Bad news. Yearly media planning is dead. Gone are the days we could plan out placements for the whole year — set it and forget it.

Good news. Media planning is now 24/7. You get to do it every day! (Don’t look so excited.) It’s not easy, but it is worth it. Advertising and media have moved from planning to really understanding your audience all of the time. This will be your greatest competitive advantage.

So, let’s get right to it. The best way to form a successful media campaign is to build the right engagement with your audience. What do you want your customers and prospects to do? Think in terms of actions.

Do you want your audience to:

Learn more about your brand, products and services. (Building brand wwareness)

Engage with you online – visit a microsite or watch a video. (Nurturing your prospects)

Provide lead information in exchange for valuable content such as application notes or white papers. (Generating leads)

Participate with the brand — become a part of the team. (Nurturing current customers)

Depending on what action you want, you’ll need to choose different avenues to engage the audience. For example, if you want leads, but you’re only running print ads with a branding message, your media campaign is probably falling short.

One concept I recently discussed in a previous blog post is that all of your media and audience engagement must end with a “comma.” You must leave it open-ended drive the viewer to take further action (visit a URL, scan a QR Code, “like” you on Facebook, etc.).

If you want leads from your print ads, add a clear call to action and QR code. Offer the audience something they can’t resist – content they can’t get anywhere else. Ideally, if leads are what you want, you should be focused on a strong online campaign that hits your prospects right where they are searching for information. Ask yourself, “Where and how do my prospects research new purchases?”  Likely answers are:

• Searching the web – Start an AdWords campaign, SEO campaign and make sure your websites are ranking high for key search terms. Microsites are a great way to achieve rankings for specific terms, applications and product names.

• On trade publication websites – Investigate the online activity of your key print pubs’ websites. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-designed banner ad with a good offer. Also, consider these sites for content syndication where they will promote your content or webinar and gather lead information for you. Boom! You’re an expert on a key industry website.

• In their email inboxes – e-newsletter advertising is still performing strong for lead gen. The key to getting A-leads from e-news ads is to be clear in your offer. Don’t disguise what you do. You may see click-thrus go down, but the leads you do get will be high quality because you know they want what you have.

So back to that 365-days-a-year planning thing. We mean it! You can build out a projected plan of attack for the year, but be fluid. Make sure your plans can change as you find out what works and what doesn’t. You may need to change the venue, or you may need to change your message. But always be watching how your audience engages with your brand.

For more insight and tips on how to better engage with your audience in this crazy media world, read my post “What’s your currency in this hyperconnected world?”

If you’re looking for more specific insight on picking media, expected results or new ideas, leave a comment or email me. I actually really enjoy media planning — yes, every day!

Related posts:

1. Ruminations on B2B Social Media Marketing
2. Advertisements- Is it a true test of a vertical trade publication’s viability?
3. Do you know where your B2B leads are?
4. Media: It can make or break you
5. Recession regression? Creative marketing can be the difference between a “good job” and a “goodbye”…