A professional woman leading a marketing education session with a diverse group of young professionals in a modern coworking space.

Marketing Education 101

Marketing, Branding & Advertising: How They’re Different & Why You Need Them

Since you’ve landed on this blog, it looks like you’re a current or aspiring entrepreneur seeking out marketing education. Well, you’ve come to the right place!

A marketing plan and brand design are essential to building a business, and you can’t really operate with one and not the other.

So today, we’re going to dive into the basics of marketing education: What’s the difference between marketing, branding and advertising? And, why do you need them?

The Difference Between Marketing, Branding & Advertising

All three of these creative yet strategic pieces of running a business are intertwined! However, they are not the same. It’s important that when working on promoting your business, especially once you begin working with an agency, you understand the basic differences between these three pieces.

Marketing

Marketing is the process of strategically promoting your products or services to meet their needs and drive your business growth. Marketing is the strategic, more analytical piece of your business outward communication.

It’s multifaceted and made up of a number of tactics, including:

  • Marketing Plans
  • Website Creation
  • Email Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Strategic Partnerships 
  • And more!

Each of these pieces are important in their own right, but all marketing tactics are tied to your marketing plan. 

Your marketing plan is your guidebook or map to investing in marketing, branding and advertising as a business. During the marketing planning phase, you establish a brand design and voice that you then put to work in your marketing tactics.

Branding

Branding is the process of creating a distinct identity, voice, and perception for your business that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from competitors. It’s more than a logo design! It’s the personality of your business portrayed in a way that connects with your audience.

Branding pieces include:

  • Brand Voice
  • Personal Branding
  • Visual Brand Elements
    • Logo
    • Icons
    • Patterns
    • Colors

Once your marketing plan is created, we often recommend business owners get to work on their brand design and voice before diving into other marketing tactics. It saves you time and money getting it right the first time rather than having to go back and work on your website, social media, or email templates again later.

Advertising

Advertising is a paid form of communication that delivers targeted messages to promote products, services, or ideas to a specific audience. It comes AFTER you’ve created a marketing plan, brand design, and proven that your marketing tactics are effective.

Advertising includes pieces such as:

  • Social Media Advertising
  • Google Pay Per Click Ads
  • Billboard/Magazine Ads
  • Television Commercials
  • Radio Spots
  • Event Sponsorship

We see too many people jump right into advertising without ever investing in branding or marketing! Advertising is great for scaling your business! BUT, you need the foundation of a marketing plan and brand design first. 

A young marketing professional leading a marketing education discussion in a modern coworking space with an engaged group of participants.

It’s Now or Never

That may seem a little dramatic, but truthfully, marketing, branding and advertising are ongoing practices. They require strategy, patience and the opportunity to grow. You won’t see an immediate ROI!

That being said, NOW is the time to invest in marketing if you want to see growth for your business in 2025.

Anyone who promises you “quick fix” marketing isn’t doing your business justice. Point blank.

They are failing to tell you the entire story.

It’s not about going viral. It’s about creating authentic connections with your ideal audience – real potential customers and relationships take time.

Working with Oakes Creative House

Here at Oakes Creative House, we build out 6 or 12 month contracts with our clients on several recurring services. One of those is our search engine optimization service for our website clients. The lowest package we’ll provide for SEO is 6 months because there is NO WAY to see substantial growth in any less time.

We mean business! We’re not here to waste your time or take your money for services we know won’t work. We’re here to help you build out a marketing plan that’s curated for your specific business, no gimmicks or quick fixes!

We’d love for you to join our list of solopreneurs, small business owners, and entrepreneurs who have decided it’s time to make a big change in their branding and marketing.

Free Marketing Education

Plus, we have a big heart for marketing education.

All of our services are made to educate you every step of the way so that you don’t feel blindsided, and we’re always open to answer ALL the questions.

Our website is also packed with free and low cost resources that can help you build your confidence in marketing. Whether you want to DIY or invest in our in-depth services, these resources are a great place to get more familiar with our work and marketing philosophies.

However you choose to move forward with your business marketing, stick with it! Investing in a good brand, strategic marketing, and purposeful advertising will pay you dividends in the end.

Happy marketing!

Transform Your Sales Strategy!

Learn how to perfect your customer journey from first impression to retention. Gain insights from Crystal and the Oakes Creative House team through interactive sessions, expert guidance, and hands-on activities.

When: June 21, 2024, 9am-3pm

Where: Sandler, OKC

Cost: $175

Skip to content