I should know. I do it all the time. That’s why I don’t have a story for you: I’ve slipped in “brand” where I should have thumb-typed “branding” hundreds of times. I’m not alone, either. Just about every branding and non-branding creative professional I know has said one when they technically meant the other.

Whoops. But still, you know, nobody died. Phew.

The brand vs. branding word-swapping is both not-a-big-deal and a-thing-worth-talking-about at the same time. Let’s spend a little time talking about why before we talk about what a brand is and how it’s different from branding (and logos and color palettes and all that other stuff).

When you are the person in charge—even if you’re only in charge of yourself, like I am—you don’t have spare time to waste fiddling about. You need to proceed directly from establishing your goals to crafting an action plan to doing the work required to be successful.

Understanding the semantics of brand vs. branding is a part of that. When you can separate the two concepts in your mind, you’ll be able to streamline your to-do list so that you can more efficiently and effectively achieve your desired results.

Moving on.

What’s the difference between a “brand” and “branding”?

The difference between “brand” and “branding” comes down to parts of speech. “Brand” is a noun. “Branding” is a verb.

Brand vs. branding on the wide-open plains

Think of it this way: You are a rancher. You’re holding an iron brand wrought in the shape of your ranch’s logo. In front of you is a cow. The act of placing your red-hot brand on your cow’s booty is branding.

See? The brand is the thing. The branding is the action.

With businesses, though, it becomes a little more complex.

Brand vs. branding in business

A business’ brand is the cumulative client or customer experience created by you, the creator, and your motley crew of awesomesauce people.

This brand is the result of branding, just as it is on a ranch.

Branding is the work you do to create your business’ ideal client or customer experience. It’s not something that just happens. It’s a thing you actively and continually develop.

When people talk about a brand, they’re giving public recognition to the branding work that has been done. When the brand the public perceives lines up with the goals of the branding work you undertook, you have branded successfully—that is, you have created the brand you intended to create.

What makes up a brand?

A brand is an experience—we’ve established that already. An experience has scads of pieces to it, whether it’s a trip to Disney World or a wedding reception or a cocktail hour at a boutique hotel.

For an online business, the elements that comprise that experience are a little bit different. Typically, it’s less about tactile elements and more about what you can see, both from a design and communication point-of-view. The ones I’m listing here are an incomplete list of the most talked-about brand elements for creative online business.

As you can see, the work of branding involves a slew of different pieces—and processes. The ones you use are often dictated by what part of branding you’re working on (think: visual, like a logo design or website, or story-oriented, like writing a tagline or an about page).

Generally, though, each piece of the branding puzzle utilizes these basic steps:

• Research your target audience, industry, and competition
• Brainstorm possibilities, ideally with a partner or creative team
• Choose the path that will help you achieve your goals
• Create the selected vision and make it a reality