When we talk about marketing these days, it can sometimes feel as though everything begins and ends with social media. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and whichever platform is currently demanding our attention tend to dominate the conversation, particularly for small businesses that have become accustomed to using digital channels as their main route to customers.
But social media is only one part of marketing, and even digital marketing itself is only one part of your overall marketing strategy. Your customers don't stop existing when they close Instagram, and they certainly don't spend every waking moment waiting for your next Facebook post to appear.
That's where having a broader media strategy becomes useful.
In episode 277 of The Monday Morning Marketing Podcast, we looked at what a media strategy actually involves, how traditional and digital media can work together and why businesses should think much more carefully about where they're investing their marketing budget rather than automatically putting everything into social media.
What do we actually mean by media?
Mention "media" and most people immediately think of television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Those are certainly part of it, but media can include almost any channel you use to communicate your marketing message.
That might mean advertising on the side of a bus, using a sandwich board outside your premises, wrapping your company vehicle, sponsoring a podcast, distributing flyers or placing an advert in a local newspaper. It can also mean Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Ads, email marketing, your website and the many different formats available within those digital channels.
Even something as simple as wearing branded clothing can become part of your media presence if it regularly puts your business in front of potential customers.
The important thing isn't whether something is traditional or digital. The question should be whether it puts the right message in front of the right people and whether it contributes towards the goals you've set for the business.
Don't dismiss traditional media too quickly
It is very easy to assume that nobody reads newspapers or magazines anymore because physical circulation has declined, but that doesn't necessarily mean those publications have stopped reaching people. Many traditional publishers have developed significant online audiences, which means a piece of press coverage can potentially reach readers through print, websites, search engines and social media.
We were reminded of this recently after hearing Fiona Harrold speak about the value of getting into the press. One of the interesting points was that while the way people consume journalism has changed, people are still consuming it. A newspaper article doesn't necessarily disappear when tomorrow's paper arrives either. Online coverage can continue appearing in searches and being shared long after its original publication date.
For a business, this means traditional media shouldn't automatically be dismissed as old-fashioned. It needs to be assessed in exactly the same way as any other marketing channel. Who is likely to see it? Does that audience match the people you're trying to reach? What do you want them to do afterwards, and is there a sensible way to measure whether it worked?
If the answers make sense, it may deserve a place in your media strategy.
Start with your objectives, not the platform
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is deciding they need to advertise somewhere before deciding what they actually want that advertising to achieve.
"We should run Facebook ads" isn't a marketing objective. Neither is "we need to be on TikTok" or "we should advertise in the local paper."
Start with what you're trying to achieve and then decide which media can help you get there. You may be trying to increase awareness within a particular geographic area, drive people to a landing page, grow your email list, generate enquiries, promote an event or sell a particular product.
Different channels and formats may perform different roles throughout that customer journey. Some may be particularly useful for awareness, while others can help people move through consideration towards conversion.
This is why your media strategy needs to sit within your wider marketing strategy rather than operating separately from it. The overall goals and objectives should determine what media you use, not the other way around.
Give every part of your media budget a job
Once you understand your objectives, you can start thinking properly about budget.
Rather than simply deciding that you have €5,000 to "spend on marketing", think about how that budget should be divided between the different channels and what each part is expected to achieve.
Perhaps some of it belongs in Meta advertising, some in Google Ads and another portion in local or industry media. A business targeting a very specific geographic audience might decide that outdoor advertising deserves part of the budget, while another business could discover that sponsorship, podcast advertising or industry publications make considerably more sense.
The important part is being able to justify why the money is being spent there.
That doesn't mean every channel has to generate an immediate sale. Some marketing is designed to create awareness, and that can be valuable in its own right. However, you should still understand the role each element plays and have some method of evaluating whether it is contributing to the wider strategy.
Find out where your customers actually discovered you
Measuring traditional media can sometimes feel more difficult than checking clicks on a digital advert, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
One of the simplest questions businesses can ask a new customer is, "How did you hear about us?"
It sounds almost ridiculously basic, but it can provide valuable information over time. If people consistently mention seeing your branded vehicle, hearing you on a podcast, reading an article or noticing a particular advert, that information can influence where you spend your next marketing budget.
You can also make offline media more measurable by connecting it with digital channels. QR codes, dedicated landing pages, promotional codes and specific calls to action can all help you understand what happens after someone encounters an advert.
