Branding vs brand strategy: what’s the difference?

Brand, branding, brand strategy…?! 🤯 Do you find yourself wondering what the difference is, and what you need to worry about for growing your business? Let me break it down simply for you.

Your BRAND is your entire business, including how people see you (AKA your reputation). You can picture it like an iceberg: 10% visible, and a whopping 90% below the surface.While your brand strategy is the 90% that’s below the surface, the branding is the 10% above. And they are both necessary for a strong and cohesive brand and work closely together.

The brand strategy is the majority of your brand that isn’t actually explicitly visible to your audience, clients, and prospects. It’s the work you do behind the scenes in deciding what your business is all about and who it serves. It includes your vision and mission, the problem you’re solving for your audience, and your overall personality.

When done successfully, this brand strategy shines through in your branding—which are the parts of your brand that your audience does explicitly see. It includes the design + visual components (which is far more than just the logo). It’s also secondary marks, colors, illustration style, photography, and tone of voice – and how all of this comes to life on things like your website, freebies, social media, and business documents.

The key here is that your branding isn’t just another pretty face—it’s all rooted in deep meaning that always leads right back to your brand strategy.

Wondering what it takes to create a magnetic brand? Download my free branding checklist here!