Creating an Effective Media Buying Strategy

Media buying is part of advertising management. Media buyers negotiate, purchase and monitor advertising space and airtime on behalf of their clients. We aim to reach the highest number of people in the target audience at the lowest possible cost. A great media buyer pays attention to detail, spends time researching and can negotiate like a pro. As digital technologies and media consumption habits change, so do advertising opportunities, creating a minefield of interactive marketing complexities. We keep up to date with industry research figures, including distribution figures (newspapers and magazines) and audience figures (television and radio). We build and maintain excellent relationships with clients and media sales companies.

There are 3 keys to a successful advertising campaign:

CREATIVE

Your message must be creative and stand out from the pack.

PLACEMENT

You must place your message where the largest TARGET audience can see it.

FREQUENCY

Your message must run often enough so people see if a minimum of 3 times before they begin to react.

You can have the best product or service, but if your potential customers don’t see it, they won’t know about your business.

Questions we may ask you:
• Are there specific outlets you are interested in?
• What's your budget?
• What objective do you hope to achieve? (Examples: Create awareness, promote a special event)

Questions we ask ourselves:
• Who is our target market?
• Where can we allocate your budget to achieve your objectives?
• Where will we buy media?
• What components should your media strategy contain?
• What publications or media outlets are best for your budget and objective?
• How much will we spend with each outlet and why?

The first step is identifying the target audience for your particular media campaign and deciding the best way to communicate to that audience. Then we define and plan out the strategy. As your media buys are executed, we keep track of the results and evaluate how your plan and strategy is working for you. If we find that it’s not achieving the desired outcome, we adjust the plan as necessary. It’s very important to ensure the advertisements run accurately so the desired media message is seen and heard by consumers. Negotiating with media sales companies to obtain the best rates and most appropriate media spaces in online, broadcast and print advertising is a high priority. Client reporting and budget management, including preparing costings for clients and producing spending updates throughout the campaign lets you know we are getting the job done. For a successful campaign and achieving the best Return On Investment, the Mullikin Agency is the best choice!

Call the Mullikin Advertising Agency Today at 479.750.0871

Written by Julie Magnuson,
Vice President and Media Buyer of The Mullikin Advertising Agency

The Top Ten Ways to Advertise Your Business Successfully

 

Advertising is the best way to get your company name, product or service in front of the public today to increase sales. Most companies need to advertise to just to maintain their current sales, but advertising is definitely needed if you want to grow your business. If done correctly, you will not know how your business survived without it. Here a ten tips to advertise with great success:

 

#10  TARGET THE RIGHT AUDIENCE

ALWAYS identify your target audience, especially before you start thinking about where to spend money. If you’re not reaching the right people, you are wasting your advertising dollars. Today we can target specifically who you want to reach with traditional and/or digital advertising.
 

#9  USE AN EXPERT

Hire professionals to assist you with your advertising needs. Experts like The Mullikin Agency have excellent insight on how to communicate your message more effectively. We have research available right at our fingertips to help you better reach your target audience, get the best prices on advertising placement and come up with the most effective creative message. Plus we can provide monitoring and monthly analysis. Providing successful advertising campaigns is one of our specialties.
 

#8  PLAN AHEAD

Every successful advertising campaign begins with a well-conceived plan. Coming up with a realistic strategy and implementing that strategy is the key.
 

#7  FREQUENCY

You must place your message as frequently as you can. How often you run your ad makes a huge difference in the outcome or success of any campaign.
 

#6  BE CONSISTENT

You must create and maintain a consistent message, look and feel to your brand. You want to make a lasting impression with current and future customers. Branding your image lets consumers recognize your company right away.
 

#5  DEVELOP A SIMPLE MESSAGE

It is better to focus on one message rather than trying to create multiple messages that confuse the end user. A quick, clear message that is easily identifiable will get you the increased response you are looking for. Your website is a better place to educate and inform the public about more complex issues, while your advertising should be more singular in focus. Less is more when it comes to effective advertising.
 

#4. BUDGET YOUR DOLLARS

Establish a budget and stick to it. This way you’ll know exactly what you can afford, how often you can advertise and in which mediums.
 

