When it comes to Media Buys, the road to success can take many twists and turns, but should always consist of a strategic plan, proper execution, detailed optimization, scalability, and the testing of new offers.
The planning phase of any media buy should include choosing a traffic source. With new traffic sources popping up ever more frequently, Media Buyers need to rely on resources such as industry newsletters, Magazines, and Forums for inside information. Often times, industry magazines will count down the top advertising networks based on reach and monthly impressions served. While forums make a great place for referrals and obtaining feedback from other online marketers (regarding specific traffic sources), be sure to do your own research. Once the traffic source, whether a advertising network or large website, is locked down, consider setting a daily spend which corresponds to your back end goals. This will later help with the scalability of your campaign. Also, request reporting access, as this will pertain to the optimization of a media buy.
To the experienced media buyers, the execution phase may seem like second nature, however, the steps involved with properly launching a campaign should not be overlooked. Many advertising networks require a minimum purchase of between $5,000- $10,000 for a CPM or CPC media buy. With this type of investment in place, media buyers should be sure their affiliate link is loading correctly, a pixel is placed, and the campaign is tested to ensure tracking. A campaign will see the most traffic during the week. With that said, keep in mind the day of the week of which the campaign is launched. For example, launching a campaign on a Friday evening is dangerous since an issue could occur over the weekend and days may go by with impressions or clicks completely wasted.
Once the campaign is live, the optimization phase of a media buy begins. Having a daily spend in place will allow you to compare apples to apples, regarding the offer's performance. The daily spend will also allow buyers to spot trends in the reports. Optimization should involve eliminating sites which aren't converting and setting day parting in place. For example, if reporting shows the most leads between 7am and midnight, day parting can be set so your campaign will only be viewed during those hours. This will help preserve your budget and increase your ROI. The optimization phase also includes "tweaking" the campaign. There are many ways to tweak an offer. If you are using Text Links, changing up the ad copy can increase Click-Through Rates. The same applies for Display ads; the creative can make or break the success of a media buy since it is the first interaction a user has with an offer.
Scaling an offer is the most exciting part of a media buy, in my opinion. It means you have made a campaign successful on the small scale and are ready to see what the inventory is really capable of. The first stage of scaling should be to increase the cap (perhaps double the daily spend). If the offer is still profitable at that level, blow your budget out and wait for the return! At this point, a media buyer may feel like they have achieved success. However, the largest buyers out there are always looking for "the next big thing". Be sure to test new offers throughout each phase of your media buy. Testing new offers and new traffic sources will provide the diversity necessary for your future success in Media Buying.
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