Controlling your brand: use marketing and advertising to take control of your image.

• Author: Watkins, Terri
• Position: Business Guide 2014

Believe it or not, every company has a brand image to uphold. From large to small business, and every size in between, it is your responsibility as a business owner to understand what your brand says to people and how you can influence that messaging through marketing and advertising. Let's talk a bit about the difference between marketing and advertising and how you can begin to take control over your brand image.

First, here's a look at the definitions of each area. The definitions of marketing and advertising are currently being taught in universities around the world and are easily found at Merriam-Webster.com:

* Marketing is defined as the activities that are involved in making people aware of a company's products and making sure that the products are available to be bought. This typically refers to sharing a message, vision, mission and culture, as well as products or services, with the general public, creating an overall awareness of one's company and offerings. We often see this in website design, social-media management, print materials, trade-show displays, company signage, etc.

* Advertising is the action of calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements. This covers broadcast advertisements that we would see on TV, hear on the radio or read in a magazine, as well as online promoted posts (i.e., pay-per-click ads or graphic display advertisements). They are used to sell and promote a specific product or service for the purpose of converting the visitor into a paying client. Marketing and advertising are often used to generate sales leads and interest to help narrow down the scope of possible customers. This makes the job of a sales rep far easier to produce closed business.

When developing a budget for the promotion of your company and its goods or services, we have to keep in mind that each of these areas require attention to develop an effective long-term strategy. It helps to identify your business budget and then determine the percent growth you would like to experience over the coming year. That percent growth is directly related to the percent of the business budget that should be allotted in each category for the coming year. When a budget is planned this way, it becomes fluid, making it easier to adjust to changes in the economy. Oftentimes it is important to review the budget and the results of a campaign quarterly or even monthly to be sure it is staying on track.

How do we determine...