A common misconception held by some of even the most experienced business people is that marketing and advertising are one and the same. Advertising is just one type of marketing. Marketing encompasses various techniques that businesses use to get you to part with your money, and it works more often than anyone cares to admit. Be honest—something you own right now was purchased as a result of effective marketing. Companies market in different ways toward different audiences. It’s pointless to market to customers if no one is buying those products in the first place. For example, companies don’t market tampons to adult males or power tools to 8-year-olds, because there’s no point—although it is funny to think about.

A good approach to marketing will have you trying to reach customers and clients in a variety of ways, all the time. This may include advertising in a magazine, or sponsoring a special event of some sort. Just like a comprehensive investment portfolio, marketing should be diversified. Gone are the days when simple radio and television advertisements were all that was necessary to reach consumers. A modern strategy must include an online presence in areas like social networks and blogs. If done correctly, you will be able to successfully reach untapped markets. If done badly, your campaign will be laughed at mercilessly. After all, it’s the internet.

While advertising is a way to get the word out about a particular product or service, marketing tells consumers that your brand is one that can be counted on and trusted. Consumers react to certain brands on an emotional level. Because of past experience and the messages coming from word of mouth and a variety of advertising, they believe some brands are higher quality and more durable. That’s what marketing does. It helps consumers form opinions. Even if your company doesn’t have a product that you are pushing at the moment, marketing effectively will help you to stay in the public's mind all the time.

When using online avenues of marketing, you are definitely going to want to use caution. If it’s done correctly, advertising campaigns and marketing strategies can go viral online becoming a social phenomenon unto themselves. When it’s done wrong, however, consumers might reject the campaign as crass or lowbrow unless that’s the market you’re intending to target; then it’ll be a worldwide sensation! Beer commercials, for example, often fall into this category. Poor marketing viral marketing strategies have the opposite effect and end up on "fail" blogs; it’s true. Some companies have released videos in an attempt to pass them off as amateur or user submitted homemade videos, but when these videos are revealed to be nothing more than commercials, consumers revolt.