Branding vs. Marketing 101

In the business world, it sometimes seems like there is a new acronym invented every day or a buzzword your colleagues will become obsessed with to describe a specific process or strategy. Although some of them do sound silly, it is important to be able to differentiate their meanings while understanding the concept they are describing. 

Coincidentally, this happens all too often when describing branding and marketing. A significant amount of people believe these terms are interchangeable when in reality, they are not. 

Although these concepts work in tandem when appropriately utilized to upscale your business successfully, they could not be further apart in terms of what they are and how they are implemented in your day-to-day operations. 

How to Define Branding and Marketing 

Let’s start with properly defining each of these terms/concepts so you can better implement them within your strategic business processes moving forward. 

Many people think branding is just the logo at the bottom of your email or on the front of your office door, but it’s so much more. It reflects what you, your team, and your company represent. 

It defines what your business stands for and distinguishes you from your competitors to help shape how consumers think of your products or services. For example, this can be done through your core values, mission statement, and company culture. 

Now, let’s talk about what marketing is. Simply put, it’s the set of tools, activities, and strategies you use to promote your product, service, and company, so consumers understand the value you have to offer them.

Examples of marketing would include:

  • Social media marketing
  • Sponsored ads
  • Content marketing
  • Search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Direct mailers
  • Email marketing
  • Television and video ad slots
  • SMS texts 
  • Telemarketing 

Unlike your brand, your marketing strategies should constantly evolve to gain better insight into your customers and define who they are. 

Some changes are implemented due to an ineffective campaign that did not garner the sales or attention you were expecting. Other changes may occur because you improperly identified your target audience for a new product or service you’re offering. 

There is a multitude of reasons why your marketing strategies should continue to develop and stay fresh, but your brand needs to remain consistent throughout this process. 

Maintaining a consistent brand identity is essential because it allows you to build long-lasting relationships with your consumers, which in turn helps you better understand their needs and creates brand loyalty. 

Which Comes First, the Branding or the Marketing?

It’s important to have an established brand when it comes time to focus on your marketing strategies. If you don’t have a brand to market, you will most likely be wasting time, money, and efforts on marketing campaigns.

This is because memorable brands have a lasting impact on your current and prospective consumers. People want to do business with unique brands that they believe in. So even if your marketing strategies are exemplary, your brand is bland. It doesn’t distinguish itself from your competitors, and it will most likely not deliver the results that you were expecting.

With an established brand in place that resonates with your target audience, you will be able to better utilize and hone in on your marketing efforts as to what works or what doesn’t.

To foster a relationship and build a connection with communities, you’ll need to have an established brand practice within your organization before you begin your marketing efforts.

How to Build Your Brand

Now that you understand the importance of having a unique and distinguishable brand before implementing any marketing practices, let’s discuss how to combine these strategies to build your brand and market it successfully.

So let’s ask this: What separates your brand from your competitors, and what is supposed to make it so unique in the eyes of your consumers? Are you family-friendly, or is your product or service designed for only a niche age group? If you’re a lifestyle brand, are you luxurious or tailored for the everyday man?

These are the types of questions you want to ask yourself when developing your brand because when successfully implemented, your brand should reflect your target audience. You can find more questions to ask yourself here when building your brand.

How to Market your Brand

Congratulations! You’ve successfully built your brand, and now it’s time to market it. With the introduction of the digital landscape, marketing has become much more lucrative than it once was, so having an integrated marketing strategy is essential to the success of your business.

Only utilizing one marketing strategy at a time, like sending emails to potential customers or placing ads on the television, just doesn’t cut it anymore. It would be best if you had a consistent and well-developed integrated strategy.

This means you need a user-friendly website, a social media presence, create Google Ads, optimize your content for SEO value, and have a blog that connects to each other so your potential customers can find you through multiple channels.

All of these forms of marketing act as the face of your brand, and it is important to be consistent with them. Consistency allows your brand to build recognition and reinforce your brand’s place within the community.

Remember, marketing drives sales, and branding creates loyalty.

WBG is Here to Help 

We’ve talked about a lot today, and to be honest, we could discuss branding and marketing strategies in much more detail, but we hope you gained a little more insight into how branding and marketing work together.

If you’re interested in learning more about how branding and marketing strategies can elevate your business, feel free to reach out to us.

At We-Branding Global, we’re a one-stop shop for all of your brand and marketing strategy needs. Our team of industry professionals live and breath all things marketing. For years we’ve been helping people like you not only find your company’s brand or voice within your community but uniquely market it in a way that garners exponential growth!

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