Digital media buying has become essential to any marketing strategy in 2023. With more consumers spending time online and on mobile devices, brands must find ways to reach target audiences through digital channels effectively. With this article we will be providing an overview of digital media buying, including crucial terminology, benefits, how it works, and best practices for developing an effective digital media buying strategy.

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What is Digital Media Buying?

Digital media buying refers to purchasing advertising space on websites, mobile apps, social media platforms, and other digital channels. It involves collaborating with publishers, ad networks, and media companies to secure ideal ad placements that reach a brand’s target audience. The primary goal is to deliver the right messaging to the right individuals at the optimal moment.

Some key terminology in digital media buying includes:

  • Programmatic advertising: Automated buying and selling of digital ads using an auction-based system.
  • RTB (real-time bidding): A programmatic buying approach where advertisers bid on ad impressions as they become available.
  • DSP (demand-side platform): A technology platform used by media buyers to purchase digital ads across multiple sources.
  • Ad exchanges: Digital marketplaces enabling the buying and selling of online ad inventory via auctions.

Benefits of Digital Media Buying

Incorporating digital media buying into the marketing mix provides numerous advantages:

  • Precise targeting: Digital allows advanced targeting by demographics, interests, behaviors, and more to reach specific audiences.
  • Measurability: Detailed performance metrics enable ongoing optimization by identifying best performing placements and audiences.
  • Cost efficiency: It enables extensive reach at lower costs and less waste versus traditional media.
  • Flexibility: Campaigns can be adjusted in real-time based on data for improved results. Inventory and pricing also shift rapidly.
  • Automation: Programmatic buying and RTB enable automation for more efficient campaigns.

How Digital Media Buying Works

The digital media buying process commonly involves these key steps:

Research and Planning

Extensive research is done to understand target audiences, brand objectives, and optimal media mix. Media buyers analyze customer data and past campaign performance to inform planning. Popular digital channels include social ads, search ads, display ads, native ads, online video, and more. Budget allocation across channels is determined.

Inventory Analysis

Media buyers research available ad inventory, pricing, and audience data across intended digital platforms, often leveraging third-party data and tools. Trends are identified to optimize ad placements for relevance, visibility, and cost efficiency.

Negotiation and Purchasing

Ad inventory is negotiated and purchased via programmatic buying, direct publisher sales, ad networks, or a combination. Contract terms like pricing models, formats, targeting capabilities, performance guarantees, and more are agreed upon.

Ad Creation and Distribution

Creative teams or agencies typically develop ad content like images, videos, copy, etc. Ads are distributed through an ad server to the purchased digital channels.

Campaign Monitoring and Optimization

Media buyers closely track campaign analytics using performance data and metrics like clicks, conversions, viewability, and engagement. Top-performing platforms, placements, audiences, and creatives are identified. Underperforming elements are removed or refined and new opportunities continually tested.

Best Practices for Digital Media Buying

Follow these proven best practices for optimal digital media buying strategy development and management:

  • Set specific, measurable campaign goals and KPIs aligned to overarching business objectives. Track metrics like reach, clicks, conversions, viewability, engagement rate, ROI, etc.
  • Leverage audience, contextual, geographic, daypart, and device targeting for highly refined audience targeting. Lookalike modeling can help expand reach.
  • Test different bidding approaches across platforms, including open auctions, private marketplaces, and programmatic guaranteed deals. Assess cost, visibility, transparency, inventory quality.
  • Employ A/B testing of different creatives, placements, audiences, and variables to determine the optimal combination.
  • Frequently analyze performance, optimizing towards placements, platforms, ad types, etc. driving top results. Pause or eliminate underperforming elements.
  • Monitor campaign pacing and delivery to ensure advertising budget is spent appropriately and reaches the target audience.
  • Partner with an ad verification provider to monitor viewability, prevent fraud, and ensure brand safety.

Tips for Developing an Effective Digital Media Buying Strategy

Follow these tips when developing a comprehensive digital media buying strategy:

  • Conduct in-depth target audience research through surveys, interviews, and data analysis to understand their demographics, interests, behaviors, pain points, and shopping habits.
  • Determine clear campaign goals and success metrics based on broader business objectives like brand awareness, engagement, conversions, etc. Identify quantifiable KPIs.
  • Map out the full consumer journey to identify the most strategic digital touchpoints and opportunities to reach audiences.
  • Research trends and keep up with the latest digital platforms, ad formats, targeting capabilities, and measurement tools.
  • Outline campaign flight dates, milestones, and timelines across channels to plan activity and measure impact over time.
  • Build a test-and-learn approach into the media buying strategy to enable ongoing optimization and innovation as the landscape evolves.
  • Allocate budget across channels and campaigns based on success metrics, audience research, past performance, and campaign objectives.

Conclusion

Digital media buying is crucial for brands seeking to engage today’s predominantly online, mobile-first consumers. By taking a data-driven, audience-centric approach, and constantly optimizing campaigns based on performance, brands can develop highly effective and efficient strategies. The result is strategically reaching the right customers with the right messaging via the right channels to drive awareness, consideration, and sales.