The Evolution of Media Buying

By Bradley Riley
In:
Paid Social
January 18, 2023

Media buying is a form of advertising.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, you would see adverts on billboards, in magazines and via the radio and television.

Now, we see ads on Facebook, Google, and other social media platforms like TikTok.

Though advertising has changed immeasurably since people began spending money on it, there is one thing that all the mediums have in common: the goal is to get in front of people wherever they are the most.

Back in the day, if you had a car company and you wanted to get your new car in front of people that would be interested, you’d buy advertising space in a car magazine.

Nowadays, while you can still do that, people invariably use technology more, therefore, you want to be in front of them as much as possible.

To do this, you will want to use digital marketing strategies. For example, you can target people who are interested in certain kinds of cars, showing them ads related to your new model. 

One of the biggest benefits of digital advertising is precision.

With older forms of advertising like television, specifically on larger channels, you don’t get precision; it’s like a shotgun (widespread) vs sniper (specific target).

So how does it work?

Whenever you do anything online, it is tracked. 

Going to a website, viewing products and content, adding items to your cart, making purchases; it’s all tracked.

While we will talk about privacy, as well as how important that is, it’s worth noting the benefits of this kind of tracking in order to show relevant and appropriate ads (backed by data). 

This means that ads are more appropriate and tailored to the user, which is a good thing overall.

The point of businesses using digital marketing is because of the improved targeting that you have the opportunity to use.

Media buying is using these platforms to advertise a business.

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