Branding, marketing and advertising are critical initiatives to help you grow your small business. Each of these elements are a part of your overall strategy to drive traffic, increase sales and maximize profits. They ultimately work together to make big things happen in your business. However, sometimes branding, marketing and advertising are so closely connected it can be difficult to understand the purpose that each of these will serve in your overall growth strategy.
It is important to know the roles of branding, marketing and advertising and how they differ. Ultimately, it can help you achieve a more focused plan to grow your small business.
Branding vs. Marketing vs. Advertising! Listen to the episode here.
Branding For Small Businesses
Your brand is a unique identity that sets you apart from your competitors. Your brand image and brand message will communicate memorable and recognizable images and content. Branding is more than just colors and logos. A brand that stands out from their competition and attracts loyal customers and raving fans includes the following components in their brand development:
- Mission, Vision and CORE Values
- Identity of the Target Market
- Simplified Logo
- Color Board to Implement Across ALL Marketing Channels
- Consistent Fonts
- Easy to Understand Brand Messaging
- Memorable Tagline
- One-Liner or Elevator Pitch
- A Product or Service that Solves a Problem
These elements identify your brand, attracting the ideal buyer to associate your brand to a problem or need they have. This association allows your business to become the go-to business when your customer is ready to buy.
Marketing Helps You Grow Your Business
Marketing is the action you take in your business to inform, educate and communicate your products and services to your ideal buyer. It is the lifeblood of your business and it will keep your business alive. A primary reason for marketing is to generate interest in your company’s products or services. A good marketing plan and strategy has a pulse on the target buyer.
The efforts of a marketing strategy aim to deliver value for consumers through content; ultimately resulting in brandy loyalty. There are many different types of marketing today.
- Content Marketing
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media and Influencer Marketing
- Blogging
- Email Marketing
- Search Engine Marketing
- Short Form Video
- Text Marketing
- Print Marketing and Direct Mail
- Public Relations and Networking
What Do You Mean By Advertising?
Advertising is a lot like marketing. It is a promotional activity that aims to sell a product or service to a targeted market. Think of advertising as paid actions designed to influence your ideal buyer to make a purchase. Advertising is the oldest form of marketing. Traditional advertising relates to billboards, television, and radio. Over the years, digital advertising became much more popular. Also, digital advertising is much more affordable and has the ability to reach a larger scale audience.
Advertising is the first step in a product life cycle. It is a great way to introduce your company, products and services to the world. Here are a few other ways of advertising. Advertising creates demand, tracks conversion rates, and allows for competition in the marketplace. Here are a few different types of advertising that is still popular even today:
- Print (magazine, newspaper, flyers ect)
- Television and online commercials
- Radio ads
- Social media ads
- Billboards (including digital)
- Pop ups
- Mobile Advertising
What Is The Difference Between Branding, Marketing and Advertising?
In short, branding, marketing and advertising all play a vital role in helping you grow your small business. Your company’s brand is your unique identity created through colors, logo, design elements, messaging and so much more. Your brand is how you will set your business apart from your competitors.
Marketing is the actions you take to create long term awareness about your business, products, and services. Meanwhile, advertising generally comes with additional financial costs to promote or directly sell a product or service. Shopify provides great resources on the best ways to advertise your business and how to create your paid ads.
Advertising will enhance brand awareness and recognition, while branding drives the style and direction of your advertising campaigns. Marketing manages the reputation and accountability of your products and services. Each of these initiatives work together for the good of your small business!
Connect with Jump Start Business Builders on our weekly Podcast, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn!
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jump-start-business-builders/id1708061159
Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcHAua2FqYWJpLmNvbS9wb2RjYXN0cy8yMTQ3NTEyMjQxL2ZlZWQ
Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fltqH67SzbNWh1KYvNlYA
Podbean Podcast: https://info464.podbean.com/
and our website…Jump Start Podcast: https://jumpstartbb.com/podcast/
