People usually think about ads when they either delight or annoy them.

In-between these two extremes, not much thought is given to ads – unless it’s your job.

Media buyers make sure that each ad finds its place, which is not nearly as easy as it sounds. So, what is media buying exactly?

What is media buying?

Media buying is the process of buying ad space for the purpose of advertising.

Media buyers can be advertisers or agents acting on advertisers’ behalf. When it comes to digital media buying, ad space can be purchased directly from website owners, or through networks or agencies.

The main goal of every media buyer is to achieve the maximum results by spending the least.

That is done by matching the right ad with the right media, preceded by a lot of planning and negotiating.  Professional media buyers are always well-aware of the latest media trends and they never underestimate the importance of market research.

How to be good at media buying

Only a few media buyers would tell you that they have always been successful at what they do. And at least half of them would be lying.

Media buying is not easy and it requires a lot of work, patience and experience. we can break down a successful media buying process into four main stages:

1. Research

Each product has its target audience. The basic step a successful media buyer takes is to identify that audience:

What is their gender? Where do they live? How old are they? …

Information such as age, gender, income, etc. should be taken into account. The more information you have, the more precise your targeting can be.

After establishing the main facts about your target audience, some market research is needed to provide additional valuable information about them. Research can also give you a better insight into competitors’ strategies and potential media buys. This information is helpful when planning your strategy and deciding on which ad space to buy.

2. Plan

Once you’ve done your research, you can start working on your strategy. It’s time to decide which media choices are the best fit for your target audience.

It’s neccessary to keep your budget reasonable and invest in those options that could yield the maximum results. This is done by finding the channels that are frequently visited by previously defined audience, but also revelant for the message your ad will try to convey.

What would happen if you kept displaying car ads on a fashion blog? Probably not much, at least when it comes to ROI. Putting an ad in front of the right people is crucial, and good planning is the key to making it happen.

3. Execute

The next step is to realize your strategy by getting in touch with media representatives.

Media buyers must have excellent negotiation skills in order to ensure the best deals for their clients. This includes negotiating the best rates and times, and even some extras such as value-added bonuses.

Networking is another valuable skill in media buying. Staying in touch with business acquaintances and creating new ones is a good way towards new business deals.

4. Analyze

The first rule of online marketing is to track EVERYTHING.

This applies to media buying as well.

It is very important to constantly monitor campaigns and evaluate your strategies. If the results aren’t as good as you have expected, don’t be afraid to change and adjust your strategy. Also, test a lot. Knowing what works and what doesn’t helps you optimize campaigns and invest smarter.

What AdCumulus does for media buyers

AdCumulus specializes in developing software for online advertising. Since media buyers are crucial participants in the advertising chain, our software tries to meet their needs in the best possible way.

> A single point of access

There is no need to manually connect various ad networks and launch campaigns on them. AdCumulus has a better solution – Affiliate Software. View statistics, control campaigns from all connected networks, and determine where to send traffic – all from a single place. Affiliate Software also has a dedicated Afffiliate GUI so your affiliates can log directly into the media buying flow.

> Capping and targeting

Capping and targeting represent the first level of optimization you can apply to your traffic. We combine several internal and external sources and platforms for the most accurate targeting and capping options. Intuitive and easy to use, these features represent a must-have tools for each media buyer.

> Automatic optimization with promo tools

AdCumulus has developed three promotional tools as a part of Affiliate Software – ad tag, direct link and pop-up. Behind those simple names is the powerful mechanism for automatic optimization.

In other words, Affiliate Software can choose and deliver the best offer for each visitor based on targeting criteria and predictive analysis. Learn more about AdCumulus promotional tools and find out how easy optimization can be.

> Custom traffic monitoring

Custom traffic monitoring can be very useful for media buying because it allows you to easily monitor specific affiliates and offers (for example, the conversion rate or click-through rate for a specific offer), or their combinations.

Real-time notification will make sure that you react quickly in case of any suspicious and potentially fraudulent activities and, therefore, constantly improve your effectiveness.

> Detailed reporting

Data is king and AdCumulus knows how to make the most of it.

Detailed reports with relevant statistics give you an in-depth insight into your media buying efforts. Find out which offers work best on which promo tool or ad placement and invest smarter.

What’s an ad without its place?

An ad might have the best design and message, but, without proper placement, it will only result in less money in advertiser’s pockets.

Media buyers try to prevent that by finding the optimal placement for each ad. That process involves a lot of work, but you can easily shift a part of that burden on technology. Doing so leaves media buyers more time to focus on the aspects of their job that technology yet cannot replace – networking and upgrading their own knowledge.

AdCumulus has already invested a lot of hard work into creating a great tool for media buyers. But stay tuned because our goal is to make online advertising easier and more effective than ever.