Branding. Brand management. Defining your brand. These are popular terms in the marketing industry today. But they aren’t just buzzwords. Branding is absolutely essential to the success of your business. Wondering what this word actually means? Read on for a super-simple definition of branding, plus how branding and marketing compare.
What Is Branding?
Branding is the practice of actively shaping your brand. Your brand is everything that distinguishes you from other companies on the market — your company culture, mission statement, core values, and other factors that make you unique. Things like your name, logo, colors, messaging, and design choices help define your brand. Branding is what turns leads into customers and customers into loyalists. In other words, it’s incredibly important.
Branding vs. Marketing
Are branding and marketing the same thing? Short answer: no. But there is a lot of overlap.
Branding is who you are. Marketing is how you communicate it. As you carry out your marketing strategy, you’ll perform actions that help you define and maintain a brand — such as fine-tuning your messaging, using a consistent color scheme, and applying typography.
If you haven’t defined your brand yet, sit down and do so before you jump into a marketing strategy. Your marketing efforts should all be built around your brand. Branding is at the center of everything.
Once your brand is ready to go, it’s time to start marketing. Your marketing efforts will spread awareness about your brand. Need a little help with this step? We’d love to give you a hand. Here at DirectLync, we provide all the marketing tools you need in one comprehensive platform. Sign up for a free trial today.
