If you’ve spent any length of time with us, you’ve heard us use words like marketing, design, content creation, voice, and tone. (What do you expect? We’re a marketing firm!) But what do these words mean and how do they actually fit together? We’re here to break it all down.
Marketing
Okay, this is the big one. The whole shebang. The word you hear the most. Marketing is an all-encompassing word for all the efforts aimed to create awareness, increase patronage, and compel action by your current and potential customers. Marketing can, and usually should, include branding, advertising, design, and content creation. A marketing campaign is a specific effort with unique branding and messaging—usually with a goal and end date—that falls under the larger marketing effort.
Design
Whether in the context of graphic design or web design, the word ‘design’ (wow, could we say ‘design’ any more?) encompasses the visual elements meant to support the brand. We’re talking logo, fonts, colors, photography, illustration, and all other graphic elements.
A common misconception among companies is that all it takes is a new logo to succeed at marketing. While a great logo and clean design is crucial, it can’t stand on its own as marketing; you also need the strategy, content creation, and advertising to support it. This is where a comprehensive marketing firm like MadCap can help—we’ll do the design and create the marketing strategy to support it.
Content Creation
The word ‘content’ in particular is definitely a buzzword these days. You may have also heard “content is king.” We’re here to tell you that it’s true. The content your company creates in blog posts, social media, public relations, advertising, and even on your own website can create ripples in the market that can pay big dividends for your company.
It’s crucial that all content that your company puts out falls perfectly under your marketing umbrella. Two other words you’ve probably heard are ‘voice’ and ‘tone’—they fit under content creation. Voice can be boiled down to an adjective. Is your company friendly, positive, humorous, or professional? Tone is a subset of voice and can be tailored to match each medium. Think of the voice as the mission statement, and voice as how it is applied.
If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! We are total nerds about all things marketing and would love to go into more detail with you!