How to be a Media Buyer

What is a Media Buyer?

A media buyer is a professional who purchases advertising space or time on behalf of a company or organization. The main role of a media buyer is to find the right media platforms and secure ad placements that will effectively promote their client’s products, services or causes.

Media buyers need to have a strong understanding of the different types of media and advertising formats. They research audience demographics and behaviors to determine which media platforms would be most suitable for reaching the client’s target market. Some of the main traditional and digital media channels that media buyers may purchase include:

• Television – Buying ad slots on national broadcast, cable or streaming TV channels.
• Radio – Securing airtime on AM/FM stations and sometimes podcasts.
• Newspapers – Placing print ads in national, regional or local publications.
• Magazines – Buying ad space in industry-specific or special interest magazines.
• Out-of-Home – Placing ads on billboards, transit systems, bus shelters etc.
• Digital – Running online ads on websites, social media, mobile apps, influencer pages etc.

The goal is to find the right mix of media placements that will generate the maximum exposure for the lowest cost. Media buying involves negotiating prices and securing the most ideal ad slots or positions.

Core Skills and Qualities of a Media Buyer

To be successful as a media buyer, there are several important skills and qualities you need:

Communication Skills

You’ll need excellent communication skills for liaising with clients to understand their goals, negotiating with media sales representatives to get the best deals and coordinating with creative teams. You must be able to convey ideas clearly.

Analytical Ability

Strong analytical ability is crucial to review campaign performance data, identify trends and patterns, calculate key metrics like CPMs and optimize plans for improved results. Number crunching is a big part of the job.

Detail Orientation

Media buyers need great attention to detail to review contracts, catch errors, ensure campaigns launch correctly and track results. You’ll be managing a lot of moving pieces.

Time Management

Juggling multiple campaigns and tight deadlines takes excellent time management skills. Media buying is often a fast-paced role.

Interpersonal Skills

Since you’ll collaborate with clients, colleagues and media partners frequently, having strong interpersonal skills is a must. You need to build relationships founded on trust.

Tech Savvy

As a media buyer, you’ll need to master various software programs for planning campaigns, tracking inventory, managing ad servers and analyzing data. Being tech savvy is a prerequisite.

Typical Responsibilities and Duties

The typical day-to-day responsibilities and duties handled by a media buyer include:

Researching Media Options

• Conduct market research on demographics and media consumption habits of target audience.
• Research pricing and audience data for relevant media platforms like digital sites, print publications, TV channels etc.
• Create lists of suitable media outlets and advertising options.
• Analyze the pros and cons of each platform based on key metrics like cost, reach, frequency, formats etc.

Developing Media Plans

• Strategize the ideal media mix for meeting campaign KPIs within budget.
• Specify the allocation of budget across TV, radio, print, digital etc.
• Select specific media placements, channels, sites, dayparts and positions to occupy.
• Negotiate prices, added value opportunities and inventory availability with vendors.
• Create detailed insertion orders and flowcharts for ad trafficking.

Managing Campaigns

• Oversee the launch of campaigns across purchased media platforms.
• Continuously optimize plans by adjusting tactics and budgets.
• Monitor campaign performance and create regular reports for clients.
• Ensure ads and copy are delivered correctly and on schedule.
• Troubleshoot any campaign issues or problems with the media vendor.

Administration

• Purchase agreed media spots through ad servers, Salesforce and inventory management systems.
• Process invoices, resolve billing discrepancies and record costs for each campaign.
• Attend meetings with creative teams, clients and media partners.
• Manage contractual paperwork like non-disclosure agreements, letters of agreement etc.

Media Buying Process Steps

Though the process varies by organization and campaign requirements, these are the typical stages of the media buying process:

1. Receive Brief

The first step is to receive a creative brief from the client or account team outlining campaign objectives, target audience, budget, timing, messaging and success metrics.

2. Define Audience

Conduct in-depth research on the target audience including demographics, media habits, interests, purchasing behavior and geographic location.

3. Set Media Strategy

Based on campaign goals, formulate the optimal media mix across channels like TV, radio, print, digital etc. Outline the recommended tactics.

