Media Planning: The Final Information

Efficient media planning is essential for any enterprise to succeed as we speak.

Media content material — photos, movies, written content material, and podcasts — retains you top-of-mind together with your audience and helps you stand out from opponents by guaranteeing your model stays seen and interesting.

That is why I all the time advise shoppers to create and share recent media content material.

Nonetheless, holding monitor of, planning, distributing, and analyzing all of your media content material can take effort and time. Efficient media planning helps you handle these duties effectively and preserve a robust presence.

Media planning has many transferring components, making it difficult to grasp.

Nonetheless, by following the suitable media planning steps and utilizing media planning templates, you’ll be able to simplify the method and sort out any challenges that come your means.

Varieties of Media Plans

Choosing the proper kind of media plan relies on your marketing campaign objectives, funds, and the character of your services or products. However earlier than all that, you might want to perceive the several types of media plans.

Steady Media Plan

A steady media plan entails a gentle run of adverts over a interval. That is finest for services or products that are not seasonal and wish fixed client reminders. Assume: toothpaste or cleaning soap.

The thought is to make sure frequent publicity that retains your model top-of-mind all 12 months.

Flighting Media Plan

A flighting media plan alternates durations of promoting with durations of no promoting. Consequently, this facilitates high-intensity publicity throughout essential durations, creating urgency and anticipation that results in extra income.

Opposite to steady media plans, it is excellent for seasonal services or products with fluctuating demand. For instance, an organization promoting vacation decorations may closely promote earlier than the vacation season and cease afterward.

Nonetheless, you might want to know your model‘s peak times. Use tools like HubSpot’s advertising analytics software program to research gross sales information throughout a number of advertising channels and accordingly modify your flighting durations for optimum outcomes.

Pulsing Media Plan

A pulsing media plan combines steady and flighting plans, sustaining a gentle baseline stage of promoting with durations of elevated depth.

I like this method for 2 causes: (1) it balances funds effectivity with sustained model consciousness in key markets, and (2) it is versatile and adaptable to altering market situations.

Seasonal Media Plan

A seasonal media plan focuses on particular instances of the 12 months when a services or products is most related. This kind maximizes influence by aligning with peak demand durations, creating robust associations with particular seasons or occasions, and being budget-friendly by focusing on high-relevance durations.

For instance, a journey firm can use seasonal media plans to advertise its trip packages. It could focus promoting efforts throughout winter and summer season, leveraging seasonal themes and promotions to make its campaigns extra interesting and related.

Roadblock Media Plan

A roadblock media plan locations adverts on a number of media channels concurrently to maximise attain and influence. For instance, when launching a brand new product, you’ll be able to run the identical advert on TV, radio, on-line, and social media to shortly generate buzz.

Consider it as synchronizing adverts throughout numerous platforms — you create a robust, unified message that captures consideration and encourages rapid response. Nonetheless, this method requires cautious planning and coordination to make sure all the things runs easily and successfully.

Drip Media Plan

A drip media plan steadily releases content material or adverts, identical to a sluggish, fixed drip. This method is ideal for instructional campaigns or nurturing leads over time.

As an example, in an electronic mail advertising marketing campaign for a B2B software program firm, we used a drip media plan. We despatched out priceless emails over a number of weeks, every tailor-made to handle particular ache factors and desires. This manner, each touchpoint added worth and introduced prospects nearer to a purchase order choice.

The aim was to maintain our viewers engaged with common, useful content material. Over time, we constructed relationships and belief, which finally led to conversions.

Advantages of Media Planning

Media planning aids with components of content material creation and distribution, together with:

• Attending to know your audience on a deeper stage so you’ll be able to successfully attain them by way of your media content material.
• Deciding on which media channels and platforms you’ll share your content material.
• Figuring out the timing and frequency of the media and content material you publish and share
• Maintaining with the newest media developments and know-how.
• Sticking to your funds as you’re employed to create, publish, and share high-quality and interesting media content material.
• Conducting analyses to measure the success of your media planning course of.

Now that we’ve mentioned the advantages of media planning, let’s evaluate the steps within the media planning course of so you’ll be able to start creating a technique for your enterprise.