#3  BELIEVE IN A MEDIA MIX

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Look at all forms of advertising and decide what works best for your particular needs. You should include a mix of both traditional and digital advertising if your budget allows. Online advertising is extremely cost effective.
 

#2  KNOW YOUR COMPETITION

Know who your competition is and what you do better than they do. Highlight that competitive advantage to add value to your potential customers. We have ways of advertising today that is under the radar screen of your competitors. Just ask us about that and we will be happy to tell you how to do it.
 

#1  ADVERTISE!

It is one of the most beneficial ways to inform the public of your company’s products or services, and if done correctly will not be an expense but will add greatly to your return on investment. There is a cost to advertising, but it will result in added sales and that is the key to any successful advertising campaign. Advertising works and it works well if you know what your doing.

 

Call the Mullikin Advertising Agency Today at 479.750.0871

Written by Randy Mullikin,
 Founder and President of The Mullikin Advertising Agency

Your business in the digital world

Today's digital world has set new standards for businesses. Your online existence is the key to increased business. It is much more than just having a website and hoping people will find you. Having a strong online presence is a crucial component of your marketing strategy, no matter what size or industry you're in. And the importance will increase year after year.

• According to Google, 97% of consumers use the web to search for local businesses.

• In 2013, 70% of consumers preferred to do their retail shopping online.

• 89% of consumers use search engines to research a product, service or business before making a decision.

The digital presence of your business is made up of many different factors. Our agency offers complete digital solutions including:

Advanced Digital Advertising Solutions

This involves precision targeting of online display ads to your ideal customers using state-of-the-art technology and analytics.

With digital advertising, the user is quickly and smoothly transported to a site where they can make a purchase or enquiry. You can choose which demographics to target based on your clientele. Interactive video clips can also be used to grab the user’s attention. Another great benefit of digital advertising is if you have a limited budget, you can start small and test out the results before committing to a larger advertising spend.

Responsive Website Creation for desktop, tablet, and mobile

Includes creating or redesigning websites, copywriting, Photoshop to eCommerce solutions, site hosting & management, email hosting, domain name registration, online video, reporting dashboard, and analytics.

A responsive website means your site can be viewed on any mobile device without having to scroll back and forth or zoom in closely to view the content. The website nicely fits the screen size of any device that is viewing it. With Google's new algorithm launch in April, sites that are not responsive are penalized in the search results, and responsive sites are brought right to the top. With more and more people spending most of their time on their smart phones instead of desktops, it's very important to have a responsive-designed website for them to view.

Search Engine Optimization(SEO)

Keywords, code modification, content creation and optimization, site linking, directories, local maps.

The purpose of SEO is to be found in organic searches by people searching for your product or service. You need to be at the top of that list and catch their attention quickly before they move on to your competitor. 75% don't scroll beyond page 1. If you don't increase your rankings, you will lose out on a lot of business. There are many factors that play into your SEO aside from your website's content and meta descriptions. For instance, if you have a Google blog, and are on Google+, and found in the popular directories, your chances increase. The more presence you have online, and the more all those pages have in common, the more likely a search engine will see you as relevant.

Paid Search Advertising/Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Keyword targeting and messaging, PPC (Pay Per Click), highly competitive bid system (varies by industry), site link & social extension, ad development, dashboard reporting, advanced boost.

An extra boost to optimization is search engine marketing! Sometimes there are too many competitors in your field and everyone can be optimized. That's where marketing comes in. Forcing your way to the top is sometimes the best solution.

Social Media/Reputation Management

Social content creation and monitoring for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and more.

Social media is a big part of your online existence. And can be easily damaging to your reputation. We all know word of mouth is an important form of advertising. Being aware and staying on top of what customers are saying about you can be very critical to your reputation. When you get a happy customer that is willing to express it, highlighting it and sharing with your other customers can turn a critic into a fan. A prompt response to a customer complaint can neutralize bad publicity and offer tips for improving customer service. Whenever your business is mentioned on the internet, you find out about it right away!

Get a complete analysis of your website’s performance, business listings, social media and search engine marketing efforts.

Our in-depth Online Presence Report will tell you where you need to focus and where you already have strengths online.

REQUEST ONLINE PRESENCE REPORT HERE

Call the Mullikin Advertising Agency Today at 479.750.0871

Written by Randy Mullikin Founder and President of The Mullikin Advertising Agency