Marketing vs. Branding
So let’s talk about a big one: marketing vs branding.
You’ve probably been hit with a lot of buzzwords like ROI, synergy, retargeting… and so many others that by now you’ve created your own little biz-lingo dictionary. And it’s also likely that marketing and branding are the two words you see and hear most often.
Marketing and branding often get lumped together, but they are very different.
- Marketing is the actions and strategies you implement to bring your audience to your offers.
- Branding is everything that makes your business unique and special - your purpose, vision, values, and goals.
Think of it like this: marketing is how you attract your audience and branding is how you convert them into loyal clients.
Which comes first?
Some entrepreneurs believe that the first step to building a successful business is to immediately start marketing their offers… but, without a solid branding strategy, it’s very difficult to convert or retain clients.
Branding is what builds know, like, and trust so that your audience will confidently choose you over your competitors. Building a recognizable brand is how you get your audience to stop scrolling, consume your content, and build a meaningful connection.
Marketing is very important! But all those strategies and tactics will fall flat without a solid brand strategy FIRST!
So where should you start?
Start with a brand strategy that centers around the reason you started your business and ask yourself:
- Who do I serve?
- What are their pain points?
- What content resonates with them?
Once you can answer these questions, you’ll have a clear understanding of who your audience is and how you can help them.
After you’ve created a solid brand strategy that tells your audience exactly who you are, then you’re ready to start marketing those amazing offers! And this is the fun part where you can test strategies to see what works best for you: paid ads, social media marketing, video content… the options and platforms are plentiful (the hard part is figuring out what works best. Hint: LOOK AT YOUR DATA!).
As you start implementing your branding and marketing strategies you will notice the goals look very similar (and they should!). Both branding and marketing have the same end result - GROWTH.
The difference is in how you utilize each strategy to grow your business. Remember: marketing is all about how to bring your audience to your offers, and branding is all about giving them a reason to stay!