As you’re employed by way of the steps in media planning, take into account that how your enterprise applies the outcomes and conclusions derived from every step will likely be distinctive primarily based in your viewers and desires.

1. Conduct market analysis.

The very first thing I do when creating a media planning course of is conduct market analysis. This step permits me to tailor the content material and the media plan to my audience and prospects.

Begin by creating and learning your purchaser personas. You have to perceive who your audience and present prospects are.

Then, with this info, decide what media will attain, resonate with, and convert your viewers finest. Moreover, choose the platforms and channels you will use to publish and share your content material.

Featured Useful resource: HubSpot’s Market Analysis Package + Templates

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2. State your media planning goal.

Subsequent, I all the time hold a transparent aim in thoughts.

This helps me navigate the method successfully and guides me in deciding which content material sorts and platforms to give attention to.

Having particular objectives permits me to confidently say “no” to choices that do not align with my marketing campaign’s targets.

Listed below are some examples of media planning targets you could have:

• Strengthen cross-team collaboration (e.g., content material, graphic design, animation, video, weblog, social media) whereas creating and sharing media.
• Improve and streamline the publication and distribution processes for all media.
• Enhance media distribution timeline to make sure our content material is shared effectively so it’s related to our audience.
• Amplify the success of our media content material by permitting for ample time to research its influence and attain our viewers.

As an example, let’s say you are planning your social media content material for Fb and Instagram. Your aim could be to streamline the content material creation course of and schedule your posts forward of time.

This manner, you’ll be able to guarantee your content material is all the time related and interesting, holding your model prime of thoughts.

3. Create your media plan utilizing a template.

Now, it’s time to make your media plan.

I’ve discovered that it isn’t sufficient to easily plan after which assume everybody else is on the identical web page. You have to define your technique by way of an in depth media plan. While you do that, you guarantee alignment inside your staff and hold all events accountable.

Some media plans can even function standalone methods that element how manufacturers plan to leverage media — written, video, audio, and many others. — to attach with followers and prospects.

Media planning templates are invaluable in staying environment friendly and efficient whereas engaged on all facets of media content material. They assist hold all the things organized whereas publishing and sharing it together with your viewers.

Given the number of templates obtainable for various sorts and components of the media planning course of, the templates you incorporate will likely be distinctive to your enterprise. Don’t be afraid to experiment with or mix totally different templates.

When certainly one of HubSpot’s shoppers wanted to create a media plan for Fb and Instagram, our staff applied a social media calendar template for them.

The sort of template helped coordinate content material throughout each channels, enhance engagement, and enhance productiveness amongst staff members.

It finally helped our shoppers obtain their targets quicker.

4. Implement your media plan.

Guarantee all events who ought to pay attention to the plan have the mandatory particulars that will help you execute accordingly.

When our staff works on media plans, we all the time share the contact particulars of the media planning coordinator in our firm in order that anybody with questions or feedback is aware of precisely who to succeed in out to.

To get a greater understanding, let’s refer again to our instance of steps for a social media plan designed for Fb and Instagram.

Once we applied a social media calendar template as a part of our consumer’s media plan, we made certain everybody concerned, whether or not on the inventive staff or the publication staff, had entry to it. This manner, everybody was on the identical web page and will contribute successfully.

5. Consider your success.

Whether or not your media plan revolves round particular person posts on Instagram or a month-long, company-wide marketing campaign, it is essential to measure its success.

Ask your self and your staff questions like, “How did this media plan help us achieve our specific goals? If it didn’t, why?” and “How did the media planning templates and tools we used add value to our media creation and publication processes? If they didn’t, how do we move forward?”

The best way you consider your media plan’s success ought to be immediately tied to the particular objectives of your enterprise concerning your media content material, the groups who create the media, and the worth you hope to derive from it (e.g., boosting conversions, engagements, income, and many others.).

As an example, when reflecting on previous campaigns, our staff typically evaluates whether or not our social media content material plan and calendar template helped the consumer attain their audience and obtain their desired targets.

We additionally assess whether or not our media plan boosted engagement on the consumer’s centered social platforms, continually searching for methods to collaborate and coordinate extra successfully.

Media Planning Technique Elements

There are a number of further issues to contemplate when crafting your media planning technique.