What you don't want to do is spend thousands on a campaign, see an increase in business and have absolutely no idea whether the two things were connected.
Think about how your audience moves through different media
Your customer isn't necessarily going to discover you and buy from you in the same place. Someone might see your business on the side of a vehicle, Google the name later, visit your website, follow you on Instagram and eventually join your email list before becoming a customer.
That journey might involve several different pieces of media without the customer consciously thinking about it.
This is why media planning shouldn't become a competition between traditional and digital marketing. They can complement each other. A newspaper advertisement can include a QR code that leads to a specific landing page. An event can generate photographs and videos for social media. A podcast appearance can direct listeners towards your email list, while social content can introduce people to a longer blog or video on your website.
Instead of asking which single channel is responsible for the customer, think about how those different touchpoints can work together.
Remember that each platform contains several media formats
Even when you've decided that a particular social network belongs in your strategy, the planning doesn't stop there. Platforms such as Instagram contain several different ways to reach people, including Reels, Stories, carousels, Lives, grid posts and Highlights, and each format can potentially perform a different role.
The same applies elsewhere. Facebook isn't simply a feed, LinkedIn isn't simply text posts and YouTube isn't restricted to long-form videos.
Your media strategy should therefore go further than stating that you'll "use Instagram". Think about which formats you're going to use, who they're intended to reach, what you're trying to achieve with them, how frequently you'll use them and what resources will be needed to create them.
This level of detail becomes particularly important when you're creating a media strategy for a client because it gives everybody a much clearer understanding of what is actually being proposed.
Owned and rented media need different consideration
One of the distinctions worth remembering is the difference between media you control and space you're effectively renting.
If you're advertising on the side of a bus, the advertisement disappears when you stop paying for that space. The same principle applies to paid social media advertising. Once the campaign ends, so does the visibility you've purchased.
Other marketing assets can continue working for longer. A branded vehicle may be visible every day for years, while a useful article on your website could continue attracting people through search long after it was originally published.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both, which is why a balanced strategy can be useful. Paid media can give you immediate access to an audience, while owned assets such as your website and email list can help you build something you have greater control over.
Don't forget email when you're planning your media
Email is easy to overlook when we're talking about media because it doesn't feel as visible as social advertising, outdoor campaigns or press coverage, but it can play an extremely important role in turning initial attention into an ongoing relationship.
If somebody discovers your business through an advert, social post, podcast, newspaper article or event, think about where you're directing them next. Encouraging the right people to join your email list gives you another opportunity to communicate with them rather than hoping they'll remember to return to your social media page.
This is where your wider media strategy begins to work as a system. Awareness activity introduces people to the business, your website and landing pages provide more information, and your email marketing allows you to continue the relationship.
However, make sure the destination you're sending people to is ready for them. There is very little point investing money in advertising if the QR code leads to a broken page, the website provides a terrible user experience or the contact details direct people towards an inbox nobody checks.
Prepare everything before the campaign begins
A media strategy isn't complete simply because you've decided where you're going to advertise and how much you're going to spend. You also need to consider everything required to deliver the campaign.
That includes your graphics, photography, video, advertising copy, landing pages, tracking, email sequences and any other assets needed to support it. Ideally, these should be planned before the campaign starts rather than being created in a panic after you've already begun spending money.
Budgeting needs some flexibility too. Advertising costs can fluctuate and campaigns sometimes need to be paused, changed or restarted. If your total available budget is €5,000, it can make sense not to allocate every last euro before you've begun. Leaving some room gives you the ability to respond when something isn't performing as expected or when an unexpected opportunity appears.
Your media strategy should reflect your business, not somebody else's
There is no universal media mix that works for every business. A branded vehicle might be extremely effective for somebody working within a local community and almost useless for an online business serving customers internationally. Advertising in an industry publication could be incredibly valuable for a specialist B2B company while having little relevance to a high-street retailer.
The starting point always comes back to your customer.
Where do they spend their time? What do they read, watch or listen to? Where are they when they might notice your message? What information do they need before they're ready to make a decision, and which media can help you provide it?
Once you understand that, you can begin deciding which combination of media deserves your time and money.
Social media absolutely has a place within that strategy, but it doesn't have to carry the entire responsibility for marketing your business. Sometimes the opportunity you've been looking for might be on Google, in someone's inbox, in an industry publication, on a podcast or, quite literally, on the side of a bus.
The strategy is working out which of those opportunities makes sense for your audience and giving each one a clear reason for being there.
