Lately, every new article or post I read about digital marketing always includes the importance of visual branding and other similar buzzwords. As a branding strategist myself, I know first-hand how intricately entwined marketing goals are when it comes to designing a client’s brand. Yet, these two terms seem to be lumped together so often, I am starting to think their meanings are getting lost in translation! 

So, I want to clarify, once and for all, what the difference between Branding vs. Marketing is. I’ll break down what they are, how they are different, how they are similar, and why your business needs both!

What is Branding?

Branding, in a nutshell, tells your audience who you are (or who your company is) and why you exist. Your branding gives you and your business an identity that relates directly to your ideal audience on an emotional level. Through branding, you want to connect with your audience through ideas, beliefs, your mission, and values. This is your branding personality and your branding purpose.

Branding ties in elements like logos, fonts, color palettes, website design, and combines them with the voice, mission, and purpose of a company. All of these elements tell your audience what makes you and your business special or unique. It creates a brand personality that your audience will remember and relate to.

People want to do business with and get behind a brand that they connect with and believe in. So you need to make sure your branding elements reach out and show your audience that you want that connection and you want to be believed in. Because you do!

Your branding should answer these questions:

• Who are you/your company?
• What do you want to bring to the market?
• What is your mission?
• What are your core values?
• How are you going to communicate to your audience?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you should have a pretty solid base to start creating a memorable brand that resonates with you and your ideal audience. I go more in-depth about what branding actually means in this post if you want to really get into the nitty-gritty details.

Overall, branding is considered much more long-term. Once you nail your branding, you can use it forever, like Nike has. Did you know the Nike swoosh logo has been circulating the markets since 1972? 

Nike hit the nail on the head when they implemented their branding. Their brand recognition, brand personality, brand experience, and brand loyalty is 100% on point. That’s why they have been so successful in the shoe and sports clothing business for over 40 years! 

What is Marketing?

Marketing, on the other hand, empowers your brand by sharing its mission in a strategic and relevant way in order to boost sales and increase revenue for your business. The purpose of marketing is to connect with your audience and convince them that they need your product or service to solve their problem.

If you want the official definition from Investopedia, “marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service.”

These activities refer to the processes, tools and strategies that are used to promote or market your product or service. Think social media, content marketing, advertisements and SEO. Through these strategies, marketing can drive sales. And you need sales to have a profitable business. That’s basic #sales101. 

If you have been keeping on top with the fluctuating rules and algorithms behind Instagram, Facebook, Google, and all the other strategic platforms we use for marketing, then you probably know that marketing strategies shift pretty regularly. That’s why it’s incredibly important to keep up with the marketing trends so your business doesn’t fall behind!

Marketing consists of a wide variety of areas that involve many moving parts, people of expertise, and sales goals. Marketing can’t exist without having goals that need to be met.  Basically, marketing can cut through the crap and get your brand in front of the right people who want or need your product or service.

Does a brand strategy support a marketing strategy?

Absolutely, YES! Branding is an essential element to the overall marketing strategy. You can’t market a brand that isn’t designed yet, right?

Once you have a solid footing on what your brand and branding strategy is, then you can start implementing marketing. This way, you will know exactly who you are, who your customer is, and what the best way is to connect with them. This is the main information you need to implement a strong marketing strategy that nails the sale.

It’s not Branding Vs. Marketing, it’s Branding AND Marketing

Hopefully, this has helped you understand these two very different elements so you can effectively use each to take your business to the next level. The most important thing to take away from this is that you can’t get away with only having a marketing strategy OR a branding strategy. You absolutely need BOTH to succeed in your business. 

So you can stop comparing branding vs. marketing now that you know they are two very different (but very related) concepts.

You can even think of marketing as the means of getting your audience’s attention and convincing them to engage with your company; while branding is the best way to keep your audience’s attention and convince them to come back for more. 

Whichever way you want to look at it, you need great marketing strategies to distinguish your brand from the competition. And you need to have a brand that your audience (and team) is excited about!

If you have questions about Branding vs. marketing or need some marketing or branding advice, we would love to chat! Use our contact page to get in touch or sign up for a Discovery Call today.