First, what’s your media planning funds?

Media Planning Funds

In case you’re aiming at no cost media, you’ll be able to disregard this query. But when a part of your media planning entails media shopping for, sit down together with your advertising management to grasp what funds it’s a must to work with.

Set this funds earlier than researching platforms and creating content material. You don‘t want to start formulating a campaign that you can’t afford down the street.

Professional tip: Embody the prices of curating and distributing media kits in your funds if you happen to plan on increasing media protection later. For inspiration, take a look at our prime media package examples cherry-picked by Ramona Sukhraj, Principal Advertising and marketing Supervisor at HubSpot.

Second, think about the important thing messaging factors you need your media to speak.

Media Planning Messaging

You do not have to pre-write all of your media content material, per se, however I like to recommend establishing the principle themes in the beginning so all media is constant and on theme.

These messaging factors ought to come out of your viewers analysis and can information your content material sorts and platforms, so nail these down first.

Third, you want the media content material for publishing.

Media Scheduling Technique

A strong media scheduling technique enables you to create content material when inspiration strikes and fine-tune your promoting technique while you’re prepared. This protects you time in the long term.

Your scheduling technique will look totally different primarily based on the form of media you’re engaged on.

For instance, timing is all the things for social media posts (free or paid adverts). You have to schedule your posts primarily based on when your audience is on-line, even when that point is inconvenient for you. Fortunately, there are lots of instruments, corresponding to HubSpot’s social media administration software program, that may assist with this.

Alternatively, consistency is vital for newsletters and weblog posts. You need your viewers to be wanting ahead to your media content material, thereby boosting site visitors and fostering a neighborhood round your model.

My prime ideas in your media scheduling technique embody:

• Examine your readers and prospects to know once they’re obtainable on particular platforms
• Put together your content material in bulk to keep away from any inconveniences, corresponding to delayed deadlines, which is able to have an effect on your frequency
• Select the right automation instruments for every platform
• Be constant—consistency is all the things!

With these factors in thoughts, let’s stroll by way of methods to create a media plan of your personal.

Methods to Create a Media Plan

1. Goal your purchaser personas.

As a marketer, you don’t need to promote to simply anybody. You need to entice the kind of purchaser who’s within the media you’re creating—in any other case often known as your purchaser personas.

A purchaser persona is a semi-fictional illustration of your very best buyer primarily based on market analysis and actual information about your present prospects.

When precisely the kind of purchaser you might want to goal together with your media plan, you’ll be able to entice probably the most priceless prospects to your enterprise.

When making purchaser personas, I typically middle them round these necessary attributes:

• Demographics: Age, revenue, location, or id
• Background: Job, profession path, and way of life
• Identifiers: Communication preferences and social media platforms
• Targets: Major, secondary, private {and professional}
• Challenges: Their roadblocks stopping them from reaching their objectives

2. Outline your SMART objectives.

When setting objectives in your media plan, use the SMART objectives framework (Particular, Measurable, Attainable, Related, Time-Sure). This may allow you to monitor progress and obtain better influence.

Furthermore, establishing these objectives earlier than beginning ensures your media plan has a transparent course for you and your staff. It additionally means you’ll be able to have fun your successes once they occur.

Some examples of SMART goal-setting in media planning might appear to be:

• Particular: “We want to generate a greater number of qualified leads.”
• Measurable: “We want our media plan to gain 2,000 followers across Twitter, Metaverse, and Instagram.”
• Attainable: “We previously reached 70% in customer engagement online over the past quarter, so we’re aiming for 75% in the next.”
• Related: “We want to achieve more positive customer engagement to better the brand’s reputation and gain more fans.”
• Time-Sure: “We want our media plan to gain 2,000 followers in the next three months across Twitter, Metaverse, and Instagram.”

When you’ve decided your objectives, begin exploring assets that may allow you to attain them.

3. Discover the media planning instruments finest fitted to you.

I‘ll share some fantastic media planning templates for your business later in this post, but first, let’s discuss software program instruments that may do a few of the heavy lifting for you.

