Digital Branding vs Digital Marketing: Differences & Similarities
With the vastness of today’s business world and the abundance of options to choose from, navigating your company’s branding and marketing can feel like driving through a thick fog. It can be challenging to determine which choices are the right ones for your particular business, and many business owners find themselves feeling overwhelmed at the prospect.
That’s why we’re outlining the exact differences between digital branding and digital marketing. Think of this article as a roadmap of sorts, here to help you make the right choices to get you to your destination! So, buckle up, sit back, and get ready to propel your business forward in the right direction.
What is Digital Branding?
Digital branding is all about establishing your brand in the virtual world. That involves telling your brand’s story, gaining brand recognition, and establishing a general tone and persona for your business in the digital world. This is achieved in part by paying thoughtful attention to how your business portrays itself concerning the pillars of digital branding: uniqueness, influence, trust, and relevance.
Digital branding acts to foster meaningful connections between your business and your target audience. It offers an opportunity for you to stand apart from your competitors and showcase what makes your business unique. Digital branding helps you build rapport with your clientele and add a personal touch to your company’s online presence. And most importantly, when done right, it allows you to speed past the competition and leave them in the dust!
Looking for help with your companies digital branding? Contact our experts today.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing focuses on strategies designed to increase your client base, gain qualified leads, and increase your conversion rate. It involves concepts like paid advertising, content marketing, social media advertising, search engine optimization, and many other strategies.
Digital marketing acts to funnel more web traffic toward your website, expanding your customer base and increasing conversion rates. Digital marketing is essentially a toolbox filled with various differing strategies, all of which can be used alone or alongside one another to promote your product or service and expand your clientele. Digital marketing has become a necessary aspect of any successful business in today’s increasingly virtual world. Mastering a digital marketing strategy is crucial for any company looking to cruise down the road to success.
Digital Branding vs Digital Marketing: What’s Right for Your Business?
Both digital branding and digital marketing are essential in building a successful business with a strong online presence. However, for small businesses in particular, or any company looking to get off the ground, you’ll likely need to spend your time and effort wisely before you can fully invest in both branding and marketing strategies. So, which path is right for your business when faced with this fork in the road?
Here are some things to consider when deciding where to allocate your resources:
Digital Branding
- Focuses on what your company believes in, why it exists, and how consumers feel about your business.
- Includes components like company name, logo, and visual design.
- Is brand-oriented and company-oriented.
- It is consistent, showcasing your business as being trustworthy and reliable.
- Influences your team as well as your clients.
- Is not necessarily dependent on marketing strategies.
Digital Marketing
- Focuses on building awareness of your products and services, as well as promoting the brand.
- Includes components like social media, keyword optimization, and advertising.
- Is product-oriented.
- It is dynamic, utilizing strategies that change with time and with the product.
- Influences your clients, but rarely your team.
- Typically requires some branding first.
The Similarities
Digital branding and digital marketing are alike in that they’re both crucial to a successful business, and they often have overlap with one another. However, there are some key differentiating factors to consider.
The Differences
Digital branding has an impact on your employees and company culture, whereas marketing has little internal impact. When a team is part of an important brand, and when they can relate to the story and values of the brand, members tend to work more vigorously and passionately to produce solid work. Branding can significantly impact workplace satisfaction when done right, which can help you to connect your team as a whole and increase workplace satisfaction.
Final Thoughts
If you’re starting from scratch, it may be beneficial to begin with branding before marketing strategies. The reason is simple: marketing your product becomes infinitely more difficult when you lack a powerful brand to back it up! Consider beginning with digital branding to build a strong base for your company, upon which you can start to stack digital marketing strategies.
If you’re looking to build brand awareness, develop robust digital marketing strategies, or if totally at a loss, WEB ROI can help. Contact the WEB ROI team today to discuss your business's needs and develop strategies to help you embark upon the road to success!
