If we compare the advertising world now to how it was just a few decades ago, we’re looking at a very different landscape. Back in the day, businesses would be focusing on leaflets in shop windows and letters through doors. Now, even those targeting local customers can do it all digitally with social media and local SEO services. In this new advertising world, it’s all about advertising space, and this forms the basis for what we want to talk about today; media buying.
What’s Media Buying?
In short, this term describes the process of purchasing advertising space on the internet. Although a simple term, where it gets more complex, is in different locations, these spaces can originate. More recently, the focus has switched to advertising space on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. This being said, there are plenty of other sources that still work, whether it’s on websites, apps, search engines, or somewhere else entirely.
Getting Started – Remembering the Four Stages
It might sound easy to buy some advertising space and then use it, but there are some mistakes that many people make. When they fall into these common traps, they don’t make the most of their advertising opportunities, and they end up losing money. For us, there are four stages to getting media buying right. You can follow these steps, or, if you prefer, you can hire a media buying agency to purchase ad space for you.
Step 1: (Researching and Planning) – Firstly, we’ve seen far too many people just spend money on ad space without really thinking about it. What offers will you promote? Where do you want to advertise? What verticals will you use? Once you’ve decided on a budget and what you’re trying to convince people to take action on, this will help determine the geo-location of ads. In truth, budgeting is huge in media buying, and many begin with countries that are in tiers two and three simply because those in the top tier are too expensive.
Step 2: (Creating) – If you’re confident in your planning, the next stage is to decide on creatives that will generate results. As well as working on ads and banners, you can also think about bidding. At this stage, bear in mind your overall strategy. While some people will be looking for instant results (and therefore sales), others want an increase in exposure and reputation as part of a long-term strategy.
Step 3: (Analyzing and Improving) – Once you’re happy with the creatives and the ad campaign has been launched, your work doesn’t end here. Instead, you need to pay attention to the analytics and push for improvements. If an ad campaign on one platform is outperforming all others, invest more in this one and take advantage of the success. These days, we get access to all sorts of data, so learn what devices people use and even what browser they favor. The more you learn, the more opportunities you’ll have to improve your campaigns.
Step 4: (Scaling) – Finally, as you continually adjust and improve, your effort then goes towards scaling the whole operation. For example, you might be able to work towards countries in tier one. On the other hand, you might get a better return on your investment from targeting new groups. You can scale up to more people, new devices, different geo-locations, and generally grow as a business.
Summary
When you see the term ‘media buying,’ this refers to the process of buying ad space on the internet. Whether on a website or a social media platform, it can be used to get exposure or generate sales/sign-ups!