In the business world, the terms marketing and advertising often emerge. However, many are confused about marketing vs advertising. What are their definitions, goals, working methods, and even differences?
Don't worry, you're not alone. Because sometimes these terms are interpreted as the same thing. Yet, marketing and advertising are quite distinct.
Understanding both is crucial for businesses. It will impact other business processes.
Well, in this article, you will find a complete discussion about the differences between marketing and advertising. So, you can determine the next steps for your business.
Let's take a look at the discussion.
What is Advertising?
In short, advertising is marketing communication. An advertisement itself is a message, both written and visual, aimed at promoting a product.
Its main purpose is to invite the audience to purchase your products or services. Additionally, you can leverage advertising for several purposes as follows:
- Increasing brand awareness
- One way to strengthen brand identity
- Marketing products according to the right buyer persona
- Maximizing sales of existing products and introducing new products
- As a differentiator from competitor brands.
Types of Online Advertising
Well, the ads we commonly see are the results of advertising, which can take various forms, both offline and online.
Before the internet's development, offline advertising, such as billboards, banners, TV ads, and others, was the most prevalent type of ad.
However, offline advertising usually presents more challenges:
- Difficult to measure the effectiveness of the ad
- Hard to ensure the ad reaches the right audience
- Ads need to be displayed in strategic locations, incurring high taxes
- Tends to be costly
- Additional costs for creating advertising materials
For instance, when advertising with a roadside billboard, you would encounter complex permit procedures, the construction of a steel frame requiring funds, and high taxes.
With several reasons mentioned above, online advertising has become a contemporary solution and is more preferred due to its ability to:
- Reach a broader market share
- Focus on targeted advertising
- Offer a variety of ad types
- Save time and energy
- Provide more affordable costs, etc.
With all its advantages, in this discussion, let's focus on online advertising.
As it continues to develop and gain popularity, the forms of online advertising have become more diverse. For instance, Google Adwords, Google Shopping, Google Display Network, etc.
For more comprehensive information, let's delve into the various types of online advertising!
1. Direct Advertising
As the name suggests, direct advertising means the advertiser contacts the media owner directly to place an advertisement.
Usually marked by a specific advertising button on the website, as shown in the example above.
Its advantage lies in the relatively quick process of direct advertising, as you can directly contact the blog or website owner.
Furthermore, you can personally select the blog where your ad will be placed. Now, for a quick tip, the following can assist you:
- Choose a blog with the same niche, allowing you to align your target audience with your product or service.
- Monitor the blog's domain rating and traffic volume.
- Negotiate with the blog owner about the advertisement format. For example, banners on the homepage, links, blog posts, etc.
On the downside, you need to put in extra effort for the management of this type of advertising. From reaching out to blog owners, negotiating, to monitoring the success of your ads, it all needs to be done manually.
Moreover, the risk of the advertisement not performing well rests on the advertiser's shoulders.
2. Self-Service Advertising
Do you want to create your own advertisements? You can! The option is self-service advertising, where you simply need to place ads on your own website.
There are several advantages to this type of advertising:
- More cost-effective, as you don't need to pay another party
- Freedom to determine the size of the ads you want to display
- Capability to place ads on any page of your website
- Flexibility to make changes whenever you want.
However, its drawback is that you need to be meticulous in every step. For example, designing the ads, determining copywriting, etc.
A little tip from us, you can engage in self-service advertising on the landing page of your website and in blog posts. Here, you can place CTAs or purchase buttons for consumers.
3. Display Advertising
Display ads are advertisements that are displayed on a website page. You can usually recognize them when you open a website and see multiple ads, such as the image below.
One of the advantages is that your ads can be directly viewed by consumers when they open a webpage, thereby increasing brand awareness.
Moreover, display ads can reach a large number of people simultaneously. Its performance is considered effective through the use of cookie tracking methods, ensuring that ads are more precisely targeted.
However, a drawback to consider is that the appearance and size of ads can disrupt the visitor's experience.
This could lead to your ads being ignored or even blocked by site visitors. In line with research from the PageFair Adblock Report, ad blocking on desktops increased by 8% at the end of 2020, totaling 257 million users.
Furthermore, display ads also have a specialized platform that you can use, namely the Google Display Network (GDN). Not only images, but you can also advertise using text and gif formats.
For more information about various types of ad targeting, benefits, and tips, you can find it in the article "What is Google Display Network (GDN)? How Business Owners Can Multiply Profits."
4. Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is focused on enhancing conversions or sales through social media platforms.
Its advantage lies in the potential for your ads to be seen by a large number of people simultaneously. This is due to the high number of social media users in Indonesia, which totals around 170 million.
