Getting your promotional channels is an important part of your business. Good media planning and buying is the life blood of the success and profitability of your organisation. There are so many different ways of getting the message out it is sometimes difficult to choose which is best for you. Much will depend on your budget as to which media planning and buying options you choose. You will need to first decide on your market. Does your business operate locally, or is it a multinational company with potentially a much bigger client base. Advertising on the TV is notoriously expensive though having sound bites with catchy tunes on the local radio can be very cost effective. Digital means such as web sites and Facebook pages can also work for you. The latter is quick and easy to set up and can become a very popular part of your media planning and buying campaign. Social media is becoming very popular and if you have a local business wanting friends to recommend you, this is a great way of getting you talked about and getting recommendations.

Your media planning and buying strategy should be well organised and implemented. Once you have agreed a budget and the various channels you are going to use, you should not spend money on a whim elsewhere. It is very easy to be persuaded by advertising sales people, especially when you are in a hurry. If you do not have the knowledge in house you may want to hire a media planning and buying consultant at the outset to advise you on the best way forward. They will be able to negotiate discounts on advertising, organise complementary services and even identify the best publications to advertise in if it decided that print services is the way to go. A good media planning and buying consultant will advise you on the various channels available to you and draw up a plan. This may sound very organised, but you will want to maximise your investment of both time and cash. It is also important to gather feedback about which channels work best for you. You can do this by asking potential clients where they saw your advertisement. Even if they ultimately do not take up your service, at least you will get a picture of what works for you. You should review your media planning and buying schedule on a regular basis. If some channels are not working for you, it may be that you have not identified your market correctly and you may need to have a rethink. On the other hand, if a particular channel is working well for you, it may be worth keeping that to the forefront of your campaign.

The whole objective of media planning and buying is to maximise the market, get a good return on investment and an overall profitability. This will help your business grow and you may soon have more work than you can handle!