To start out, HubSpot Advertising and marketing Hub is ideal for drafting, planning, scheduling, and gathering conversion analytics. However if you happen to’re searching for extra choices, take a look at our checklist of 15 important media planning instruments so that you can use.

4. Analyze historic information.

It’s important to know the place you started earlier than you can begin transferring ahead. I all the time look again at my earlier media planning methods to research their influence and attain.

For instance, in case your model is already on Fb, I’d examine the enterprise web page insights to see how far we acquired with the outdated posting schedule and content material. I’d additionally have a look at the posts that acquired probably the most engagement, the time durations with the best site visitors, and the content material that helped flip prospects into prospects.

By noting the efficient components of your earlier technique, you’ll be able to let that drive a few of your brainstorming in your new media plan. Consider it as constructing on previous successes.

5. Select your media combine.

With regards to selecting your media combine, it is necessary to remain knowledgeable about the preferred advertising channels, in addition to those most popular by your purchaser personas.

In accordance with HubSpot’s State of Advertising and marketing Report, over 1,400 world advertising professionals imagine the advertising channels with the best ROI are:

• Web sites/Blogs
• Social Media
• E mail Advertising and marketing
• Content material Advertising and marketing

In my expertise, an omnichannel media plan works nice to succeed in your audience wherever they’re. By researching which channels your purchaser personas frequent probably the most and being open to exploring new ones, you’ll be able to resolve on the right combination in your model.

6. Put your media plan into motion.

When working in your media plan, control your insights and see how they stack up towards your SMART objectives. Bear in mind, you’ll be able to all the time modify your plan as wanted. Advertising and marketing is a dynamic discipline, and having the ability to pivot is essential.

Now that you just‘re familiar with creating a plan, let’s have a look at some assets to make the media planning course of simpler.

Media Planning Templates

There are many media planning templates obtainable on-line, each for buy and at no cost. What I really like about utilizing these templates is how customizable they’re; you’ll be able to tailor them to suit your enterprise’s particular wants and objectives.

Relying on the media software program your enterprise makes use of, corresponding to HubSpot’s (free) CRM, Advertising and marketing Hub, or Sprout Social, there might already be customizable planning templates included. I’ve typically used HubSpot’s templates, which supply an incredible menu of choices to select from.

In fact, you too can create your personal templates utilizing Google Sheets. I’ve achieved this myself, and it’s an effective way to make sure your planning course of matches completely together with your distinctive workflow.

No matter technique you select, keep in mind that your media planning templates ought to evolve as your objectives and viewers develop. Don’t hesitate to regulate them over time to remain in sync with your enterprise’s altering wants.

Free Media Planning Template [Download Now]

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Varieties of Media Planning Templates

Here is a listing of frequent media creation and planning templates to get you began. (Click on the hyperlinks to entry every template.)

Select the templates that fit your wants. Bear in mind, there‘s no right or wrong choice—it’s all about what works finest for your enterprise.

• Use a media planning template to prepare your paid media efforts and bills in a single visible location.
• Use a social media technique template to align your media content material together with your viewers in a means that gives worth for your enterprise.
• Use a social media calendar template to customise a timeline for while you’ll share your social media posts in a easy, organized, manageable, and efficient format.
• Use an editorial calendar template to plan and optimize all of the advertising content material you’ll publish and share, together with blogs, social media posts, and campaigns.
• Use a weblog put up template to easily fill within the blanks and start writing partaking, related, and well-optimized weblog content material in your viewers (all whereas avoiding author’s block!).
• Use an e book design template to take the guesswork out of methods to make your e book skilled, eye-catching, and exquisite, all whereas saving your self priceless time.
• Use an infographic template in PowerPoint or Illustrator to shortly customise the way in which you current information, share insights, and promote provides in a means that appears and feels skilled.
• Use an analytics and reporting template for Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Drive to make the processes of pulling, organizing, and sharing information easy regardless of which metrics you monitor.
• Use a funds template to handle and evaluate your spending and funds with Excel or Google Sheets.
• Use an promoting template that will help you plan and handle promoting campaigns in a means that’s certain to transform viewers members into leads and prospects.

Media Plan Examples

Though we’ve mentioned media planning and even shared a number of media planning templates, doing it virtually should pose a problem. Due to this fact, I’ve created media plan examples and linked the templates I used for extra readability.

