MARKETING - Understanding the difference between Marketing and Promotion

The most successful artists have at least some basic understanding of a few core business concepts.  This is because those artists are more like to focus their attention on the activities that enhance their business and chances for success, and they’re less likely to be taken advantage of.  That’s why, at Two Plus Media, we like to make sure that all of our clients have some understanding of a few basic business concepts.

One of those concepts is the difference between marketing and promotion.  Most people use these terms interchangeably to describe a variety of different activities.  That would be a mistake.  It is especially a mistake in the music business, when different goals require different mixes of marketing and promotion.

Breaking Down Marketing vs. Promotion

There is an easy way to think about the difference between marketing and promotion– promotion answers  the question what?; marketing answers the question why?

When you are promoting something, you are merely telling people that it exists.  You are telling them what.

When you are marketing something, you are showing people its value.  You are telling them why.

Examples of Marketing vs. Promotion in Music

Here are some simple examples of the difference between marketing and promotion in the music business:

• Sending a tweet with a link to your new single/video is promotion; writing a series of tweets that tells what your song/video is about, and why people should watch/listen is marketing.
• Posting a link to your upcoming show on Facebook is promotion; sending an email to your email list that describes your upcoming shows, builds anticipation, and makes people want to attend is marketing.
• Announcing a sale on your merch is promotion; developing a comprehensive online store platform that integrates with your website and brand, so that people have a good buying experience is marketing.

There is nothing wrong with anything in any of these examples.  One thing you need to understand is that marketing and promotion are not in competition with each other.  One isn’t better than the other.  In fact, you need them both.

Knowing how to use Marketing and Promotion

In reality, promotion is actually a subset of your marketing activities.  Promotion is critical to executing a successful marketing strategy.  The issue, however, is that some people make the mistake of thinking that promotion can stand alone.  It can’t.   If you do promotion by itself, you’re really just yelling at people, and likely annoying them to death.

The reason you need marketing and promotion is that they work together.  Marketing provides the why for people to react to your promotion.  People won’t buy your music just because you told them that it is available on iTunes.  Marketing provides the critical answer to why people should buy your music.

If your marketing effectively answers the why, people will react positively to your promotion when you tell them what you are offering.

Source: http://twoplusmedia.com