Media Buying as an SMB Marketing Strategy

As a savvy marketer, you’re always on the lookout for new and unmined digital marketing strategies. For example, you may have heard about media buying and wondered what impact it could have on your company’s bottom line and overall success.

In this article, we’ll explore media buying in detail—from the opportunities it provides to the latest trends, strategies, and best practices—to help you make a successful investment in this digital marketing tool.

What is media buying and how does it work?

Media buying is a marketing tactic used by businesses to increase their advertising reach through strategic ad buys. It uses real-time data and analytics to determine when, where, and how to best spend advertising budget.

With the help of technology, including digital ad networks and software, media buyers are able to identify cost-effective opportunities which enable them to make educated buys that yield the highest return on investment possible.

These buys may include broadcast television ads, magazine ads, radio spots, web banners, videos, and more. By breaking down a campaign into its individual components—from budgeting and targeting to bidding and optimization—media buyers are able to effectively manage campaigns that result in more conversions and sales.

The benefits of media buying

Media buying is an effective way to maximize your reach and create successful advertising campaigns. Not only does it help you reach a wider audience, but media buying also gives you the opportunity to customize each phase of your campaign so that it resonates with the right audience.

Furthermore, media buying allows you to track your success through extensive analytics and reporting, giving you valuable feedback on how best to tailor a campaign for optimal performance.

This means that whatever type of product or service you’re offering, whether it’s a physical product or purely digital, you can take advantage of efficient and cost-effective targeting options. Strategic media buys can also plant the seed for long-term marketing success through ongoing campaigns.

Top media buying strategies

Media buying strategies are the key to modern advertising. Various tactics can be used to ensure successful consumer outreach. One of the most commonly used techniques is cost per impression, or CPI, buying. This allows businesses to secure a certain amount of impressions on their target audience at a predetermined cost. Pay per click (PPC) purchasing is another popular performance-based option that is designed to drive traffic clicks directly from your ads.

Social media can also be leveraged by buying advertising space on social media platforms, such as Instagram or Facebook, for sponsored posts. In addition, programmatic buying is gaining popularity due to its automated features allowing for increased scalability and targeting precision when it comes to digital ad placements.

With all these different options for media buying, businesses have flexibility in selecting the venue which works best for their specific business goals.

Tracking performance with media buying metrics

Media buyers have a lot of different metrics to track when it comes to performance. CPM (cost per mille), CTR (click through rate), and conversion rate are just a few of the most common media buying metrics to track. But what do all of these acronyms mean? And how do you know which ones are most important to track for your campaign?

• CPM stands for cost per mille, or cost per thousand, impressions. This is the standard metric for measuring ad performance.

• CTR, or click through rate, measures the number of times an ad is clicked divided by the number of times it is shown.

• Conversion rate measures the number of people who take a desired action (for example, submitting an email address through a form or completing a purchase) after seeing an ad.

So, which metric should you focus on? It really depends on your campaign goals. If you’re looking to increase brand awareness, CPM might be the most important metric because of its focus on reach. If you’re trying to get people to click through to your website, CTR will obviously be more important. And if you’re trying to get people to take a specific action, conversion rate will be key.

The bottom line is that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. You need to think about what you want to achieve with your campaign and then choose the metrics that will best help you measure that success.

Tips for Strategically Leveraging Your Media Buy

When it comes to making the most of your media buy, properly planning and strategizing is key. You’re much more likely to achieve maximum results by accurately targeting the right markets ahead of time, rather than blindly shooting into the dark with a shotgun approach.

For instance, if you are aiming to promote a product or service locally, use geo-targeting to place your message only within the boundaries of the city where your target demographic resides.

Also consider retargeting strategies that focus on re-engaging consumers with ads based upon their past online behavior. This strategy can be helpful for creating top-of-mind brand recognition for potential customers.

Finally, ensure that the creative portion of your media buy is attention grabbing and properly aligns with your brand messaging goals. Investing in high quality content can be expensive but can also pay huge dividends in differentiating your brand from the competition.

Additional resources for media buying success

Media buying is a powerful and impactful tool that, when used correctly, can help you boost your brand’s visibility and success exponentially. Remember to keep track of key metrics, stay informed on relevant trends, and update your strategies to align with the ever-evolving media landscape.

There are endless opportunities for creativity in media buying: use this knowledge to develop unique campaigns that will engage and attract your target audience. Also remember to have fun as you adopt more advanced strategies and bring your marketing game to the next level through creativity and experimentation.

And if you feel like your team isn’t quite ready to tackle media buying on your own, turn to the top-rated experts in UpCity’s community of digital marketing agencies for help.