Launch
Marketing plans aren’t made overnight. In fact, pre-launch is the longest phase of the media buying process. Here’s what this entails:
- Identify the target audience: By understanding the demographics, locations, behaviors and other characteristics of your audience, you can identify when, where and how they shop. This tells you the types of places you should advertise, including on the radio, TV, billboards, newspaper, and of course, online.
- Research the competition: Learn from your rivals’ experiences by finding out whom they target and how, as well as what was successful and what wasn’t.
- Design a media buying strategy: Some media buyers concentrate on one channel while others purchase ad space from different outlets to advertise online and offline simultaneously. Decide which approach you want to take, keeping in mind that each channel must feature a tailored message.
- Choose media outlets: Look for the best deals from multiple publishers and negotiate the best price you can. Make sure there are no hidden fees.
- Anticipate the outcome of the campaign: After deciding where, how and with whom to advertise, allocate a budget based on the results you hope to achieve. Stick to a daily or monthly limit to keep your marketing budget on track.
Campaign Launch
Now, your media buyer takes over. Here are the agency’s responsibilities:
- Ensure the media is delivered: Automation saves time, but it’s not foolproof. The media buyer must ensure that advertisements appear in the desired locations in the proper context.
- Respond to customer behavior: The goal is to deliver relevant and helpful messages, not disturb or irritate consumers. The media buyer tracks responses to the ad (clicks, sign-ups, calls, purchases, ) and adapts the campaign accordingly. You can get the most from your media buying dollars if you continually analyze consumer feedback and re-evaluate the original plan.
Reflect on the Campaign
To promote successful future campaigns, always assess each one when it concludes. Here’s how:
- Collect data: Review statistics and reports to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the media buying campaign.
- Analyze the effectiveness: Decide whether the ad space you purchased generated the engagement you hoped for. This involves assessing customer satisfaction, your company’s reputation and the return on investment from the campaign.
- Decide what to do differently next time: Mark errors in your ad campaign so you can avoid them in the future.
Clearly, effective marketing is about more than just creating a beautiful ad – your target audience must also see it and engage with it. For help with your media buying efforts, contact John Manlove Marketing & Communications at 281-487-6767.