How To Find And Hire A Media Buyer: A Comprehensive Guide

A media buyer must choose and negotiate all media space for commercials. This requires a skillful juggling act involving the advertising asset, the accessible media places, and the ad spending budget.

The media buyer’s responsibility is to position advertisements in front of as many people as possible at the most advantageous price, whether through radio, television, print, or digital media.

Media buyers are crucial team players for any firm. They are in charge of carrying out paid ad campaigns on websites like Facebook or Google.

It can be challenging to find a media buyer, but you need to be able to match them with your agency.

Campaigns are created by media buyers using the Facebook Ads Manager.

In This Article

Where to Find Media Buyers?

Finding qualified media buyers is challenging because, as a small business owner, you won’t want to hire someone full-time or have the resources to publicize the position.

This calls for a creative strategy on your part. It would be ideal if you searched for three to four potential media buyers that your agency could interview later.

What Is A Media Buyer?

A media buyer must choose and negotiate all media space for commercials. The advertisement asset, available media locations, and ad spending budget must all be balanced to accomplish this.

The media buyer’s responsibility is to place advertisements in front of the greatest possible audience at the most affordable price, whether through radio, television, print, or digital media.

The best spots on television, radio, print, or digital media are necessary for an advertisement to reach its target audience. Media placements can be very pricey. Additionally, numerous advertisements compete for every single excellent piece of advertising space.

You are currently watching a YouTube video when an advertisement appears. It likely prevailed over several goods or services thanks to the winning media buyer’s strong negotiation position and, of course, a greater bid for the advertisement space.

This takes us to the crucial responsibilities of a media buyer:

A solid understanding of the client’s product and target market. A keen eye for media spots that work with the client’s advertising materials.

Here are some excellent ways to find media buyers:

Referrals

Even if you don’t know any other agency owners, asking for referrals is one of the quickest and most reliable ways to find media buyers.

If you are a member of the Agency Incubator Facebook group, post in it stating that you are looking for a media buyer and the market they specialize in.

Upwork/ Fiverr

The tough part is right here. Although you could theoretically “hire” a contractor by white-labeling services from either website, you will have limited ability to communicate with the contractor, and they won’t be able to speak directly to your client. This is because Upwork and Fiverr prefer that all workers go through their platforms.

However, if the contractor supplying your services on Upwork or Fiverr impresses you, you might ask them to get in touch with you outside of the platform and negotiate a different type of contract.

Facebook Groups

There are countless Facebook groups where media buyers may find employment, seek guidance, and exchange recommendations.

Join a few, then start reading the postings of the most active users. What campaigns are they working on? What are they spending, exactly? What kind of outcomes do they get?

To discover if any media buyers have experience in your specialty, use the group search tool for hunting for it.

Add group participants as friends so you may communicate via Facebook Messenger.

Reddit is an excellent resource for information and guidance. Similar to Facebook groups, thousands of subreddits cover a variety of subjects.

Also renowned for their generosity and willingness to share advice, Redditors. Suppose you operate in the eCommerce industry or are considering working with a particular client; if you publish a link to the client’s website and request advice, you will receive several helpful comments.

Anyone who has given you great advice should receive a direct message from you requesting a meeting.

How to Qualify Media Buyers?

Expecting your media buyer to have invested millions in advertising is unrealistic. After identifying potential media buyers, putting them through a certification process is critical to ensure they possess the abilities required to carry out effective marketing campaigns and are a good fit for your firm.

The following are some possible inquiries to make:

• What amount of money have you spent on advertising?

This is a frequently asked issue, and numerous agencies demand – and many media buyers boast – extremely high sums exceeding $1,000,000.

Media buyers who have spent more than $20,000 are typically considered professionals in their business by agency owners.

• In what market niche do you specialize?

Media buyers also focus on specific niches, just like agencies do. Working with a media buyer who exclusively focuses on eCommerce retailers won’t make sense if your organization provides bought traffic to dentists.

• Can I see any of your case studies?

Ask a media buyer if they have any ready-made case studies you may look at before the interview.

Set Up Zoom Calls With Potential Media Buyers

The interview process can begin once potential media buyers have been qualified. This is your opportunity to talk about compensation, performance, your objectives as an agency owner and your goals as a media buyer.

It’s crucial to talk about the following:

Money

You must choose whether to pay your contractor a flat price regardless of workload or on a client-by-client basis. Talk to other agency owners to learn the going fee for your niche. Spend more money if you want a top-notch contractor.

Talk to them informally but professionally about how much work you can realistically deliver them each month and whether it will be worthwhile for them to work with you.

Priorities

Why would a media buyer prefer to work as a freelancer for you instead of their agency? Feel free to engage in an open dialogue.

Your media buyer should aspire to join and be a part of a larger team rather than just working for your agency as a “stepping stone.”

Personalities

You’ll work closely with your media buyer professionally, even if you run a hands-off firm. It’s critical to ‘gel,’ as the saying goes.

Tips On Hiring A Media Buyer

Here are some suggestions for finding a person who fits into the organization.

Make sure that the people reporting to the candidates get to interview them.

Lower-level workers value the chance to advise their future superiors and are frequently the most perceptive interviewers.

The tactical-level employees are frequently the ones who can identify a candidate manager’s management style and subject-matter expertise weaknesses. Making sure that at least one of the candidate’s references is a former employer is a logical extension of this guideline.

Make a point of seeking out certain people to make them candidates

Agencies rely only on advertising and word-of-mouth to attract candidates for open positions. The person in charge of media for your client’s rival could be the ideal option.

Or it may be the individual you met at a recent conference with devoted client connections. Give them a personal call to persuade them to consider your new position. The HR department should be one of many in charge of hiring.

