Every businesses uses some form of Marketing. Word of Mouth. Internet. Social Media. Videos. Podcasts. Commercials. Newspaper Ads. Magazine Ads. The possibilities are only limited by our imagination – and maybe technology.

As I’m sitting here with my laptop, preparing a marketing and media strategy for a client, I realize that what every business does not use is a media plan. Why not? No time? This is one excuse I don’t believe in. No experience? No knowledge? No guidance? No template? Not understanding the need or the purpose? These reasons sound more viable.

So, without much ado, let me help you and let’s get to putting together a media plan for you.

First: Why do you need a plan?

• How else can you plan your spending?
• How else can you systemize your outreach?
• How else can you verbalize your goals?
• How else can you track what is working and thus invest your money more efficiently?

Second: What needs to be in a media plan?
1) Goals: Why do you want to advertise? What do you want to achieve that is reasonable within your budget. Be specific (with goals and budget!). Have measurable goals.

2) Target Audience: Who do you want to reach and why? What are the demographics? Is it broad or highly targeted? Geographic-specific?

3) Message: What do you want your audience to hear and think? Why should they care? Your mission, goals, and the needs/wants of your target audience should be taken into consideration.

4) Media List: Which media outlets do you need? Who in the media do you need to contact? List the appropriate channels and the people (reporters) and their contact info.

5) Frequency: How often do you want to reach your audience with each media outlet?

6) TimeLine: List “Who – What – When – Which Outlet”. This list should include who is accountable for which task (finalize design, finish script, etc.), when the deadlines are, what the milestones are. Someone on your team should monitor this list regularly and keep team members accountable. It can be a simple excel sheet, a timeline, or an outline with project planning software. Main thing is – get your roadmap in writing.
OK, you could stop there. You’d have a great media plan. But you still need to know what worked and what didn’t. So here is the bonus step:

7) Goal vs. Achieved Analysis: Have all the timelines been achieved? Have the goals been achieved? Which media outlets worked? Which ones didn’t? Gather all the data you have, analyze it, and change your strategy accordingly.

And voila – you have your media plan. Does it take a bit of work and planning? Sure. But can you see how this might improve the efficiency of your investment? How could a media plan help your business? What has stopped you so far?

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This entry was posted Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 1:49 am and is filed under Business, Marketing Strategy. Both comments and pings are currently closed.