Many people confuse branding and marketing to be one and the same, but they are not. Here is the simplest way to understand the difference.
Branding is like having the most beautiful prom dress. It fits your body perfectly. The style, color and cut fully express all that you are. When you wear it you feel confident, bold, powerful, and unstoppable. But you can have all of this and still keep your beautiful prom dress- aka your brand - in the closet. Or just wear it around the house for your family to see.
For the rest of the world to know how amazingly badass you look in your prom dress. You actually have to go to prom- aka get out in the real world where your audience is at. And as you well know just because you make it to prom looking fab, it doesn’t mean that everyone takes notice.
The truth is that branding and marketing have a yin-yang effect. They go together, and they ebb and flow off each other. Sometimes you are building your brand out more which eventually flows into your marketing which then flows back into your brand.
Though many times we treat our brands separately from our marketing strategies, they should be on the same page - literally as well as figuratively.
As quarter one wraps up, and you look at the year ahead, find ways to begin to merge your beautiful prom dress of a brand into your prom - aka marketing efforts. Because ideally, we don’t just want to be going to prom. We want to be on the stage. So that everyone sees our badass brand and knows the true expert that you are.