How to Do Digital Media Buying for Your Brand

March 30, 2023 | By Ilfusion Team

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for brands to cut through the noise and reach their target audience organically.

For marketers, digital media buying may be worth considering: By leveraging the power of data-driven programmatic advertising, businesses can create targeted ads that drive engagement and conversions.

What Is Digital Media Buying?

Digital media buying is the process of purchasing online ads to reach a brand’s target audience. That includes display ads, search engine marketing (SEM), video ads, and more.

Media buying can also extend to other traditional media, such as television, radio, and print, and use it in combination with digital media.

Digital media buyers are also responsible for creating and optimizing campaigns, targeting the right audience, measuring performance, tracking spend and ROI, and more.

What Are the Benefits of Digital Media Buying?

As the term suggests, media buying involves spending money to reach your target audience. This may be challenging for small businesses or startups with limited resources, but the advantages of digital media buying are worth considering. Some of its benefits include:

• Increased reach and visibility for your brand: Digital media buying provides access to a much wider audience. You can target users in specific countries, cities, ages, and interests, increasing your brand’s reach and visibility.
• Higher engagement: Digital media buying allows you to target highly engaged audiences, resulting in higher conversions and ultimately, improved sales and return on investment (ROI).
• Faster results: Digital campaigns can be launched quickly, and you may start to see the results in a few days (and sometimes, a few hours). However, it’s important to note that digital campaigns require long-term management and optimization to be successful.

Media Buying vs. Media Planning: Are They the Same?

No, media buying and media planning are two different things. Media planning is the process of determining which type of ad to use, where to place it, and when to run it. Media buying is the actual purchasing of the ad space or time.

However, both media planning and buying go hand in hand. To be successful, you need to have a good media plan in place before launching any digital ad campaigns.

How Does Digital Media Buying Work?

Digital media buying can be done manually or through automated platforms. Manual media buying requires more time and resources, while automated tools can simplify the process and make it much faster.

For the purpose of this article, we’ll look into automated or programmatic media buying. There are three components to the process:

1. Ad Exchange

An ad exchange is a marketplace where advertisers buy and sell digital ads. It’s where all the ad inventory is stored, and buyers can bid on the available space to win. An example of an ad exchange is Google Ad Manager.

2. Demand-Side Platform (DSP)

A DSP is a tool that is used by advertisers to purchase ad space on the ad exchange. It also allows advertisers to create campaigns, choose their target audience, set bids and budgets, and more. Google’s Marketing Platform and Amazon DSP are examples of DSPs.

3. Supply-Side Platform (SSP)

An SSP is a tool used by publishers to connect with buyers and manage their ad inventory. It enables publishers to control which ads are displayed on their websites, set pricing for different types of ads, and more. An example of an SSP is PubMatic. Google Ad Manager also functions as an SSP.

Note: Advertisers are those who buy ad space, while publishers are those who sell it.

The Digital Media Buying Process

These three components work together to make up the digital media buying process. It uses algorithms to match buyers with the right ad inventory. Here’s how it works:

• DSP: The process begins when an advertiser creates a campaign on a DSP. They set their target audience, budget, bids, and other parameters.
• SSP & DSP: When a user visits a website, the SSP sends an ad request to the DSP. The DSP then evaluates all available inventory against the advertiser’s parameters to identify the best match.
• Ad exchange: The DSP then sends a bid request to the ad exchange, where it is evaluated against the bids of other advertisers. If the ad request is accepted, the exchange sends a confirmation to the DSP, and the advertiser’s ad is displayed on the website.

5 Digital Media Buying Tips for Beginners

Digital media buying can seem complicated but with the right strategy, it can be quite straightforward. Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Set goals

Before launching any campaigns, it’s important to define your goals and objectives. This will help you determine the type of ad to use, the platforms to target, and the budget for your digital campaigns.

Common goals for digital media buying include generating leads, improving brand awareness, and driving website traffic.

2. Research your audience

Understanding your target audience is key to creating successful digital campaigns. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics to get an in-depth understanding of who your audience is and what kind of content they engage with.

A few things to consider when determining which ads to use for your campaigns include age, gender, location, interests, and more.

3. Set a realistic budget

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to budgeting for digital campaigns. Each platform or ad type will have different costs associated with them. It’s important to set a realistic budget that fits your brand’s financial capabilities while also helping you reach your goals and maximize ROI.

As a rule of thumb, it’s best to start small and gradually increase your budget as you get more familiar with the process.

4. Develop an ad creative

In order for your ads to be successful, you need to create an eye-catching ad creative that will capture the attention of your target audience.

A few tips for developing your ad creative include using eye-catching colors, incorporating visuals and videos, and writing compelling copy.

5. Track and optimize performance

This is often an overlooked step, but tracking and optimizing your campaign performance is crucial for running successful digital campaigns. Use analytics tools to track key metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions.

Once you have a better understanding of how your campaigns are performing, you can make the necessary adjustments to ensure that they are as effective as possible.

Increase Your Brand’s Reach with the Right Strategy

Digital media buying is among the many strategies you can use to grow your business. Utilizing other digital marketing tactics like search engine optimization (SEO) and social media advertising can also be very beneficial for your brand.

If you need help with any of your digital marketing needs — digital media buying, SEO, social media, and more — Ilfusion is here to help. With our team of digital marketing professionals, we can help you create a comprehensive strategy to reach your branding and marketing goals.

Contact us today at 888-420-5115 or send us an email at [email protected] to get started!