Hire for talent, even if you suspect the person is overqualified

Some hiring supervisors are concerned that a brilliant candidate will need more time to work there.

They prefer to employ people who conveniently restrict their aspirations to the position. This results in an unyielding workforce of largely conservative individuals, exactly the kind of labor pool you want to avoid in a sector undergoing rapid change.

Ask for a writing sample.

Avoid being tied to a candidate who cannot adequately reflect the agency’s viewpoints. Make sure the candidate can articulate their thoughts.

An employee in the media with this competence will be able to interact with peers and superiors. Comparing the candidate’s writing sample to others’ only helps a little. Making sure the applicant can pass the fundamentals is crucial.

Determine if they can pass the “airport test.”

Would you lose your mind if you were detained with the candidate at O’Hare Airport for 18 hours while you awaited your flight back from a client pitch?

Would they ameliorate the circumstance? People that succeed on the airport test contribute to an encouraging and dynamic agency culture. People prefer to work in an environment like that. They detest going back to an environment filled with whiners.

Offer successful candidates enough money to win them.

But also hold out a planned raise for when they demonstrate their value. Sometimes, agencies live paycheck to paycheck, deferring raises and promotions until additional funds become available. With a plan, the turnover rate will go down.

Consider internal candidates.

Almost always, hiring someone on the street is the most practical solution to a personnel issue. The workload on your current personnel will be too great for them to take on a new position. However, if staff consistently turned down these chances, it would just leave more positions open in the future.

When you hire new media people, listen carefully to them and learn from their experiences.

Learning and adapting to the agency’s internal systems and processes will prove important, but the agency must learn a great deal when new people arrive. Take your time to make the new folks conform to the old processes.

When you hire a person, seek information about friends and former colleagues.

They may also prove good candidates for other open positions.

Look for agency layoffs to provide the great talent.

More advanced agency management teams are required to fire just the lowest performers. Excellent candidates may find themselves needing a job.

Since others will also be looking for such talented individuals, you must actively pursue them. Someone with this talent will frequently discover new work without having to send out resumes.

Follow these tips, and you’ll likely find the right media person for the job.

Important Traits Of A Media Buyer

A media buyer needs to have a specific skill set, and particular personality attributes to be successful:

Strategic and analytical skills: A skilled media buyer must possess both strategic and analytical abilities. They must be able to evaluate an advertising asset, choose the appropriate platform for it, bargain for that platform, and do all of this work within a defined budget for advertising. Significant strategic and analytical abilities are required.

Effective research abilities: A media buyer needs to be familiar with the many types of advertising assets and how they operate best. Additionally, a media buyer needs to know enough about various media outlets to design and carry out an efficient buying strategy.

Critical thinking: A media buyer’s profession entails strategic planning, skillful negotiating, and problem-solving.

Ability to adapt quickly: Rapid adaptability is a must because the media world is dynamic and ever-changing. A skilled media buyer can assess the situation and develop a flexible but successful plan.

Being receptive to new things: Being open to learning and modifying new negotiation and bidding tactics and techniques is a need for a media buyer.

Key Takeaways

A media buyer is responsible for purchasing and negotiating advertising space and time across various media platforms, including TV, radio, print, and online.

When hiring a media buyer, it’s important to look for candidates who possess strong analytical, communication, and negotiation skills.

Look for candidates who have experience working in the advertising industry, preferably in a media buying role.

Conduct a thorough interview process that includes questions about the candidate’s experience, their approach to media buying, and their understanding of different media channels.

Evaluate the candidate’s ability to work collaboratively with other members of the marketing team, as well as their willingness to take initiative and think creatively.

Consider candidates who are proficient in using media buying software, such as AdWords or DoubleClick.

Look for candidates who are adaptable and able to quickly respond to changes in the media landscape.

When offering a salary to a media buyer, consider industry standards and the candidate’s level of experience and expertise.

Conclusion

There are a few crucial factors to consider when employing a media buyer, whether local or remote.

Existing media buying operations that you want to enhance, Or is this your first time buying media? Do you intend to add a media buyer to an already-existing team? Or do you want to put a group together to work with your media buyer?

Will it be a one-time project, or do you have a backlog of projects to complete?

Media buyers are easy to find online, just like most jobs in digital marketing. Simply checking their experience and aptitude is all that needs to be done.

FAQs

What is a media buyer?

A media buyer is responsible for purchasing and negotiating advertising space and time on behalf of their clients.

They work with various media outlets, such as TV, radio, print, and online, to create effective advertising campaigns.

What skills and qualifications should I look for in a media buyer?

A media buyer should have strong analytical skills, excellent negotiation and communication skills, and a good understanding of media planning and buying.

They should also have a degree in marketing, advertising, or a related field and relevant experience in media buying.

Where can I find potential media buyers to hire?

You can search for potential media buyers on job sites, professional networks like LinkedIn, and industry associations.

You can also consider working with a recruitment agency that specializes in media buying.

What questions should I ask during a media buyer interview?

You should ask questions about the candidate’s experience in media buying, their understanding of different media channels, and their negotiation and communication skills.

You can also ask for examples of successful campaigns they have worked on in the past.

How can I assess a media buyer’s performance?

You can assess a media buyer’s performance by tracking the success of their campaigns, such as the number of impressions, clicks, and conversions.

You can also evaluate their communication and negotiation skills and their ability to work within budget constraints.

How can I attract top media buyer talent?

To attract top media buyer talent, you should offer competitive salaries, benefits, and opportunities for professional development and career growth.

You should also highlight your company’s culture and values and showcase your commitment to creating effective advertising campaigns.