These days, it’s impossible to survive in the world of business if you aren’t marketing yourself. Whether you’re showcasing your products on Instagram or sending messages through traditional email blasts, getting your company seen by your audience is essential.
But when it comes to other crucial strategies, like branding, it can be difficult to know where you stand. What’s the difference between branding and marketing, anyway, and how can you tell which one you need?
If you’re trying to help your company stand out in a crowd, here’s a quick guide to everything you should know about marketing vs. branding.
What Is Branding?
Branding is the act of creating or shaping your brand. However, it’s about much more than designing a snazzy logo or finding the right color scheme to represent what you offer.
Instead, branding is about defining your mission, your values, and your style. Think of branding as a differentiation strategy. It does include focal points like your logo, slogan, and website, but it also encompasses all of the nuances and guidelines that set your company apart from other businesses in your market.
What Is Marketing?
Marketing, on the other hand, is the act of promoting your company’s products or services. It’s the series of actions you use to generate interest for what you offer. It also involves the creation of stories, images, and other visuals designed to spread your message.
This can happen in a wide range of areas, including traditional strategies like newspaper ads or billboards. It also includes modern digital strategies like influencer marketing or social media advertising. To learn more about digital marketing tactics, get more information here.
Marketing vs. Branding: Which One Do You Need?
Both marketing and branding are crucial for any business—meaning that it’s not a question of which one but when to use them.
In general, you’ll use branding strategies most often in the early days of your business, when you’re working to define who you are in relation to the rest of your industry. This will involve creating clear, concise, and consistent details that help your audience recognize you. Of course, you may also return to tweak your branding strategies at any point during the life of your business.
Marketing strategies are crucial once you have a defined brand in place. Using your branding, your marketing tactics will work to make sure your audience actually sees your company and its characteristics.
Know the Importance of Branding in Marketing
Without branding, even your best marketing efforts are destined to be inconsistent and unsuccessful. Branding helps you hone and focus your marketing approach, giving you the tools you need to promote your company online and beyond. Knowing the difference between marketing vs. branding—and why each is so important—is crucial to your company’s success. Want to learn more about the digital strategies your business needs to succeed? Check out our other posts for additional insights!
