A great media buyer selection determines how your business will achieve profitable growth or waste advertising funds without achieving any measurable results.

But finding the right one? That’s the tricky part.

This guide explains how to find a media buyer who will deliver results for your DTC brand as well as ecommerce stores and agencies.

The essential role of media buyers in advertising operations and their critical importance.

Media buyers handle paid advertising campaigns from start to finish on platforms including:

• Meta (Facebook & Instagram)

• Google (Search, YouTube, Display)

• TikTok

• Pinterest

• Snapchat

• LinkedIn (for B2B)

The role of media buyer stands essential for ecommerce brands. An effective media buyer uses their funds to acquire profitable audience reach across large scales.

The Need for Media Buying Services

You need to consider media buyer recruitment when your paid advertising expenses exceed $10k/month.

• You're spending at least $10k/month on paid ads

• Your CAC is rising and you need better optimization

• You're launching new products or geos and need support

• Your organization should focus exclusively on paid acquisition activities since you do not need to handle multiple roles

Hiring too early can lead to wasted budget. But hiring too late can cap your growth.

Step 1: Know What Kind of Media Buyer You Need

Different media buyers exist at various levels of quality. Establish your requirements as the starting point.

The decision lies in choosing between freelancing and working as an in-house employee or becoming an agency partner. Hiry connects DTC brands with pre-vetted ecommerce media buyers who have shown success in driving results.

Step 2: Create a Clear Job Description

Your job advertisement must be directed toward experienced media buyers who possess the necessary qualifications.

Include:

• Your monthly ad spend & platforms
  
  
  

• KPIs (e.g. ROAS, CAC, MER)
  
  
  

• Industry or niche (beauty, fashion, wellness, etc.)

• The platforms you employ including Triple Whale and Northbeam together with Shopify and others

• Type of contract (freelance, part-time, project-based)

Example:

The skincare company operates at $300k/month in revenue and needs a Meta ads specialist to handle their entire account. The ideal candidate should have experience managing ad expenses exceeding $50k/month and possess UGC creative testing abilities as well as good relationships with internal designers.

The more context, the better applicants you’ll attract.

Step 3: Know Where to Look

If you need to hire on a tight budget you can consider posting ads on Fiverr or Upwork but you should not use these platforms otherwise.

Instead, try:

• Hiry: Pre-vetted ecommerce freelancers, including top media buyers

• Slack or Discord communities (e.g., DTCFam, eCom Empires)

• LinkedIn posts + outreach

• Referrals from other brand founders

Hiry presents media buyers who have undergone vetting by DTC operators thus showing only the most qualified 1% candidates.

Step 4: Interview for Strategy, Not Just Skills

When interviewing candidates avoid asking them about their platform proficiency.

Ask questions like:

A candidate should describe their process for expanding Meta campaign budgets from $10k to $50k monthly during an interview.

• “How do you approach testing vs. scaling budgets?”

• “What role does creative play in your media buying process?”

• “What attribution tools have you used, and how do you adjust strategy based on them?”

Request that candidates show case studies or dashboards which demonstrate their achievements. A genuine media buyer should have all necessary materials prepared.

Step 5: Test Before You Commit

A trial period should occur before you decide to sign a permanent agreement.

• Start with a 30-day trial

• Establish a definite spend limit while setting performance indicators that include maintaining a 2.0+ ROAS at $X budget

• Let them access historical performance data as well as creative assets

This approach safeguards both parties while revealing actual operational behavior.

Step 6: Set Up Clear Communication and Reporting

A great media buyer:

• Should deliver weekly reports containing Spend data alongside ROAS along with CAC and top performing creative assets

• Should identify problems as soon as they occur (fatigue, tracking, landing page problems)

• Should actively initiate tests along with optimization strategies

You should use Slack together with Notion or email as communication tools for alignment purposes. You should avoid excessive control while maintaining active contact with the media buyer.

Your Media Buyer Functions as a Revenue Partner in Your Business

A media buyer acquisition goes beyond saving time because it enables you to acquire growth through your investments.

The Hiry platform connects growing ecommerce brands with elite media buyers who have experience scaling direct-to-consumer brands similar to yours.

No job posts. No interviews. Just great talent, fast.