What Is Media Buying in Digital Marketing?
Your digital marketing campaign will not be a success by just throwing together a few social media posts or coming up with a catchy slogan. Selective paid advertising, or buying ad space, can be just as important as what you are posting. In industry parlance, this is known as media buying, and here’s everything you need to know about it.
What Is Media Buying?
In simple terms, media buying refers to purchasing ad space and/or time on various digital and non-digital platforms. The primary objective is to get more exposure for the brand by increasing the outreach of the message.
There are a lot of moving parts. Those involved with media buying are also responsible for negotiating with the platform owners for purchase, maintaining ad inventory, monitoring the budget, keeping an eye on how ads perform, and making necessary adjustments to improve their performance.
Usually, media buying is preceded by the creation of a media plan. Media planning involves determining which media or channel would be most effective for connecting with your audience and what content you will push.
With the surge in digital marketing and more brands choosing it over traditional methods like print, digital media buying has come right to the forefront. It is projected that ad spending on social media platforms is estimated to exceed $173 billion USD in 2022. Businesses are no longer relying on billboards and print ads to get their products noticed. A great marketer will understand the power of digital advertising and want to optimize it, as it allows them to precisely target the audience they want.
Here are the critical steps of media buying:
- Comprehensive market research to determine your precise target audience
- Identifying the needs of your audience
- Finding out when your target audience is most likely to see and respond to your message
- Delivering content that gets the audience to respond
- Testing ad placements and making improvements
What Are the Key Features of Media Buying in Digital Marketing?
There are five main channels for digital media buyers. These are:
- YouTube
Some marketing agencies use a real-time bidding (RTB) system for purchasing advertising space. The website or platform where the ad will be shown sells the views, which can be purchased in real-time.
Many prefer an automated system of buying and selling using software, called programmatic advertising.
There is another model called direct buying, when a media buyer directly negotiates with a particular advertiser for media ad space and times. This works best for agencies, as they can negotiate special rates with publishers for all of their marketing clients for a pre-agreed volume of work. This helps all involved parties to save on both time and resources.
Any media buying method aims to get the maximum number of impressions from the right audience at the lowest possible cost. So how does the pricing work out? Every digital media buyer can choose from two pricing models available: cost-per-mille basis (CPM) or cost-per-click basis (CPC).
CPM requires advertisers to pay based on the number of times their ad is shown to the target audience. In contrast, CPC requires them to pay every time the audience clicks on the ad. Usually, CPC is preferred over CPM, as it is performance-based. However, when the goal is to just generate awareness about products, CPM is the better option.
How Is Media Buying Helpful for Your Business?
Your core goal as a business is to spend your ad budget in the smartest way possible, which requires a thorough knowledge of how things work on the ground. Working with a media buyer is a smart idea, as they know which channels and slots can nab you the best engagement. Using a media buyer means you are not at the mercy of go-betweens that can take a cut of your budget.
Media buyers work directly with publishers so they can get you the best exposure for your business at the lowest cost. Opting for media buying also reduces the chances of your digital marketing campaign failing, as the performance can be tracked in real-time.
Lastly, media buying helps better manage your advertising inventory as the purchase takes place in the present based on factors such as location, audience demographic, keywords, and ratings.
How Can InnoVision Help You With Digital Media Buying?
Strategic media buying is at the heart of what we do here at InnoVision. We understand that media buying is a highly nuanced process that requires an agency to obtain optimal ad placement for a brand. We have worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and understand how to craft a personalized media plan to help you achieve your goals.
Our media placement process aims to deliver an excellent investment return. We start by developing a comprehensive annual media planning strategy. We help you navigate the many options available and select the right one.
We consider different modes of exposure for your business, such as live events, promotions, in-program messaging, personality endorsements, and high-traffic media website exposure. The entire plan is specifically curated to your brand’s needs at no additional cost.
A significant advantage of being at the forefront of the marketing and advertising industry means that our team has a vast network of publishers we can reach out to for media planning and buying. We can negotiate the best rates for our clients and also get a few add-on elements. We also design compelling advertisements and creatives to effectively deliver the message to the target audience and create a lasting impact. On average, our media buying solutions have helped our clients to double or triple the value of their investments.
The media buying landscape is constantly evolving and is heavily dependent on negotiating the right deal for your brand. That’s why enlisting the services of someone who can provide the correct know-how can be the greatest difference between your competitor and you.
If you need a media buying agency for your digital marketing campaigns, look no further than our team here at InnoVision. Connect with us right away and watch the magic unfold.
