5 Ways to Keep a Mass Media Buy from Being a Massive Mistake

Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s a good deal or a good idea.

Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s a good deal or a good idea either.

We all love scoring a buy that is a good, quality find at a good price. That’s true of advertising, too. But we’ve talked to many designers who won’t even consider advertising because they assume that it’s a complete waste of their money.

That can be true. And that can be a very costly misunderstanding of the power of advertising. If you dismiss advertising altogether, you may be missing prime opportunities to grow your business.

So how can you find the right media without making a massive mistake? Here are five ways:

1) Understand Your Objectives: What do you want to accomplish? Do you want more leads? To stand apart from your competition? Promote a sale? Knowing these goals helps you evaluate whether a person-to-person approach such as e-mail, or a mass media method such as a newspaper ad, is more effective.

2) Think of Your Buyers. Study mass media from your buyers’ perspective. If you want to reach upscale consumers, consider what media they use. How do they make decisions? Where do they turn for ideas? Narrow your choices to the ones most likely to reach your potential clients.

3) Be Proactive. Understand what you’re buying before you buy. Before buying a magazine ad, for instance, make the publisher prove that the magazine will reach your target audience and your money will not be wasted on people who can’t buy your services.

4) Talk with Other Users of the Media. Do your homework, and ask other similar businesses what their experiences have been with using different media choices. Ask whether they have been satisfied with the response and what tactics worked the best.

5) To Use or Not To Use. Even when you have the first four points nailed, it may not be a good media buy. Think of timing, for instance: Advertising a kitchen renovation “in time for Christmas” should run when it’s possible for you to deliver that dream kitchen and not, say, after Thanksgiving.

These are just starting points in evaluating mass media. We’d be happy to talk to you further about your options. Call us at 847-358-4848 or visit guides.interlinegroup.com for a free copy of our Survival Guides to marketing success.