What Is Media Planning – and Why Should Content Marketers Care
Media planning is a strategy for selecting appropriate media channels to deliver a brand’s message. Content marketers, as part of their larger mission to build brands and engage audiences, should care about media planning because it helps them identify the right mix of social networks, websites, podcasts, television shows and other platforms through which they can publish content.
In some cases, social networks themselves provide marketers with their own tools for media planning. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all have ad products that let advertisers target specific user segments based on psychographic data or interests as expressed on their profiles – information that makes those ads more relevant to viewers than traditional banner ads.
On its face value – although everyone agrees – this might seem like an article that is only targeted at advanced marketers. As researched by book marketing services team these are the people who already know what media planning is, and why should they care?
Media planning is one of the most important components of any content marketing strategy – for two reasons. First, it helps you find your audience so you can engage with them where their eyeballs are. Second, it allows you to optimize your distribution channels so you can improve your return on investment (ROI).
First explains what media planning is by giving a clear definition and an example of its use cases. He then goes more in-depth about ‘why’ content marketers should care. He explains that content marketers should care because media planning helps them identify the right mix of social networks, websites, podcasts and other platforms through which they can publish their content.
‘Content Marketers’ – people responsible for creating and distributing ‘content’ designed to convey a company’s message and build its brand. Here is an example definition from Content Marketing Institute: ” Content marketing uses engaging stories as well as valuable information to attract and retain customers.”
Ken was not only targeting advanced marketers but also those at all levels of experience. Every marketer should understand what media planning is before diving into any strategy or tactic – whether that’s posting to your company blog, optimizing content for search engines or advertising on Twitter.
As an example of how media planning is used at different kinds of companies, consider the following scenario:
The Local Brewery
A local brewery posts a variety of updates to Facebook and Twitter throughout the week. It also has a short video series that runs on YouTube and its own website that it publishes once per month. This strategy works well for this particular business type but if it tried to take the same one-size-fits all approach to other types of businesses, it would be in trouble. Nobody would want to watch a 10 minute Web series about home brewing from a brewer they’ve never heard of. People might enjoy reading funny tweets from a bar or brewery, but not necessarily want to make the effort to click over.
This example is valuable because it demonstrates that every company has its own target market and unique presentation requirements. The local brewery must plan accordingly in order to achieve its goals.
A B2B Technology Company
A B2B technology company’s basic media needs are very different from a local brewer’s. This company might have a blog for communicating with an audience of IT professionals who care about the latest technological trends and developments, but Twitter is likely irrelevant from a marketing perspective – though it could be useful for adding value by answering user questions about the firm’s product line-up. In addition, this hypothetical business probably also has trade show exhibits that are updated every couple of years in order to meet the standards set by these events for displaying new technology.
Ken’s article is applicable to all types of companies that use media planning in their marketing activities. Whether you are a local brewery or a large B2B technology company, basic media needs are likely very different from yours and everyone could benefit from understanding how media planning works and why it matters for content marketers.
Media Planning: An Overview
Let’s start with the end result: the reason we do media planning (and its definition) before getting into any details about what it is exactly. According to The Digital Entrepreneur, “media planning is simply deciding where your ads will appear.” This involves choosing which media outlets to use to reach prospective customers.
Media planning is a subset of marketing planning and Mr. Davey explains that “the overall process [of marketing planning] can be broken down into several key fundamentals.” The first step in this process is determining your business goals then using these goals to create a strategic plan that outlines how you will reach your target market. Both media planning and public relations have unique roles to play in this plan, according to Ken:
“Media planning helps us identify the right mix of social networks, websites, podcasts and other platforms through which we can publish our content. Public relations, on the other hand, helps us gain exposure among influential people who have an interest in what we have to say.”
Definitions And Terminology
Media planning is the process of deciding which media channels to use to reach prospects. It’s important to note that it doesn’t involve choosing which topics to write about. The importance of this distinction cannot be overstated, as the word ‘planning’ implies a high degree of strategy and forethought.
The first step in developing your media plan involves looking at where advertising has been done in the past, to determine if this path will lead you toward your business goals. If it looks like traditional avenues will help you achieve success, then great! That means you can leave these elements out of your future media plan.