It’s no secret that investing in paid media is one of the most important forms of marketing for any brand. Digital media platforms are constantly rolling out new features to keep users engaged with their devices beyond just phone calls, texts and emails. Let’s face it, our lives are ruled by our devices that keep us connected with friends, family, colleagues and brands. 

If you’re a brand that is not already spending on paid media, it’s time to start! If you are spending, maybe you need to reevaluate where your dollars are going and how far those dollars are getting you. So, how do you optimize your brand and stand out to the digital masses? That is where investing in paid media comes into play.

Where to Get Started 

There are many factors to consider when evaluating and planning for a paid media budget. To start, identify what you want to accomplish with your paid media efforts and create a budget that works for your brand. No matter where you are with your advertising efforts, you should start by asking yourself the below:

• What percentage of my marketing budget can I afford to spend on paid media?
• What level of investment is needed to hit revenue goals?
• What is my target return on ad spend?

Once a budget is determined, consider the 70-20-10 rule to optimize defined strategies:

• 70% of your budget should go towards strategies that are most important (or strategies that you know work well)
• 20% should go to new strategies that will help your brand grow
• 10% of your budget should go towards emerging or experimental strategies

Then What?

Not all digital media platforms are created equal, so it may not make sense to push your paid media budget to all of them. Rather than spending money on just any digital media platform, use your ad dollars to fuel the platforms on which your brand has the strongest presence.

Next, develop a strategy. If you’re just starting off, it can be challenging to analyze audiences, costs and messaging in order to prove out your paid media concepts. Make sure you test, test, test, and test again. Once your concepts have proved out, turn off poor performers and maximize where your audiences are most active. It’s important to keep them engaged to ensure your brand is staying top of mind across high converting audiences. 

Prepare for the Ever-Changing Landscape

Keep in mind, digital marketing is always changing. Stay up-to-date with reporting and analyze trends to assess if budget shifts are needed. However, be careful not to pull funding from your strongest players prematurely.

As mentioned previously, you shouldn’t put all of your paid media eggs in one basket. Remember the Great Facebook Outage of 2021? Stay ahead of the curve and get outside of your comfort zone by allocating dollars to other digital media platforms.

A paid media budget is a balancing act for any brand, big or small. Choose your digital media platforms wisely, find what works, invest in reporting and continue to fuel your brand accordingly. If you’re in need of a paid media strategy to make the most of your advertising dollars, reach out to us at info@socialflyny.com. 

Written By: Katie Hodges, Director of Paid Media