If you’re just opening a new healthcare practice or looking to start marketing yourself, you may find that the terms ‘marketing’ and ‘advertising’ get thrown around a lot in conversations, content you read and videos you watch. It is natural for you to wonder if they both terms mean the same because they appear in the same context and some resources may even use them interchangeably.
So is marketing the same as advertising? Simply put, no.
Advertising is only a small sub-part of marketing, which is an umbrella term for the following activities, which together aim to communicate, promote or sell a product or service, and make a profit.
Marketing consists of the following activities:
- Public Relations
- Sales
- Communication
- Personal selling
- Direct marketing
- Digital marketing
Advertisements, or ads, are a paid form of marketing, where the communication is sent to inform or influence those who are seeing them. There is an apparent sender (for example you, the business owner) who has chosen a particular message (for example contact us for customised diet plans) for specific people (for example your ‘target audience’ of middle-aged, working professionals of Facebook near your practice). Good advertising should be able to create a trust for you and a desire for your product/service.
It is important to note that as a healthcare professional, you may not even need to employ advertising in your marketing communications mix. For those that do include advertising, Splice Marketing is a stickler for ensuring you remain compliant with AHPRA.
Want to know how to successfully advertise and market online while remaining compliant with the industry guidelines? Contact us for more.
