The Difference Between Branding & Marketing
Simply put, branding is who you are, marketing is how you grow.
Branding is important because it makes your company stand out and look crisp. It’s important to know who you are and what your message is. Branding allows you to market yourself better because the more flushed out your brand is, the more you know who you are targeting. So what exactly is branding?
In my opinion, branding is broken up into these 3 categories: message/copy, aesthetics, and ideal client/target audience.
Message/copy
This is what you are trying to get across and convey. What do you do? What do you serve? What problems are you solving?
Aesthetics
This is where your logo, colors, graphics, typography, and images come together. You want consistency here. Think about what you want to convey… colors are powerful :)
Ideal client/target audience
You have to know who you are serving. Honestly, this should probably go at the top of this list because it’s the most important. Identify who you are targeting, who you are helping, and who you are trying to reach. If you don’t know these, your brand has no clear targets.
Marketing is about growth, reach, and sales. This is the process of gaining traction and growing your company. Marketing is important because you can’t have a brand if you aren’t effectively marketing it (ok you can have the brand, but no one will know about it… if no one knows about your business, does it really exist?)
Marketing comes in many different forms including social media, print, influencer, and more. Your strategy needs to be based on your brand (see branding) in order to be effective. Even if you have the most thought out and creative marketing plan if it doesn’t align with your branding you will lose growth opportunities.
So take some time, identify your brand, and get crystal clear on your branding. Then, create a marketing strategy. Need help? Contact me here for a complimentary consultation.
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