When it comes to marketing, many of us have an incomplete picture of what marketing entails. Simply put, too many of us conflate marketing with advertising when the latter is a small part of the former. The two of them share the same end goal, and they share many principles, but advertising and marketing are two distinct entities. Marketing is a complex field of study, and you’ll need to be in the know if you’re going to use marketing to create a successful business. Here are the basics you need to know to ensure a successful business.

First and foremost, let’s go ahead and address advertising in more depth. For starters, you need to consider what you product or service is and who you’re selling to. In other words, you need to pinpoint your target demographic. For example, let’s say you’re trying to advertise True Religion jeans. Therefore, you’re going to want to advertise to the kind of person that wears jeans. This is a softball example, because, if you think about it, most people wear jeans. However, one group that can be excluded is the rich. Rich people like to flaunt their wealth and so tend to dress in more formal attire, and jeans don’t fit that bill.

Marketing, however, begins at your place of business or online store in the form of branding. Branding is at once complicated to explain but simple to know what it is. One example would be your company’s logo. Alongside this are the company name, a mascot or slogan, if applicable, and even the color scheme used. For example, think of Facebook. Faebook’s blue color scheme is iconic, and the choice behind it is simple. Blue has a calming effect on people, so it’s perfect for a service intent on connecting people. The simplistic logo, a white letter f on a blue background, and the fact that it’s a lowercase of speak to the informal and casual nature of Facebook. If it helps, think of branding as advertising your company, rather than a product or service. The goal of branding is to make your business approachable, in essence, so that you’re perceived as trustworthy and inviting by potential customers and clients.