So many businesses say “I don’t want to spend money on advertising” when they’re talking about marketing. Marketing, especially digital marketing isn’t just advertising. Yes, you can run digital ads, but if you don’t want to run ads that’s fine. You still need to market your company. Digital marketing is an art that combines data, creativity, and technology to create a memorable experience for your customers. It’s your social media, your website, your Google business profile, your email marketing, and even digital ads. So, what exactly is the difference between advertising and marketing? Let’s talk about it!
Advertising is spending money to get your brand out there. There are a lot of different forms of advertising you can do. There are billboards, cable TV commercials, radio commercials, OTT ads, Google ads, social media ads, and even print ads in newspapers and magazines. You can also use your marketing materials in your advertising. For instance, if you just created a short-form video for your Instagram and it’s between 15-30 seconds, you can use that as an OTT ad. Have a sale going on and your customers like to read a local paper? Run an ad with them. While a lot of companies advertise, they don’t necessarily have to advertise. Marketing is an entirely different story.
Marketing is every aspect of your business from your logo to how your employees answer the phone. Marketing gives your business personality and shares it with others. A successful marketing strategy begins with knowing your brand’s voice and message. You have to know those things before you can even build your brand’s personality. You don’t want to market your brand on social media as fun and carefree if you’re a more straightforward and serious business. You also need to be consistent in your marketing. Make sure your message is the same across all of your platforms, your brand voice is being used, and your brand’s image is recognizable. Marketing is what makes your business unique to your competitors and how others will remember you.
Marketing has come a long way with the advancement of technology. Companies used to have a sales team that would hand out flyers and that was marketing. Now, your business can sell itself if you have the right strategy. The amazing thing with digital marketing is the data and analytics you can review to see what is and isn’t working. If a particular marketing campaign didn’t work you can see the results and adjust accordingly. If you’re social media isn’t engaging with the right audience, you can change up what where, and when you’re posting to align with your goals and ideal audience. This also allows you to reach your people outside of your immediate location. This is great if you have an e-commerce site where people can purchase from outside your local area. But, the only way they’ll know is if you’re marketing your business. When you market you also grow your loyal customers. You can send customers emails, social media messages, and more with exclusive offers, sneak peeks of new products, and even tips from your industry.
To recap, digital marketing is using creative assets, technology, and data-driven decisions to create loyal customers, gain new customers, and engage with people interested in your brand. It’s not advertising, but advertising is a part of digital marketing. At Hexcode Marketing, we work with you to fully understand your brand’s voice, identity, and message to develop a strategic marketing strategy that will help you grow your business without advertising. However, if you want to do advertising as well, we can do that too!