Media planning programs allow you to keep track of your marketing and advertising efforts in print, online, on television and on the radio. These programs even show you how effective each form of advertising is for your business, so that you can maximize your budget and focus on those marketing efforts that are paying off. To use these programs effectively, however, you will need some form of media planning software education and training.

Since the programs can be complicated and you will be using the software to perform some complex functions, media planning software education and training is a must. This training will teach you how to use the software for your specific business and how to use the various features of the software to solve common media planning issues. When seeking training, consider the following:

1. Hire in-company training from manufacturers of advertising planning software.
   
2. Take online seminars from software manufacturers to learn applications and software features.
   
3. Take general media planning training to learn how to apply media planning ideas to different brands of software.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get on-site training from media planner software companies

If you purchase media buyer software from some software companies, training and installation at your company may be available. Often, this training includes a basic examination of the features of the software program. If you need to know how to use a specific program to meet your business needs, this kind of on-site, hands-on training is excellent as it gives you the chance to ask specific questions of an instructor.

I recommend: Balihoo is a popular brand of media buying software and the company offers a comprehensive system training program with installation. This program includes e-learning solutions, classroom time and other learning options. STRATA Marketing is another popular brand of media planning software. The company offers training that involves teaching an entire staff to use the media planning system. Follow-up training includes one-on-one on-site instruction in more advanced topics.

Seek out online advertising planning software training

Many software manufacturers offer online training and classes for customers using their products. Unlike on-site training, this kind of training is more general and often covers not only the features of a specific program, but also some common media planning issues -- such as online media planning, for example. These low-cost programs may be a good choice if you are not sure which advertising plan software you will be buying.

I recommend: MarketingPilot Software is a popular manufacturer of software for media planning. The company offers online classes that cover popular media planning topics and show how the company software can be used to handle these issues. Arbitron is another software company offering online seminars about media planning topics.

Take general media planning training seminars

Some training for media planning programs is not linked to software manufacturers at all. This sort of paid training teaches you about software and about media planning in general, and will prove useful whether you use free media planning software or expensive paid models.

I recommend: The Digital Training Academy offers free online courses related to media planning and paid online seminars about media planning tools. Elect Internet Marketing offers on-site and in-company seminars and training courses about media planning and media planning software topics.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider using free media buying software demos online. While these online demos will only teach you a few features specific to certain programs, they often are useful in comparing media planning programs and in learning generally how these software programs work.

Media planning software helps you plan your media articles and advertisements, allows you to keep track of which ads you place, how much they cost and also how well they perform for your business.

Media buying software is a computer program that lets you monitor your purchases and helps you decide what plans will best promote your business for the least amount of money. You can advertise with newspapers, magazines, television, radio, billboards, bus stops, the Internet, in-store displays and anything else you can think of -- so planning your campaign is a must.

By using media planning programs for your business's marketing and advertising, you can:

1. Keep track of which advertisements you place. Media buying software allows you to list, search and follow the companies you work with by clicking a button.

2. Look at the cost of each advertisement in relation to its frequency and placement.

3. See how well each advertisement performs for your business. Advertising planning software tracks the progress -- and allows you to decide which ads to repeat and which to cut.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Speak with company representatives about software for media planning

Some vendors offer programs for specific needs and vary in price and information. Contact local computer stores, as well as professional media planner software companies, to find out which product works best for your business.

I recommend: Find a program specifically for radio, television or print media. These programs will give you media planning training specific to your needs--if you don't advertise with radio, for example, then don't spend the money on extra software. Browser based programs such as MarketPilot allows you to place orders through the web portal with any PC or Mac. Speaking to customer service, if you have the time, is the best way to answer specific questions about the software.

Try media planner software before you buy it

Most media planning software vendors allow you to try their products before buying them so you can see first hand what you'll get. Use the program for its trial period and then decide whether the software is easy enough, thorough enough and worth the amount spent to purchase it.

I recommend: Look for the free trial offer on the vendor's website. Some websites offer online demonstrations that show what the media planner software will do for you without actually letting you test it. Don't buy a product without testing it first--if you have to pay a large sum of money, make sure it's worth it.

Look at advertising planning software in various price ranges

Ask around -- see if anyone has used free media planning software. While free is generally a great price, sometimes you get what you pay for and when it comes to making money for your business, a little investment is worth it.

I recommend: Look closely at free media planning software and make sure it gives you all the options your business needs. Professional systems such as Strata and Tapscan sell for thousands of dollars but are trusted among industry users. A cheaper option is software developed by Mottert Systems, which gives you all the required settings without extra databases the expensive programs include.

Find assistance for media planning tools and seminars in your area

By using a media planning tool, you make the effort to keep sales and purchases organized and budgeted properly. You can buy software at a local computer store or online through a national retailer, but you may need some help learning how to run it and use it efficiently.

I recommend: Find locations near you to help with purchasing and with usage questions. Also consider online seminars to help you use software and learn other tips on media buying and selling.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Give yourself a little time to input your business information into your media buying software. It may take time to set up the system, but once it's running you will be able to add and delete accounts and organize files quickly and easily.
• •  Task a staff computer technician to build a program for you, if possible, from scratch or by using Microsoft Excel. If you just need a minimal storage and tracking program, maybe someone in your office is talented enough to create something workable for you.

Media planning software allows you to keep track of the ads and articles you've placed in your publications, determine what to place in upcoming issues, know the cost of your placements and keep track of how the placements are affecting your business. There is web-based media planning software as well as software you can purchase. Before determining if your business can utilize the software and where to purchase it, you'll need to learn some media planning software key terms.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Media buying

Companies get their advertising through media buying. They hire media buying companies to put together and place their ads in different media, from television and radio to magazines and online publications. Media buyers are responsible for purchasing the time and space needed for advertisements.

I recommend: ZeroMillion.com explains how media buying works.

Media plan

A media plan helps you keep track of your investment in media costs, which include advertising in publications and on television or radio. A media plan allows you to manage this investment by helping you set goals and organize your daily activities around a plan that will help you meet those goals.

I recommend: BusinessTown.com offers complete details of what goes into a media plan. Entrepreneur discusses the three parts of a media plan.

Advertising media planning

Media planning and buying are part of advertising media planning. Advertising media planning is a process in which a company chooses what kinds of media to use to implement its marketing objectives. There are many stages in the process of executing an advertising media planning campaign, such as research, buying ad placement, and analyzing the effectiveness of the purchase.

I recommend: Imediaplanning.com provides information on the stages of the advertising media planning process.

Media planning software

Media planning software is software allows you to easily keep track of your media plan. There are different software products available on the market for media planning, and you'll want to know what they include. Some are created for the purpose of planning and tracking upcoming advertising campaigns while others allow you to show your current campaign to prospective clients. There is software that can be purchased and installed, as well as programs that are hosted online.

I recommend: Plan Magic gives you some examples of media planning software. Mottert Systems provides a list of features offered by different media planning software products.

Media plan template

A media plan template is the basic component of media planning software. The template allows you to set up your plan, create a model for its execution, and create a summary of its effectiveness. Media plan templates exist as word processing documents or spreadsheets, depending on your preference.

I recommend: MyWorkTools.com provides a brief summary of a media plan template.