4. Create Media Plan

Develop a detailed written media plan with proposed ad placements, sizes, formats, sites, dayparts and total costs. Include post-buy analysis projections.

5. Secure Inventory

Contact vendors to negotiate prices based on the planned media budget and secure inventory like ad pages, slots and impressions.

6. Purchase Ads

Once proposals are approved, activate the purchases by entering details into tracking systems. Coordinate ad trafficking with creative teams.

7. Monitor and Optimize

Once live, regularly analyze campaign performance data to identify opportunities and adjust tactics as needed. Provide optimization recommendations.

8. Report Results

Compile campaign recaps for clients showing key metrics like ROI, clickthrough rates, site traffic, conversions vs. KPIs. Make future recommendations.

Education and Training Requirements

While you don’t need a degree specifically in media buying, most media buyers have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like marketing, communications, advertising, journalism or business. Coursework in areas like media planning, advertising principles, consumer behavior, market research, data analytics and budget management will be helpful.

Many colleges also offer specific certifications in media buying. These provide hands-on training in areas like using media buying software, conducting research, developing plans, managing ad inventory, understanding pricing models and measuring campaign ROI.

Beyond formal education, media buying is a role where hands-on experience is critical. Finding an internship at a media agency and shadowing seasoned media buyers will offer invaluable insights into the day-to-day workings of the job. Entry-level positions like media planner/buyer assistant can help you gain on-the-ground training before moving into a regular media buyer position.

Key Media Buying Metrics

As a media buyer, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to optimize plans and provide maximum ROI on media budgets. Here are some of the key metrics buyers should track:

• Reach – The number of unique people exposed to the ads.
• Frequency – How often audience sees the ads on average.
• Impressions – Total number of times ads are displayed.
• CPM (Cost Per Thousand) – The cost to reach 1,000 impressions. Calculates media cost efficiency.
• CPC (Cost Per Click) – How much is spent each time users click ads. Relevant for digital.
• CTR (Clickthrough Rate) – Clicks divided by impressions show ad engagement.
• CPL (Cost Per Lead/Sale) – The cost of each conversion generated. Measures direct response.
• ROI (Return on Investment) – Revenue or conversions gained from the campaign vs. overall cost.

Media Buyer Salary Expectations

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for media buyers in the United States is $57,500. Entry-level positions start around $35,000 – $45,000 per year. With 5-10 years of experience, top media buyers can earn $85,000 – $95,000. Senior media directors and managers make six-figure salaries.

Location, company type and industry can impact media buyer salaries. Media hubs like New York and Los Angeles tend to pay more. Large ad agencies or major consumer brand companies also offer lucrative compensation and benefits packages.

Pros and Cons of Being a Media Buyer

Pros:

• – Competitive salary potential
• – Creative, fast-paced work environment
• – Variety of clients and projects
• – Opportunities to build relationships with media partners
• – Contribute to campaign success through savvy buying

Cons:

• – Can be high stress around campaign deadlines
• – Need to meet frequent billing and performance targets
• – Very analytical and numbers-focused
• – Requires staying on top of constant media changes
• – Less hands-on creative opportunities than other agency roles

Is Media Buying the Right Career For You?

Media buying is an exciting career for people who enjoy the worlds of media, advertising and marketing. Strategizing the best media mix that aligns to campaign goals and getting the biggest bang for a client’s buck can be extremely rewarding.

If you’re a natural negotiator who pays close attention to details, analyzes data efficiently, communicates clearly, meets deadlines, and balances multiple projects well, a career as a media buyer may be a great fit. It offers opportunities for strategic thinking, relationship building, and staying on the pulse of media trends. For analytical, digitally inclined professionals, media buying offers a lucrative and progressive career path.

Conclusion

Media buying is a complex but critically important role within modern marketing and advertising. By securing ideal placements and using budgets astutely, media buyers help connect brands with the right audiences to achieve payoffs. With solid training in areas like research, analytics, negotiation and campaign management, media buying can be an engaging and prosperous long-term career. For strategic thinkers who enjoy the combination of creativity and numbers-crunching, it offers a chance to positively influence marketing results.