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The differences between digital media planners and media buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a digital media planner, becoming a media buyer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a media buyer has an average salary of $74,390, which is higher than the $55,361 average annual salary of a digital media planner.
The top three skills for a digital media planner include powerpoint, media planning and campaign performance. The most important skills for a media buyer are digital marketing, campaign performance, and media buying.
| Digital Media Planner | Media Buyer | |
| Yearly salary | $55,361 | $74,390 |
| Hourly rate | $26.62 | $35.76 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 39,005 | 20,884 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 89% | Bachelor's Degree, 87% |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A digital media planner helps clients planning to build an internet presence through online marketing. Crafting a successful digital media advertising campaign is not a simple task, and it requires a lot of data gathering and analysis. It is the digital media planner's job to ensure the client's business gets the most out of the internet by creating a workable plan to take advantage of the internet. A digital media planner's tasks are to monitor campaign performance, gather data from previous campaigns, and develop new strategies and plans for the company to follow.
Media Buyers are marketing professionals who manage the company's advertisements. They create the company's media plan to determine the advertising needs of the company. They negotiate with external providers to get the best advertisement placement values. To do this, Media Buyers are expected to conduct thorough research on the different advertising companies, networks, media, size of placement, and length of advertisement. Their research must consider the target market and determine the best media to reach their target market. Media Buyers should have good negotiation skills and must be able to maintain good working relationships with providers.
Digital media planners and media buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Media Planner | Media Buyer | |
| Average salary | $55,361 | $74,390 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $64,000 | Between $56,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Burlington, VT |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Mama's Fish House | Bloomberg |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a digital media planner and a media buyer in terms of educational background:
| Digital Media Planner | Media Buyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 89% | Bachelor's Degree, 87% |
| Most common major | Marketing | Communication |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between digital media planners' and media buyers' demographics:
| Digital Media Planner | Media Buyer | |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.1% Female, 61.9% | Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 7% |