How To Develop An Effective Media Planning Strategy For Your Jewelry Business
By Emmanuel Raheb
Founder and CEO, Smart Age Solutions
The right media planning strategy can make or break your jewelry business. Media planning is the core of a solid marketing plan. It’s how large jewelers succeed and small jewelers grow. Creating a strong media plan doesn’t have to be complicated if you take it one step at a time. It’s more important to get started and make changes as your grow than to wait until everything is 100% perfect.
What is media planning?
Media planning is quite simply the process that marketers use to determine the best way to reach their target audience. It can be as basic as a single campaign or as complex as a multi-pronged media blitz. You want to make sure that you have the right message, going to the right audience, on the right channel, at the right time. Media planning encompasses everything you need to do in order to make your marketing campaigns successful.
Benefits of having a media plan.
There are many benefits to creating a media plan, including getting to know you audience better, communicating more effectively, and optimizing your campaign performance. Not only does it lower costs, but it also helps your marketing campaigns convert better. Without a media plan in place, your jewelry store is flying blind without any direction.
Here are the 6 easy steps to developing an effective media plan:
1. Define goals for your media plan.
You can’t measure what you don’t track. Start with defining concrete goals for your media plan. What do you hope to achieve? Is it brand visibility for your jewelry store? Generating a new engagement ring lead? Or making a direct sale of a new jewelry style or collection? You must understand what your business goals are first, then align them with your marketing plan and media plan. Everything starts at the top and trickles down. Your media plan’s goals should never be created in isolation. It should be done in alignment with your business strategy.
2. Determine your target audience.
Your target audience is everything. Who you go after is just as important as why you’re going after them. What are their key demographics? Age? Male or female? Interests? Local or national? Bridal buyer or self-purchaser? These are the types of questions you need to answer in order to have an effective media plan. It’s how you’ll determine which media
outlets will best enable you to reach your ideal audience.
3. Set your budget.
How much are you willing to spend on advertising? Is it a fixed amount of your marketing budget throughout the year or does it fluctuate by season? Some jewelers like to apply a number such as 10% to 15% of sales and invest it in their marketing, while others have a set
dollar amount they don’t want to deviate from. Whatever your budget, your goal should be to
stick within it and maximize every penny you spend. A well-articulated media plan can help
you do just that.
4. Analyze historical data.
It’s been said that the best way to predict your future is to analyze your past. Go back through your historical data and see how your past media campaigns have performed. What channels worked for you and which didn’t? Where did the majority of your sales comes from? Can you attribute it directly to one media channel over another? By analyzing your historical data you can uncover the clues which will lead you to success.
5. Choose your media mix.
Although many jewelers like to start with this option, choosing your media mix should be the last part of your media plan. Only after following the prior steps such as defining your goals, determining your target audience, setting your budget, and analyzing historical data, will you then be ready to choose your media mix. Are you willing to try the same media channels that you’ve used before or do you want to branch out to test new marketing avenues? Think about it, then decide. It’s not something to rush into. You need to have a clear picture of the type of media you want to invest your hard-earned marketing dollars in. Remember, you’re not only looking at the dollar amount but also the percentage spread amongst different media channels. It all has to work together in harmony.
6. Evaluate your success.
The best part of media planning is at the end when you evaluate your success. Which channels performed best for you and which didn’t? Were there any unexpected surprises?
Did you uncover any new opportunities where you can improve your marketing campaigns next time? If done correctly, your media plan will not only meet your initial goals but exceed them! As the biggest, most successful jewelers already know, your media plan provides the road map you need in order to succeed.
Ready to take your media planning potential to the next level? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us as [email protected] for a free consultation with our digital experts.
