Marketing is a series of activities and strategies aimed at identifying, attracting, and retaining customers, and meeting their needs and desires to achieve business goals. Marketing involves not only the promotion and sale of products or services but also includes market research, product development, pricing strategies, distribution channels, brand management, and customer relationship management. Its core objective is to build customer satisfaction and loyalty by creating value and effectively communicating that value, thereby achieving long-term growth and profitability for the business.

There are numerous types of marketing, each with its unique strategies and goals. Here are some major types:

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)：Includes search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising, like Google AdWords, to increase website visibility and traffic.
• Content Marketing：Involves creating and sharing valuable content to attract and retain a target audience, usually without directly promoting a product.
• Social Media Marketing：Utilizes social media platforms (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn) to promote products or services, engage with the target audience, and increase brand awareness.
• Influencer Marketing：Collaborates with influential individuals (like bloggers, and social media stars) to promote products or services through their influence.
• Email Marketing：Communicates with current and potential customers via email, sending newsletters, promotional campaigns, product updates, etc.
• Event Marketing：Organizes and participates in various events (such as trade shows, seminars, and product launches) to promote products or services and engage with customers face-to-face.
• Direct Marketing：Engages in one-to-one communication with target customers, including mail, telemarketing, and SMS marketing, aiming to elicit immediate responses or transactions.
• Promotional Marketing：Attracts customers and drives sales through discounts, coupons, giveaways, contests, etc.
• Segment Marketing：Divides the market based on different characteristics (such as geography, demographics, psychographics, and behavior) and develops differentiated marketing strategies for each segment.

These types of marketing can be used individually or in combination to maximize their effectiveness, meeting various business goals and market needs.

Advertising is a paid, planned, and organized promotional activity aimed at conveying information to a specific audience through various media to promote the awareness and purchase of products, services, brands, or ideas. The core goals of advertising are to attract attention, convey information, generate interest, and drive action, thus influencing consumers' purchasing decisions.

Advertising occurs across multiple media, but all advertising shares a common trait: brands or marketers pay to send specific messages on specific platforms. Generally, the more popular the platform—and the more desirable its audience—the higher the advertising cost. For example, buying a quarter-page ad in a regional industry publication will cost far less than a full-page ad in a national magazine; similarly, a two-minute ad during a prime-time TV show will cost significantly more than a 30-second spot on a local news channel.

Although marketing and advertising are often interconnected in practice, they differ significantly in scope, function, and implementation methods. Both marketing and advertising share a common goal: bringing your business and its message to your ideal customers. However, when discussing the main differences between marketing and advertising, it's important to note that advertising (including banner ads, social media ads, or billboards) is merely a single strategy within the broader scope of marketing. In other words, advertising is a form of marketing. Therefore, if you only rely on advertising to promote your business, you will miss out on many opportunities to enhance your brand, build customer relationships, and drive business sales.

Overall, marketing encompasses any practices or actions taken to promote a brand. As mentioned earlier, this can include advertising, but it also involves other promotional activities to publicize products, services, or the overall business. Sometimes, you must pay for marketing activities, but this is not always the case. Unlike advertising, you can utilize many free marketing strategies to promote your company and achieve significant results in the process.

In short, if you spend money on a specific platform or medium to place an ad targeting your audience, it is considered advertising (e.g., social media or TV). This is just one component of your marketing strategy. However, a marketing strategy can and should be broader than just advertising; anything you do to promote your brand, such as writing a blog post or handing out flyers at a local event, falls under the realm of marketing.

The value of marketing and advertising depends on a business’s objectives, market environment, resource allocation, and consumer behavior. Both can play crucial roles in different contexts, and they are often complementary. Effective marketing strategies need advertising support to disseminate information and promote products, while successful advertising campaigns depend on marketing strategies for guidance.

In different market environments and business stages, the relative value of marketing and advertising may vary. For instance, during the startup phase, advertising may be crucial to quickly establish brand awareness; whereas in the mature phase, marketing strategies may focus more on customer relationship management and brand maintenance.

Overall, marketing provides comprehensive and long-term value by offering strategic direction and a holistic perspective. However, advertising, as a critical component of marketing, delivers irreplaceable short-term promotional effects and brand exposure. Businesses should leverage both marketing and advertising to maximize their overall value according to their business goals and market environment.

Planning advertising and marketing activities is a systematic process that requires considering a company's goals, market environment, competitive landscape, and resource allocation. Below is a general guide to help businesses effectively plan their advertising and marketing activities:

By conducting systematic market research and analysis, developing comprehensive marketing strategies, detailed advertising planning and execution, effective integrated marketing communication, strict execution and management, continuous evaluation and optimization, and long-term planning, businesses can effectively plan and implement advertising and marketing activities to achieve their desired business objectives and market results.