What is Social Marketing?

What is Social Marketing?

Social marketing is one of the ways through which you can change the society. Put simply; social marketing seeks to change the social behaviors of people by keeping them engaged using the same techniques used in commercial marketing. Your efforts might be related to changing the environment, enhancing safety and health and community development among others.

How Did Social Marketing Come To Be?

Philip Kotler and his research partner Gerald Zaltman are celebrated as the architects of social marketing. They published an article, Social Marketing – Planned Social Change in 1971 in the Journal of Marketing. Since the publication of this article, marketers all over the world have been coming up with different strategies to influence social behavior changes. Public health and environmental conservation are the main issues in social marketing.

The Ins and Outs of Social Marketing

Social marketing is a field that deals with engaging in activities that make the society better such as encouraging people to quit smoking. It should not be confused with social media marketing or sustainable marketing. Social media marketing refers to the promotion of goods or services on social media sites such as Facebook while sustainable marketing refers to goods or services promotion that shows the social responsibility of a corporation.

Social marketing always places the good of the society first above everything else. Nevertheless, corporations can engage in commercial marketing with a social agenda such as advertising recycled water bottles, advertising eco-friendly cars and much more. However, the primary purpose of these ads is to sell and not change the society.

Social marketing involves a few strategies and concepts as shown below:
• The primary objective is to influence social change.
• Change can only be seen if the audience is convinced that the benefits received are worth more than incurred costs.
• Social marketing strategies are only effective if the perceptions of the audience towards proposed change are first understood.
• The target audience’s special needs must be understood and the marketing efforts delivered in segments.
• The social marketing strategies must incorporate the 4P’s of marketing – the product (package of benefits), the price, the places and opportunities.
• The exchange program should be promoted with creativity
• Competition among recommended behaviors should be understood and addressed.

3 Top Social Marketing Campaigns Changing the World Bit by Bit

PeachCare for Kids

This is a campaign that has been running since 1998. The campaign is the brainchild of Georgia Department of Medical Assistance. The campaigns aim at making healthcare affordable to children by getting insurance for all health concerns. Insurance coverage costs $7.50 per month per child and $15 per family.

The campaign rolled out their idea by advertising the program on radio, TV, outdoor ads and transit stop. The adverts sought to make the idea easy for parents to understand. After vigorous advertising, the campaign kicked off with 80,000 applicants and 57,000 enrollments. Up to now, the campaign still receives applications.

Stop AIDS

True to its name, this is a campaign towards an AIDS-free world. It was initiated by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health in conjunction with the Swiss AIDS Foundation. Initially, the campaign focused on the gay community, but later switched on to AIDS.

The campaign has had great milestones. They started by encouraging men between 17 and 30 to use condoms. From 1987 to 1990, the sales of condoms increased hugely, and condom use increased from a meager 5 percent to about 50 percent.

Over the years, the campaign has focused on offering all the information there is about AIDS and discerning the truth from misconceptions. They touch on sex, needles, and drugs, among other practices related to AIDS.

Workers-are-NOT-Tools!

This is a drive towards better working conditions. The campaign comes as a 30-second video clip commissioned by the Belgian Advocacy Group. This video makes known the ignored rights of workers.
The video was spread on all social media sites and posted on YouTube. It sought to get the attention of people on the basic issues plaguing workers on a daily basis. The campaign was recognized as one of the top social advertisements of today.

Using Social Media for Social Marketing

1. Choosing a team

The first step towards running an effective social campaign is to gather a team of like-minded people who understand what you are up to and are willing to help. Ensure the team members have no intentions of making money from the campaign.

2. Develop trustworthy strategies

Trust will determine whether your strategies bear fruit or not. A trustworthy brand does not struggle to sell. If people have trust in what you are trying to sell, they will promote it. You need to work honestly to gain trust.

3. Understand the perceptions of the audience

Besides understanding what the audience needs, it is important to understand their perceptions towards your business. This lets you develop a simple and sustainable strategy towards achieving your goals. For instance, if you are spearheading a campaign on drugs, you need to understand how drug users feel.

4. Choose the right Platform

There are different social media platforms to use when you need to spread the word about your campaign. You can use all the networks including Facebook, Twitter, and others. With so many platforms, you are able to focus your social marketing efforts on the group that will benefit the most. Start by analyzing where your target audience is and then craft a campaign that reaches out to people in those specific places.

5. Create Good Content

If you have no message for your audience, there is no way you will influence them to make a change. If you have the very same message they have heard for years, you will also not achieve anything.

Create content that addresses your audience directly, addresses their emotions and feels intimate. You can achieve a lot with just words. The content you post should be engaging piquing the interest of your audience and triggering conversations. Build long-lasting relationships before you even think of making a change. This is successful, influential marketing.