Marketing Your Business [Branding, Advertising, Social Media] Is it all the same?

In our member's program, we invest a lot of time, money, and resources to help our members stay on top of their game and gain market share.  For us here at WSU, it is important to help them stand out from the crowd and know how to get the clients they want and in the current climate marketing is a very confusing process.  Branding, marketing, sales, social media, google ads, website, magazine ads, networking, expos, I could go on and on listing the keywords that are mentioned when talking about marketing. This is what is confusing, each of these items is separate and different from one another. So then, where do you start and where do you put your time? 

Developing A Strategy

That is a good question to ask, what are you currently doing to market your business? Or are you advertising your business? You may be asking yourself, how are they different? Oh, now you've asked the right question.  They are very different.  Marketing is your message and how you speak your message that conveys who you are and the customers you want to serve. Advertising is the actual exercise of promoting your business and products or services through paid sources.

Here is a practical way to see that: You serve a budget-friendly client at a reduced price compared to your competition. In this case, you ADVERTISE on all your social media, bridal shows, and other places that you are budget-friendly.  Budget-friendly is the marketing message, the areas you communicate this is the advertising. 

 You are looking for high-end large-budget clients.  You market the services you offer, quality of design, awards you won.  You ADVERTISE that on all your social media, bridal shows, and other places you feel will attract or be seen by those types of clients. 

So the first step in MARKETING is to decide, who you are and what type of clients you want to attract, then work on your message.  Once you have a clear message, you can effectively ADVERTISE to the client you are looking to serve. What will make you stand out in the crowd?

 Conclusion

Often when we are trying to develop a marketing strategy, we go look at what we like about other people's marketing and advertising and then try to copy it. The problem is, then you are blending in and it will be hard to see what is different from your business.  Then it will be easy for a potential client to pick the more experience Planner/Coordinator.  You need to focus on standing out.  If you haven't considered becoming a Certified Coordinator and a Member of our course here at Wedding State University, check it out and see why our Coordinators get more business and rise to the top of their field.