Every business, regardless of size, age, or industry, needs to pay close attention to the effectiveness and appropriateness of its media strategy. Here’s a question to ask yourself right now. If you were to start your business again today, what about your media strategy would you want to be different than what it currently is right now? How you answer this question will help you clearly and quickly identify weaknesses, even disappointments you currently have with your current media outreach and advertising spending.

The good news is, with this reflection, you have some valuable information at hand that can be used to help you rebuild your media strategy! This doesn’t have to be an exhaustive or expensive process, either. In some cases, sure it may be quite a big project. But for the purpose of this article, we want to offer you essential advice for taking what you’re currently doing as far as paid media placement and restructuring your strategy to ensure it meets your current goals, budget, and expectations.

Keeping reading to learn how our team helps businesses accomplish this very thing day-in and day-out. In fact, it’s a specialty that we take great pride in continuing to refine so that we are well equipped to help businesses succeed in media!

Get honest about what’s working (and what’s not)!

You know that same radio ad you have been running for the last five years? When have you most recently tracked the sales it has driven to your business? Do you even know how to? If your current media strategy has major holes in it like this, it’s a big red flag that other problems also exist. To understand what’s working and not working for your business, you have to be able to track results, accurately and effectively. When you do have results to analyze, you then need to get critical about identifying trends – both good and bad.

Leave emotional attachments at the door.

It’s common to develop an emotional attachment to a certain media placement. Maybe it’s that billboard in a signature location that’s had the same creative for as long as anyone can remember. In some instances, this may add brand value through consistency, but in most instances, it’s just stale messaging. When rebuilding your media strategy, it’s important to check your emotions at the door and come willing to part ways with things that aren’t working. Just because “it’s the way it’s always been done” doesn’t mean it will deliver the best results now. The world of media is rapidly changing, and so should your strategy!

Bring in the experts, and let them do their job.

The smartest businesses know what they don’t know – and then they find an expert who can fill that void. For media, this means turning to a trusted media buyer who knows the market inside and out. These are professionals whose job it is to study trends, track results, and constantly revise their work so that clients achieve the most successful results. Yes, it takes an investment to hire outside help, as it does for anything. But the results it can deliver will more than pay for such an investment when they return higher sales, increased brand value, and take this work off your plate!

Identify where you want to grow.

Rebuilding your media strategy is a prime opportunity to take a fresh look at the areas in which you want to grow. Is your current ad placement reaching the right audience? Are there new markets you want to reach? These are all questions that should be on the table when you and your media buyer review your current media placement and map out a strategic plan to improve upon what’s placed and where, and the results this delivers.

Use competition as inspiration – and then do it even better!

Don’t let competition intimidate you. This can be your best source of inspiration! Does a competing business have a fantastic billboard in a prime location? There is likely the opportunity to incorporate a similarly valuable location for your business. Then, you can build upon their messaging and do it even better! Analyzing where your competition is placing advertising and what their messaging is saying will help guide you toward an even stronger strategy where your messaging can stand out and leave a lasting impression on your target audience. After all, when people are ready to purchase, it’s usually the last brand they remember seeing that rises to the top!

If your business needs help rebuilding its media strategy, it’s time to get intentional about improving upon what you’re currently doing. Wasted time is also wasted money – and both are the lifeblood of successful businesses. Reach out to us today to schedule a free, no-obligation discovery call where we can help answer your most important media questions and steer you in the right direction of rebuilding a solid strategy for the future!