Furthermore, numerous social media platforms have their own advertising platforms, requiring only minimal configuration. Everything from targeting, ad types, ad content, payments, and reporting is available automatically.
Some examples of social media platforms for businesses that provide advertising platforms are:
- Facebook Ads – Ad placements are usually on the feed or sidebar, offering various ad types and different banner sizes.
- Instagram Ads – Operating under the umbrella of Facebook Ads Manager, ads will appear in Instagram feeds and stories.
- Twitter Ads – Ads that utilize copywriting techniques.
- LinkedIn Ads – Suitable for targeting the B2B market.
- TikTok Ads – A rapidly growing platform with several ad type options.
This type of advertising can also be complemented with social media marketing for more optimal results.
Read also: 30 Best WordPress Social Media Plugins
5. Paid Search Advertising
Paid search advertising is an advertisement displayed within search engines.
Its purpose is to ensure that when consumers search for a product, your website appears on the search page. Therefore, paid search is closely related to product keywords.
For example, someone is looking for affordable unlimited hosting. So, when consumers search on Google, they will encounter ads like the one below.
Read also: Examples of Online Business Advertisements
The advantage of this type of marketing, known as pay per click, is widely used and proven successful due to:
- Increased trust from consumers by appearing on the first page of Google.
- More measurable conversions, from the number of clicks and impressions to actual purchases.
- A specialized dashboard for setting up, managing, and obtaining advertising reports.
The most widely used platform for paid search ads is Google Ads. As a primary search engine, advertising on Google Ads can help spread your ads using Smart Campaign features, which include:
- Options to specify ad goals.
- Location targeting feature, particularly useful for local businesses.
- Ad category options, such as restaurants, retail fashion, etc.
- Copywriting to attract consumers.
- Product photos.
- Setting a budget according to your estimate.
- Choosing a payment method.
For a more detailed tutorial, you can follow → Complete Guide on How to Use Google Ads for Beginners.
The downside of Google Ads seems to be limited to the label "ad" next to the URL. There might be consumers who are more interested in organic content compared to ads.
Also read: 7+ Advertising Tips on Google Ads [Comprehensive]
If you want to advertise retail products on Google, it's very possible. The way to do it is by using Google Shopping.
While Google Ads focuses on precise keyword usage, Google Shopping utilizes product attributes. For instance, product images, prices, product titles, and even online store platforms, etc.
Also read: Comprehensive Guide to Google Shopping for Beginners.
6. Video Advertising
In the offline sector, we are familiar with TV commercials, while in the online realm, we refer to them as video advertising.
The difference is that video advertising is not limited to just one platform, but can be carried out across multiple platforms simultaneously. For example, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Influencers, and more.
For instance, when you watch a video on YouTube, you might encounter an ad that can be skipped in 5 seconds, right?
Well, that's one form of video advertising known as YouTube Ads.
Apart from YouTube and other social media, you can also place video ads on websites. So, as soon as a webpage loads, your ad becomes visible to site visitors.
The advantage of video ads over others is that 65% of the human population processes visual content faster. This means that the message in the ad can be conveyed more clearly.
Read also: 25+ Video Editing Apps to Facilitate Your Business Promotion
However, the downside is that creating video ads requires more effort compared to other content types. Additionally, many consumers feel disrupted by this form of video marketing promotion.
7. Native Advertising
Native Ads are one form of online advertising in the shape of paid content with a display that closely resembles the content on a webpage. They are typically marked with small labels like "Ad" or "Sponsored."
The advantage of native ads is that they provide a visual comfort to visitors. Due to their appearance, including font, ad placement location, layout, and even design, they are nearly identical to regular content.
However, the downside is that producing "quality" native ads requires significant extra effort. An example is the collaboration between The New York Times and Netflix mentioned above.
Nonetheless, many websites also employ native ads with a focus on quantity. An example is shown below.
Another drawback frequently encountered is that advertisers sometimes use highly conspicuous images. As a result, this can occasionally disrupt the consumer's view, even if the position is at the bottom of the page.
Also Read: Make Money on Your Blog with AdNow Native Ads.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is the process of capturing the attention and introducing products to customers.
This process is a comprehensive program that consists of three stages, namely awareness, consideration, and decision.
On the other hand, advertising aims to encourage consumers to purchase products or services. Now, the position of advertising is closely related to sales/decision within the marketing process.
So, it can be said that advertising is a part of marketing.
"Not all marketing is advertising, but all advertising is marketing. Marketing is a long-term process, while advertising refers to what is being offered currently (promotion)."
In short, the marketing flow can be seen as follows:
Marketing = consumers become familiar with the brand > consumers consider products or services > until consumers feel the need and purchase products or services.
