Media Best Practices

So, you are going to jump in and buy media for your business.  Beware of twists and turns.  There is much involved and many media outlets to choose from… such as television, radio, billboards, digital (including social media), newspapers, direct mail… and on.

The following tips will help you on your media buying journey. 

1. Ask yourself which media(s) is the best for what you are selling.  Some media is expensive.
2. Most buying starts with the geographic area you want to reach.  In television you usually start with the DMA (Designated Market Area), while in digital you pinpoint an area and radius.
3. Ask your salesperson who they can target whether it be with specific shows, drive times or viewing times for digital and billboard.  You will want to base your target customer on the customers you already have… age range, gender, likes, titles (if any), etc.
4. Once you have chosen where you will advertise your message, make sure you are spending an appropriate amount of money for what you are selling.  You would not want to spend tons of money to sell a product that doesn’t sell for much.  Please note: sometimes the production of your advertisement will be an extra cost.  Check on that with your salesperson.

Best Practices:

1. Do your research.  Look at all the media and choose which is/are best for your product/service.
2. Set goals you want to see from your advertising.  More foot traffic, more website views?
3. Ask for testimonials or facts about what the media you chose has to offer.  Can they deliver your demographic, geographic, etc.?
4. Ask for any market research that has been done.
5. Make sure you know who you want to advertise to.  What is the best way to reach them?
6. Make sure the total dollars you spend to advertise make sense.  Negotiate with your salesperson and get the best price.
7. Set a budget and stay within it.
8. Make sure your advertising message is clear and conveys what you want to get across to consumers.
9. Evaluate the performance of your advertising.  Did it produce results?  If not, you may change where you advertise.
10. The advertising is over.  See if your advertising met your set goals.  Did your cash register ring more than normal during the advertising and right after?  Did you see an increase in website viewership?  With digital, you can even look at analytics that tell you who you reached, where they came from and more.
11. Did you spend your advertising dollars wisely?  Meeting your goals can help you answer that question.  In any event, think about your options for advertising and what would work well with your product or service.

At BOLD, we want you to be the best you can be and we are happy to help.  Contact us for more information on advertising your business at https://getboldmarketing.com/contact-us/.