Social Media Plan

With regards to social media, focus your efforts on the platform the place your prospects are energetic. In case you’re nonetheless figuring that out, it’s nice to experiment with a number of platforms to see what works finest.

Here is a pattern social media plan impressed by HubSpot’s Social Media Content material Template that will help you discover a number of platforms.

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Running a blog Media Plan

Monitoring how typically you publish weblog content material is essential for monitoring your progress. A running a blog media plan will help you handle your writers effectively, decreasing the necessity for fixed electronic mail follow-ups about their weblog put up progress.

Right here is an easy instance of a running a blog media plan you’ll be able to obtain from HubSpot.

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PR Media Plan

Making a PR media plan is usually a bit extra intensive because it entails coordinating with different organizations. You will want to decide on the suitable type of commercial, collect the mandatory assets, and establish key contacts.

On this pattern template, I’m solely sharing the “reach out” and “content planning” phases. Nonetheless, the whole template from HubSpot has all the things you want, together with useful resource planning. As a bonus, if you happen to’re a newbie, you’ll be able to even take the free course on PR Media. Take a look at the whole HubSpot PR Plan template.

We‘ve covered media planning in detail, but there’s one other essential facet to contemplate: media shopping for.

Let’s get into it.

Media Planning vs. Media Shopping for

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Digital media planning and media shopping for are carefully associated and work hand-in-hand. Relying on your enterprise measurement and funds, the identical staff members may deal with each planning and shopping for.

So, what makes these processes distinctive?

Media planning entails deciding which media content material to create, publish, and share together with your prospects and audience. This media content material is all-encompassing and doesn’t all the time embody paid adverts and content material.

Media shopping for, alternatively, is a definite course of centered on buying promoting house and time on numerous platforms. That is the place the principle distinction between media planning and media shopping for lies.

What’s media shopping for?

Media shopping for is all about paid media. This implies your enterprise buys campaigns or advert house on numerous channels, pays to share focused campaigns and adverts, or negotiates with media distributors.

Whereas sharing media and reaching your viewers at no cost is feasible, efficient media planning can nonetheless occur with out media shopping for. Nonetheless, media shopping for all the time requires media planning.

Consider it like this: all squares are rectangles, however not all rectangles are squares. Media planning units the tone and course for the media shopping for that follows.

As soon as you’ve got bought advert house or negotiated content material distribution, you want a technique—or a media plan—for delivering that media to your viewers and prospects.

In case you don’t have an in-house media planner, you’ll want to contemplate hiring one that will help you with the campaigns. However what precisely does a media planner do? And the way a lot will it value?

Beneath are the solutions.

What does a media planner do?

A media planner takes over your complete media planning technique, evaluates it, and advises you on the way in which ahead.

Listed below are some roles {that a} media planner will deal with in your organization:

• Maximizing the influence on all commercials you pay by networking with media shopping for businesses
• Arising with inventive methods to succeed in out to your goal audiences for higher engagement and conversion charges
• Figuring out the perfect platforms for your enterprise to make sure you’re spending your advert cash the place you’re prone to get returns

How a lot do media planners make?

In accordance with Comparably, the typical Media Planner within the US makes $69,374. When working with a media planner, count on to pay them between $30,000-$150,000.

In case you want an professional planner with a few years of expertise, then you definitely’ll have to plan for about $155,000.

Nonetheless, you’ll be able to all the time lower your expenses by hiring a contract media planner. They may cost a bit extra per hour, however you solely pay them when you’ve gotten a undertaking.

Start Your Media Planning Course of

Media planning is an integral a part of your enterprise’s capability to create, publish, and share media content material efficiently.

I like to recommend using the pulsing media plan the place you’ll be able to. It offers you the consistency of steady promoting with the depth of flighting, guaranteeing a gentle presence whereas permitting for strategic bursts of exercise.

What has all the time shocked me is how dynamic media planning could be. No two campaigns are the identical and require their very own distinctive technique, however that‘s part of the challenge and excitement. As long as you know when and where to engage your audience, you’re on the suitable path.

Editor’s observe: This put up was initially printed in February 2020 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.