Do you get caught up in understanding what the Difference Between Branding and Marketing is?

You need to market your business. But you also need to lean into your brand.

But how are they different, which thing should you pay attention to first, and how exactly does it affect the growth of your business?

These are the questions I hear from clients and my audience all the time.

Before I get into the difference between branding and marketing, it’s important to understand you need to have both.

Your brand and your marketing hang out together like old school BFFs.

Where you find one, you find the other.

But they do have different jobs within their friendship. When working in tandem, they are a powerhouse of client attraction.

In short, your brand is what makes people connect with your business. It’s more than your colors and your logo.

“The meaning of a brand is its most precious and irreplaceable asset. What your brand means to people will be every bit as important as it’s function – if not more so – because its meaning that tells us “this one feels right” or “this one’s for me.”

The Hero and the Outlaw

In short, your brand’s job is to connect to the emotional side of the decision process. Your brand tells people if you are right for them. It’s essentially the soul of your company.

Your brandING – meaning the visual representation of your brand is meant to be a reflection of that soul. Your logo, colors, design, and even photos are not the brand, it’s just how you are showing up to attract the people to your brand.

And then we have marketing.

Marketing is the act of getting your business or offer in front of as many eyes as possible, with the goal of driving traffic and leads to book your services.

Every time your post on social, create a blog post, put out a new offer, and share it in your Instagram stories, that’s marketing. Each time you talk about your business, get a booth at a local event or post in a FB group of your services…THAT is all marketing.

Your marketing is what lets people know your business exists. Your brand is the messaging, visuals, and content that tells that person that they are in the right place and that they should hire you.

To be effective with your marketing efforts, you need to know who you are speaking to and what their needs are. Otherwise, they are not going to pay any attention to what you have to say.

We’ve long passed the time where you can just put your business out there and expect to get the clients.

And that may be the problem you are having. You try all the strategies that you find on Google. You search and take notes on all the things your competitors are doing. But no matter how many hours you spend posting and engaging on social if your brand doesn’t create the right emotion when people come across your business or content…

Then all your marketing is a waste of time.

Now that you see the difference between branding and marketing, you’re likely wondering how to get started.

Understanding how to really dial into your brand and the emotional connection you want to create is an art and a science. Once you understand those brand foundations, then marketing becomes so much easier.

Your business becomes a magnet for your ideal client and you always know what to be creating. And that, my friend, is a fun and exciting place to be in your business.

The first step you should take is to dive into understanding what you want your brand to be.

You can attempt to Google dive down the rabbit hole, or you can be guided by someone who lives and breathes the art of brands every day.

I offer Brand Intensives to help guide you over any client attraction and messaging issues you may have. You can learn more here: Personal Brand Coach – Book a Brand Intensive