If you ask a business about their marketing program, they’ll typical reply with, “Sure, we have advertising”. A very common misconception in the marketplace, is that marketing is just advertising. What many small businesses do not realize, however, is how complex marketing actually is. There are many moving parts. Advertising is a part of your marketing plan, but it is not the only component. The difference between marketing and advertising is this – advertising is about getting your business in front of your clients, and marketing is about getting the clients to come to you.
Advertising is a paid element of marketing such as:
• Print ads in newspapers and magazines, or advertorials that take the shape of articles but are actually paid ads written by an advertiser
• Digital ads, including those on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram
• Ads on billboards or other transit ads that appear on or inside buses, trains, taxis and other types of transportation
• Broadcast ads on radio and television are some of the most popular forms of advertising because of their extensive reach
Ironically, direct mail and email marketing are not considered as advertising. While both generally promote products and/or services and carry similar messages to the advertising campaign, these are actually considered as different forms of marketing.
Marketing is all about finding the potential value of a product or offering, followed by the determination of what vehicles should be utilized to inform the public of the offering’s value. Simply stated, the 4 P’s of marketing involve the process of designing or determining a product or service to market. After determining what the product or service is, the next step is to determine the best positioning for that product or service, which obviously involves pricing the product. Once positioning is decided, promoting the product is the next step in the process, which is where advertising falls. Through various forms of advertising, an awareness of the product is created.
Need help with your advertising and marketing programs? B-Squared can help. Call us today at 239-593-3600 or email us at info@b2ads.com.