I spoke to a potential client this week who got me thinking; do many organisations know if they need marketing or communications? You might be asking yourself 'aren't they the same thing', and you wouldn't be completely wrong. A lot of the aims of communications and marketing experts are similar, but the differences could make a huge difference to the results of your campaign. Stick with me as I take you through the crucial differences and help you decide whether you require comms or marketing for your next project.
Key Differences
The main difference between marketing and communications is the end goal. For marketers, their main aim is to create conversions. This could be sales, sign ups or donations; either way, they require the consumer to take action to measure success. As for communications experts, they will focus on conveying a message and ensuring an organisation's core messages are communicated properly.
To simplify this: customers are king for marketers, whereas communications experts are storytellers. There is a lot of crossover in the two in the 2010s and the lines between marketing and communications are becoming blurred to create more immersive experiences for consumers, but if you're looking for one or the other, you need to decide which outcome matters more to you.
Marketing in Practice
Marketing and communications have the ability to look incredibly similar, but some tasks belong to one over the other. For example, social media may cross the boundaries between communications and marketing, but PPC and SEO are marketing tools.
If you're looking for a marketer, expect their work to be more technical and analytics based. They will want to know how many people converted, percentages and statistics in order to measure success. Expect every element of your campaign to be optimised and analysed in order to achieve the best results possible.
Communications in Practice
Communications experts are more fluid with how they measure success, rather than conversions, their aim is to get their messaging in front of as many relevant eyes as possible, inspiring people to take action eventually, not immediately. This can be done through methods like social media, PR, influencer marketing and blog posts.
You will probably come across communications campaigns without even knowing it; as you read articles, watch TV or scroll through Twitter on your lunch break. Using the media to amplify a message is the main role of a communications expert, however, they may use other tools such as events or stunts to really hammer home their core message.
Which Do You Need?
I personally feel that to be the best marketer or communications expert, you need to blend the two, especially in the digital world we live in. I class myself as a digital marketer, however, my day to day activity requires a lot of creativity and storytelling in order to inspire consumers to take action. Within the third sector, integrating marketing with communications is the ideal way to encourage the public to take action, whether this is by becoming a volunteer or going on to spread your message to their circles.
You need to decide on your end goal before choosing to seek out a marketing or communications expert: do you want conversions or do you want to inspire? If your answer is both, look no further.
Get in touch today to discuss your marketing and communication needs and let's create magic.