What does a media buyer do?
By Ahmed Fawzi
Published 2026-10-04 ยท Updated 2026-10-04
What is a media buyer?
A media buyer is the person who spends a brand's ad budget. Their job is to turn money into results: sales, leads, app installs or awareness.
In traditional media, buyers negotiated TV, radio and billboard slots. Today most media buying in Egypt and the Gulf is digital and runs through auctions, where the platform decides who sees each ad and at what price.
A media planner decides where the money should go and why. A media buyer executes and optimizes the plan. In smaller teams, one person does both.
What does a media buyer do every day?
Daily
- Check spend, pacing and results against the target cost per sale, lead or install.
- Pause ads and audiences that miss the target, and add budget to winners.
- Read comments and messages on ads for objections and quality issues.
- Check tracking: are purchases, leads and app events still firing?
Weekly
- Launch new creative tests and brief the content team on what to make next.
- Review results by audience, placement, country and device.
- Report to the client or manager in business terms: cost per customer, ROAS, revenue.
Monthly and seasonal
- Plan budgets across platforms and campaigns.
- Prepare for Ramadan, Eid, White Friday and back to school, when ad costs rise.
- Run bigger tests: new platforms, new offers, new landing pages.
What skills does a good media buyer need?
| What it looks like in practice | |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Knows CPM, CPC, CPA, ROAS and CAC, and can link them to the client's margin |
| Platform depth | Understands each platform's auction, objectives, bidding and learning phase |
| Creative sense | Can tell why one video beats another and write a clear brief |
| Tracking | Can set up and debug pixels, conversion APIs and mobile measurement tools |
| Testing discipline | Changes one thing at a time and waits for enough data |
| Business thinking | Asks about margin, stock, delivery capacity and sales team follow up |
| Communication | Explains results and bad news plainly, without jargon |
Certifications help show basics. Meta offers the Meta Certified Media Buying Professional exam, covering ad buying types, the auction, troubleshooting and measurement (Meta Blueprint via Credly). Google offers free Skillshop certifications in Search, Display, Video, Measurement and Shopping (Google Skillshop). A certificate is a start, not proof of results.
Which tools does a media buyer use?
| Used for | |
|---|---|
| Meta Ads Manager | Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp ads |
| Google Ads | Search, YouTube, Performance Max and app campaigns |
| TikTok Ads Manager | TikTok in feed and Spark Ads |
| Snapchat Ads Manager | Very important in Saudi Arabia |
| Google Analytics 4 | Site behavior and conversions |
| AppsFlyer or Adjust | App install and in app event tracking |
| Looker Studio or Sheets | Reports that combine all platforms |
| TikTok Creative Center, Meta Ad Library | Research on trends and competitor ads |
Platform mix differs by market. DataReportal's Digital 2026 report counts 25.3 million Snapchat ad reach in Saudi Arabia, so a Saudi media buyer must know Snapchat well, while Egyptian accounts lean more on Meta and TikTok.
How do you judge a good media buyer?
Ask these questions in an interview or agency pitch:
- What target cost per sale or lead would you set for us, and how did you get it? A strong answer starts from your margin.
- Show me an account you scaled. What happened to cost as spend grew?
- How do you check if platform numbers are real? Look for answers about backend data and blended metrics.
- How many creatives do you test per month, and who makes them?
- What would you do in the first 30 days?
Red flags
- Reports only reach, clicks and likes.
- Promises a fixed ROAS before seeing your data.
- Changes campaigns every day without letting them learn.
- Cannot explain why results moved.
In house media buyer or agency?
| In house media buyer | Agency media buying team | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | One salary plus tools | Monthly fee, often less than a full team |
| Skills | One person's experience | Buyers, creatives, analysts and tracking specialists |
| Platforms | Usually strong in one or two | Covers Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat |
| Learning | Learns from your account only | Sees patterns across many accounts and markets |
| Knowledge of your brand | Deep, sits with your team | Needs good onboarding and access |
| Risk | Results drop if they leave | Team continuity |
Many brands do both: an in house growth lead who owns targets, plus an agency that runs buying and creative at scale.
How media buying works at OneKind
Our media buyers work as part of a full team, not alone. Each account has a buyer, a creative lead and a tracking owner.
- We start from the business goal and margin, then set target CAC or ROAS.
- We audit tracking before spending more.
- We build a test plan: audiences, offers and creative angles.
- We test many creatives before scaling. For a leading Egyptian fintech app, our performance team ran 200+ creative tests before scale and cut customer acquisition cost by about 43% while spend grew.
- We report weekly in business numbers and agree next tests with the client.
Read the fintech app case study
How to use Meta Ads Manager: a simple guide
See our media buying and performance marketing service
Related guides
Sources
Meta Blueprint: Meta Certified Media Buying Professional (Credly)
Google Skillshop: Google Ads training and certifications
FAQ
What is the difference between a media buyer and a media planner?
A media planner decides which channels and audiences to use and how to split the budget. A media buyer launches and optimizes the campaigns. In digital teams the two roles often merge.
Do I need a certificate to become a media buyer?
No, but Meta's Media Buying Professional exam and Google's free Skillshop certifications prove the basics. Employers care more about accounts you have managed and results you can explain.
Is media buying the same as performance marketing?
Media buying is a core part of performance marketing. Performance marketing also includes tracking, creative testing, landing pages and retention.
Should a media buyer also make the ads?
Not usually. The media buyer should brief creative based on data, while designers and video editors make the ads. Close work between the two drives results.
Can a freelance media buyer replace an agency?
For a small budget on one platform, a strong freelancer can work well. As spend and platforms grow, you usually need creative, tracking and analysis support too.
Need a media buying team that reports in sales, not likes? Meet our performance team