by Jace Vernon | marketing, online marketing
Businesses get brand marketing and direct marketing mixed up. It is costly and causes a lot of mediocre results and headaches.
We’re going to fix this age-old debate right now!
You may find yourself running a brand campaign thinking you will get direct marketing results or you are running a direct marketing campaign and expect branding results.
If you mess these up, you will lose, become frustrated, and abandon ship for the next shiny marketing idea.
Let’s first define the two of them so we can know what to expect.
Seth Godin in his new book laid it out the best I have seen. We will use his definition.
Direct Marketing
If you’re buying direct marketing ads, measure everything. Compute how much it costs you to earn attention, to get a click, to turn that attention into an order.
Direct marketing is action marketing, and if you’re not able to measure it, it doesn’t count.
Brand Marketing
If you’re buying brand marketing ads, be patient. Refuse to measure. Engage with the culture. Focus, by all means, but mostly, be consistent and patient.
If you can’t afford to be consistent and patient, don’t pay for brand marketing ads.
What I just shared with you ought to have paid for the time and money you have spent reading my posts, emails, website and watching my videos.
When you know what kind of marketing you are engaged in, you will set the right expectations.
Types of direct marketing include:
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- YouTube Ads
- Email Marketing
- Solo Ads
- etc
They’re Ads you can track directly to a sale.
Types of brand marketing include:
- Billboard signs
- The way you answer your phones
- Your uniforms
- Sponsorships
- SEO
- Networking events
- Company culture
- etc
The list above is not exact, but I think you get the point.
Different platforms can be used for both direct and brand, but the difference is your expectations, goals, and measurements.
Small startups get too caught up in their brand. They spend time, money, and energy dealing with brand experts and not enough time building out direct marketing campaigns.
Big brands try to make a shift into direct marketing and use branding techniques and wonder why nothing worked.
A Typical Story About Branding vs Direct Marketing
RED worked with a client this last year who hired a new VP of marketing. He came from a large corporation that ran branding campaigns.
The owner of the company wanted to track all results and make sure marketing was giving him an instant ROI.
So
The new VP of marketing made called his past Agency and did a large media buy. The agency took the $241,000 and ran a display campaign along with a few magazine ads.
How much traffic came to the site? None!
Six months into the campaign sales had not increased at all. Less than a year later the VP of marketing was looking for a new job.
The owner had one expectation and the VP of marketing another.
Let’s look at SEO.
It’s a problem and owners have the wrong expectations.
SEO (search engine optimization) is the attempt to rank for generic terms in a search engine. Businesses spend a fortune on SEO because marketers promise to rank them for highly searched keywords.
SEO can be considered brand marketing or direct depending who you ask but here’s the problem…
It’s a gamble, and the odds are stacked against you. There are limited spots available, and it takes months if not years to rank for generic keywords.
90% of owners do not have the time, patience, or money to wait for the results. So they quit too soon.
What makes business owners assume they can outrank companies like Wikipedia, Home Advisors, Yelp, and Google on generic searches?
It’s not happening.
I find it best to avoid the games you will lose. No matter what your SEO company says.
What can you win?
Build an SEO campaign where people search for keyword that you can rank for. This will come in a later post.
Which brings us back to the beginning…
What kind of marketing campaign are you running? Are you mixing them up?
Don’t.
Both brand and direct marketing are good, as long as we set the right expectations.
If you’re interested in growing your business with a direct marketing campaign, reach out to us.
We would be happy to show ways to drive traffic, leads, and sales.
If you’re looking for a brand campaign, that is not our thing. I have a hard time spending money on marketing that can’t be measured.
Does branding work? Yes, it does. Just takes time, patience, and a lot more money.
Keep marketing!
by Jace Vernon | Addiction Treatment Marketing
Hey everyone! This is Chase from MarketingHy I have had the amazing experience lately with helping some of the nation’s biggest names in the drug and alcohol addiction niche.
A subject that is constantly on my mind is,
How important is branding for an addiction recovery centers?
There are many rules when it comes to digital marketing for a company like this. Some of today’s top marketing venues such as Facebook, Instagram and others have strict guidelines for what you can and can’t-do.
And now, come to find out earlier today, Google is cracking down on Adwords and Google listings for rehabilitation centers.
Let me take you back to this morning….
I jumped in my car and on my way to the office I hear my phone chime in.
I pull into the parking lot, open the article and am greeted by a headline on how,
“GoogleIs going to be cracking down on how they market addiction recovery centers.”
Now What? – was the first thing that popped into my head.
Then I thought for a second and I actually became pretty excited!
The answer comes back to what I personally think is the most important part of any business.
BRANDING!
Something that is easier than ever in today’s era with tools like social media. Yet, most rehab centers completely skip this step.
We use branding to show the entire world who we are and exactly what our business stands for.
And the best part, it’s FREE!
So… how do you start to really brand your Business?
There are a couple things I want to go over but first, let’s starts with two simple questions.
1. What specific value can you bring to your clients?
2. Why do you want to bring this value? What drives you and your team to get up every day?
The answers to these questions will be what shapes your brand and builds relatability with the people who come across your content. People are constantly seeking solutions to solve their pain points.
Now that we have that down. Let’s discuss the benefits of branding.
Have you ever heard the term,
“people hate to be sold, but they love to buy?”
People are tired of seeing ad after ad as they search through their social media (SPAM).
More and more people are using Ad blocking technology for that reason exactly. That means it will be harder and harder to reach your target market.
The best thing about branding is you are selling at a macro. You are literally placing ideas into people’s minds as they find out more about your product.
As you build your brand and people begin to learn more about who you are, in return it builds trust. Once people have gained value from you and what you offer, only then will they look into buying or signing up from you.
Now… how can you put this idea of branding out to your clients?
The answer is simple…. Content Creation!
I’m not talking about having a meeting and saying,
“Well today is national hot dog day. I think we need to make some posts telling everyone to race out and eat a hot dog.”
I’m saying we need better more thought out creation. Too many times we get caught up in what everyone else is doing and posting that we lose the focus of pushing our brand forward.
Here are some steps to creating great content…
1. Go back to your what and why
2. Focus on adding value to your clients through what you offer
3. Craft up a post using these two points (make sure to have an end goal in mind education, sales, finding new clients, etc.)
4. Find the best platform to push your content out on
5. Quality Consistency is key
Now let me ask you a question…..
Who do you go to when you need to find answers online?
The kid who just started, or the trusted expert?
The final key is this,
YOU MUST BECOME THE TRUSTED EXPERT IN YOUR NICHE.
Becoming a leader in your industry creates trust and brand credibility.
When a mom has a child that needs help, your recovery center has to be the first one that comes to her mind.
Investing time into content creation is one of the best ways to leader in your industry.
Almost all buyers purchase based on the influence of content they see.
Once you have branded your business as the GO-TO in your industry, people will start to take your word more seriously and the influence your business has will increase dramatically.
Here are a couple key points to remember:
1. Don’t always talk about how great your business is – remember, it is always about the value you can bring to the client. You must give value before asking for a dollar
2. You probably have years of experience – don’t be afraid to give your knowledge to those looking for it. Find ways to get out in your community and speak
3. Always be yourself (build your own brand, not someone else’s)
4. Find which platform your personality fits best (video, blogging, social media, etc.)
5. Always remember to keep your brand in mind
In the world of digital marketing, tactics change on a daily basis. But one thing will always remain the same…. BRANDING IS EVERYTHING!
Build a brand that adds an immense amount of value to people’s lives and they will organically come to you. There is endless potential in doing so.
Start your branding journey today!
If you have any questions feel free to reach out!
Chase@marketinghy.com
