The Advantages of Hiring a Paid Media Consultant

Advertising has long been a critical component in helping organizations grow their business. Still, in today's increasingly digitally focused world – you'll need more than TV commercials and newspaper ads to sell your product or service. 

And that's where paid media comes in. 

While a paid media plan can include more traditional advertising methods such as TV, radio, and print ads – it focuses heavily on digital marketing efforts such as pay-per-click advertising, branded content, and display ads. 

As consumers spend more time in digital spaces, paid media has become an essential component of revenue growth and brand awareness for businesses across industries. 

So, what does your paid media plan look like, and how are you leveraging paid ads to increase business? If you're feeling a little stumped, hiring a paid media consultant might be just what you need. These experts can help optimize your advertising budget by utilizing their experience in creating and managing successful paid media campaigns. Additionally, a paid media consultant can offer invaluable insights and recommendations to enhance different aspects of your marketing strategy, leading to improved outcomes and maximum return on investment (ROI).

Hiring a paid media consultant?

Here’s what you need to know as you move forward in your search for a paid media consultant:

HOW A PAID MEDIA CONSULTANT CAN BOOST YOUR BUSINESS

Paid media consultants use a variety of tactics and strategies to help their clients. As such, you'll want to carefully think through your organization's goals to better communicate what you'll need from this person.

Here are some examples of how a paid media consultant can help your organization:

Develop paid media strategies: A paid media consultant can develop a paid media plan from the bottom up. To do this, they take an in-depth look at your company's marketing objectives and target audience to create a comprehensive strategy for paid media advertising. 

Create and manage ad campaigns: Paid media consultants can create and manage ad campaigns across platforms such as Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. They can optimize ad copy, audience targeting, and bidding to improve the campaign's performance and drive increased conversions. 

Conduct ad audits: Paid media consultants can audit existing ad campaigns to identify areas for improvement and recommend changes to optimize performance. This includes analyzing audience targeting options, ad copy, ad design, and bidding strategies. 

Conduct A/B testing: A paid media consultant can run A/B tests on ad campaigns to compare the effectiveness of different ad elements and make data-driven decisions about how to improve campaigns.

Handle reporting and analytics: Part of measuring the success of your paid media plan is regular reporting on analytics to track the performance of ad campaigns.

Manage ad budgets: Need help allocating and managing your advertising budget? This is yet another way a paid media consultant can help your business budget to achieve the best possible results and ROI.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PAID MEDIA CONSULTANT

Once you know what you need from a paid media consultant, you'll want to begin your search. This involves reviewing resumes and portfolios and eventually setting up interviews. When evaluating candidates, look for those with a proven track record of success managing paid media campaigns in similar industries. You'll also want to find consulting candidates with a mix of relevant hard and soft skills. These key skills include:

• Extensive knowledge of different advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and other relevant digital advertising channels
• Proficiency in the use of various analytics and metrics tools to measure and analyze campaign performance
• Experience with A/B testing, keyword research, ad copywriting, and bid management
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to clearly explain technical concepts to clients and stakeholders
• Attention to detail and the ability to ensure accuracy in all aspects of campaign management
• Analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate data and develop effective marketing strategies
• Creativity to develop unique campaigns that stand out from competitors
• Strong work ethic and time-management skills
• Adaptability and commitment to keeping up with the latest trends and best practices in digital marketing

Once you reach the interview stage, compile a handful of questions to ask each candidate. Some examples include:

1. Can you explain your process for developing a paid media campaign strategy?
2. How do you decide which platforms to use, targeting options, and ad formats to maximize your client's ROI?
3. How do you measure the success of a paid media campaign? What metrics do you look at, and how do you use data and insights to optimize future campaigns?
4. Can you provide an example of a challenging paid media campaign you led and how you overcame the project’s biggest obstacles?
5. How do you stay current on emerging trends in paid media advertising?
6. Can you describe your communication style? How do you ensure clients fully understand the various aspects of the paid media campaigns you develop?

PARTNER WITH SIMPLICITY AND FIND SKILLED PAID MEDIA CONSULTANT CANDIDATES

If you’re hiring a paid media consultant, partner with Simplicity. The team at Simplicity specializes in finding expert consultants in marketing, communications, project, and program management to help organizations achieve their bottom-line business goals.

When you work with Simplicity, you'll have a dedicated team working with you in every step of your hiring journey, from developing a detailed project outline based on your specific needs, sourcing consulting candidates, setting up working sessions with those candidates, and guiding you through the selection process. But our relationship doesn't end there. Once you find a paid media consultant that meets your needs, you'll be paired with a dedicated client success manager who will ensure smooth sailing from project initiation through its completion.