What is Marketing Communications or Marketing?

Marketing communications (MC, marcom(s), marcomm(s)) refers to the integrated use of conveying messages about products and services directly or indirectly to customers with the purpose of increasing brand awareness or facilitating the initiation of the sales process. This exchange of information is an essential part of a company’s marketing mix, as it enabled customers to make informed decisions about a company’s product and service solutions. Marketing communications answers the who, what, when, where, how, and why of a company’s product and service offerings.

Marketers and companies make use of marketing communications as part of their marketing strategy to establish brand awareness amongst potential and current customers The elements of the marketing communications mix includes but is not limited to; advertising, promotions, branding, campaigning, direct marketing, interactive marketing, and sales promotion.

A popular medium used by both organisations and individuals in social media. Social media refers to internet-based websites and applications that facilitate the exchange of information between users. Corporations and individuals who want to meet certain objectives make use of social media management functions that enable them to ensure the efficient and effective use of communication on all intended platforms. A popular function within social media management is social media community management which ensures that the internal and external stakeholders are accounted for when relaying communication messages. Marketing departments or PR agencies generally make use of influencers within this domain, as they have the potential to achieve objectives as it relates to maintaining a favourable public image with the intended stakeholder group.

Communications and marketing is not only limited to promotional functions, as it is often used as a a tool to maintain relations with investors as part of investor relations. This is often used in Pan African public relations, as this domain requires very specific and tailored content in order to ensure the organisations or individuals intended objectives.