That's why initially marketing focuses more on branding or the awareness stage, such as:
- Strengthening brand awareness
- Building brand identity
- Creating buyer personas
- Implementing the three stages of marketing, etc.
Types of Digital Marketing
Technically, marketing can be done in various ways. Either by utilizing paid platforms or through free independent efforts.
Similar to advertising, marketing also exists in offline and online forms. Examples of offline marketing media include television, newspapers, posters, etc.
However, digital marketing remains more effective in terms of information dissemination and efficiency. For a more comprehensive understanding, let's explore several types of digital marketing.
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is an effort to optimize a website to achieve top rankings in search results. Optimization can be done on a blog by creating articles or organic content.
For example, when you search for the keyword "digital marketing," Google will suggest pages with content most relevant to the keyword you're searching for.
The way it works is by aligning Google's algorithms with website optimization. For instance, the use of URL structure, presence of SSL/TLS, organic content, keywords, and much more.
That's why Google can determine which content matches a specific keyword by examining its compatibility with Google's algorithms and organic content.
However, SEO isn't only about algorithms. There are many other important aspects of SEO. You can find more details in → Latest Beginner's Guide to Learning SEO.
2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
If you want to advertise a website or landing page, then SEM is the solution.
Do you still remember Paid Search Advertising? Well, paid search is one of the SEM practices. It's marked by advertisements displayed on website pages.
The main difference from SEO is the presence of these ad labels. However, another distinction is that SEM is paid and follows a PPC system. The links also lead directly to landing pages to introduce products or services.
SEM also requires several other tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Google Analytics, etc.
Read also: What is Search Engine Marketing?
3. Social Media Marketing
With a large user base, social media can also become a marketing field.
In the previous discussion on advertising, social media marketing refers more to the tools or advertising platforms of each social media. For example, Facebook ads, Twitter ads, Instagram ads, LinkedIn ads, and others.
Here, social media marketing has a broader scope, whether using paid platforms or creating organic content.
For instance, by posting informative content, sharing, liking, and interacting with users through comments, challenges, etc.
4. Content Marketing
The essence of content marketing is to attract consumers with content as its main allure.
For example, by creating informative content in blog posts, sharing freemium ebooks, podcasts, webinars, or free courses.
The expected feedback from sharing such free "education" is one of creating brand awareness.
To create awareness, the content to be published must meet three criteria: importance, relevance, and consistency. Only after that can we convert an audience into consumers.
Although it requires extra effort to create quality content, content marketing can become a powerful channel to facilitate marketing strategies.
Read also: What Is Content Marketing? Why Is It Important for a Business?
5. Community Marketing
Community marketing is one of the strategies involving interactions with consumer communities.
The goal is to build and maintain a strong relationship with consumers. Once achieved, this will transform regular consumers into loyal customers.
Various approaches can be taken, such as organizing events, seminars, webinars, and online forums.
This way, you can get to know consumers better, understand their pain points, and position your product as the solution.
6. Email Marketing
Have you ever received promotional emails from a brand?
That is called email marketing strategy. Email marketing is a marketing approach where promotional emails are sent to potential consumers. The aim is to capture the consumers' attention and encourage purchases.
Additionally, email marketing is effective in reaching a broad and personalized audience. An example of this can be seen in the following email marketing content.
Marketing vs Advertising: 5+ Key Differences You Must Know
Essentially, marketing and advertising share the common main goal of boosting both online and offline sales.
However, there are certainly significant differences between the two, which you can quickly observe in the following table.
| The difference. | Marketing | Advertising |
|---|---|---|
| Position | A program that encompasses advertising | Part of marketing |
| Work process | Creating branding, brand awareness, brand identity, content marketing, and gathering leads | Spreading news or promotions offered until consumers are persuaded to take the requested action |
| Performed in | Can be done anywhere, both for free and paid, for example: landing page, blog, podcast, ebook, etc | Performed on paid media or platforms, for example: Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Instagram Ads, billboards, television commercials, etc |
| Specific Purpose | The general process for building three stages of marketing: awareness > consideration > decision | One tactic to ensure the execution of sales |
| Benchmark of success | Qualitative/uncountable, measured through various aspects, for example: brand awareness, community marketing, etc | Quantitative/countable through sales figures generated from advertisements |
From the above differences, we can conclude that advertising is a part of the marketing process. Nevertheless, advertising plays a significant role as it focuses on the sales process.
Effective advertising is highly potent in enhancing sales. This can all be achieved through a well-crafted digital marketing strategy.
By the way, both marketing and advertising certainly involve proper learning of copywriting techniques, as they both "communicate" with potential consumers. They differ only in specific goals and approaches.
Hopefully, the discussion above can serve as valuable knowledge for your business journey towards success!
