Stop wasting your marketing dollars....Brand first!

Before I get into the importance of branding in marketing, let me tell you what you should know about branding and marketing first.

Branding and marketing are two concepts that can be confusing or thought of as the same thing. While they’re definitely related, they also have their essential differences. You have to understand both branding and marketing to use them effectively in your business.

So, branding describes the action of building a brand.

Your brand is what your customers think of your business and your relationship with them. Then, branding is how you build that relationship by establishing your business’s values, goals, the way it speaks and connects to customers, the looks or aesthetics, the personality, and more.

Your brand goes beyond just what your business does and what kind of products or services it offers. It’s about the experience your company provides.

Now, marketing is about the tools and ways you use to get your brand in front of your audience. It’s like a “push” tactic, while branding is more of a “pull.” To quote Ren Jones, “Marketing is the equivalent of asking someone on a date. Branding is the reason they say yes.”

While branding sets the tone and defines the experience of your business, marketing is the way you promote your business by putting it in front of people.

Some ways you might market your business:

• SEO

• Social media marketing

• Paid Ads on Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, etc.

• Sponsorships

• Print campaigns

• Promotional activities

Now.

You’re running your business, so you know how good marketing, the proper marketing, can change the momentum of your business. If you get your products or services out there and noticed by the right people, your business can really take off.

But while there are lots of resources online that offer marketing tools and tactics, people tend to miss the fact that you need to have a brand strategy before you can create an effective marketing strategy.

Here’s how branding and marketing work together.

A quote by Creative Director and Designer Von R. Glitschka says, “Marketing without design is lifeless. Design without marketing is mute.”

I like this quote, even though when I think about it, I’d replace “design” with “branding” just because “design” is a broad word that’s not always linked to marketing. And design doesn’t automatically make marketing boring. There is a such thing as bad design, though.

What I think Glitschka is saying is that branding supports marketing. In other words, marketing doesn’t just need to look good with pretty graphics, but it does need to have a powerful message built on what the business stands for. That’s the importance of branding in marketing. Branding gives marketing a story to tell and values to express. It’s what pulls in an audience after the marketing gets their attention.

Finding your voice

You could say that marketing gives branding a voice because marketing is what puts your brand out there. But all voices aren’t the same. Marketing in a way that’s yelling and screaming might be an effective way to get attention, but it might not be the attention you really want. And just because a particular voice works for one business does NOT mean it’ll work for yours.

I’m saying this: finding the right tone in your marketing is what will have the right impact. It should be consistent and recognizable to your target market…your ideal clients.

The way you find the right tone is through branding!

If you know your brand, you know what feels right and true to you and your voice. Not every marketing tactic you see out there is suitable for your business, and the way you can tell if this tactic is a good fit or not is by knowing what it means and feels to be “on brand.”

How should branding be applied to marketing?

Before you can put your message out there, you need to know what that message is. That’s where branding comes in. You need to dive deep into why you have a business, what you want to achieve, and define your brand foundation — your purpose, vision, mission, core values, and brand personality.

Your brand identity (i.e., the visual stuff) comes into it, too. It helps convey a consistent story to your audience and get their attention. People don’t notice something the first time they see it. It takes 5 to 7 touchpoints for them to notice you. As a matter of fact, when it comes to ads and other types of marketing, they rarely do notice the first time. You have to repeat a message that’s impactful overtime to get through to your audience. A strong brand identity helps to link your marketing together with visual consistency.

Every aspect of your marketing should coordinate with your brand--whether your marketing campaigns are serious, friendly, or funny. The look of any visual marketing should be in line with your brand identity and use your brand colors, typography, and your logo.

The marketing should always fit the brand. For example, if you have a luxury brand, having constant sales might reduce the high-end image you want. Having marketing that doesn’t follow your branding will confuse folks, and your message to customers, clients, and even potential customers won’t be clear. This can damage your brand.

On the other hand, if done well and done consistently, your branding will support your marketing to the point where it’s recognizably a part of your business, without even needing to say it. There’s a reason, for example, that you people can recognize a T-Mobile ad TV in the first seconds before you even see the product.

You can’t ignore the effectiveness of marketing to gain momentum in your business. But before you jump into any marketing -- email marketing, paid ads, social media, and all the other ways to market, make sure you have a solid understanding of what your business is looking to achieve, its values, tone of voice, and personality. It’ll save you a confused message and wasted money!