What Is Social Marketing?

The term “social marketing” refers to the adoption of

commercial, promotional technologies into programs
that are intended to influence the response of target
audiences to improve both the individuals’ well-
being and the well-being of the community in which
they belong.

 Social marketing is a well-planned, long-term strategy that

uses marketing strategies to improve people’s lives and the
environment. Improves living quality.
 It is a sensible method for influencing behavior durably and
cost-effectively, combining principles from commercial
marketing with the social sciences.
 At times in the name of the concept in the discussion,
commercial marketing is done by firms.
 Many charitable organizations employ the concept, including
those concerned with health & welfare, environmental
protection, and social action.
Introduction - Social marketing

Social marketing, sometimes known as “marketing for good,”

is a strategy that promotes positive societal transformation by
focusing on influencing individuals’ actions or ways of life
rather than just selling an item or service. Its emphasis on
community engagement is distinct from commercial
marketing, marketing via green or sustainable practices, and
marketing via social media.

The goal of such marketing is to modify people’s behaviors for

the greater good of society – to the individual’s profit and
benefit of society as a whole – by using the concepts of
commercial marketing and the social sciences.

It is used by a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and

charities, as well as by government organizations, emergency
services, and agencies. Likewise, some examples are highway
safety alliances, policemen, firefighters, and paramedic groups.
Social marketers also handle campaigns for charitable causes
of a commercial brand’s product or business.

Strategies that can be used for doing social marketing.

#1 – Work Collaboratively
Generally, with low finances, implementing a full social
marketing program and not just a communication effort
requires outside resources and experience. Hence,
Cooperation and reciprocity are powerful. See if there is a
similar group that regularly addresses the target audience. If
so, building a strategic relationship for assisting their existing
projects helps. Beyond regular partners, other groups may
appeal to a similar target market.

#2 – Internet Marketing
Online marketing helps firms stretch costs. Hence, digital
media and new websites have created numerous new
possibilities. However, online is a cheap, ever-changing
landscape. So, ensuring web marketing reaches the target
demographic is vital. Also, it should not be used as a solo
method.

#3 – Online Press Release

 Posting a story for free on any PR Web and sending bulk
emails works well. Developing a list of prospects to send press
releases and creating narrative articles about persons touched
by the campaign and the advantages of behavior change
helps spread the word.

#4 – Word Of Mouth
 Don’t overlook word-of-mouth in healthy communication and
marketing. Many individuals find the company through word-
of-mouth. Keeping the target audience talking is vital for habit
change since we all listen to our relatives, friends, and
coworkers. The more avenues one can contact the target
audience using social outreach, the more impact a firm has.

#5 – Make Widgets
 Widgets are code snippets that users may copy and paste into
webpages or blogs. Creating widgets that partners may
publish to backlink the firm helps. Action messages, not simply
data, should be included.

Types
Following are the types of social marketing.

#1 – Not-For-Profit Marketing
It refers to companies that do not seek financial gain but use it
as a marketing strategy to promote a cause. However, a typical
example of nonprofit marketing is a campaign to generate
donations and recruit volunteers using direct mail and mass
media. Since this is the case, serving the greater good is the
overarching aim, but the organization’s primary objective is to
earn money to be competitive with other charitable
organizations.

#2 – Marketing For A Social Mission

This partnership between a for-profit and nonprofit company
supports a charitable cause or other similar endeavors. In
addition, the sales of the items produced by the commercial
organization contribute to the pro-social motive. However, an
equivalent would be something like sponsorship, when a
charitable organization allows a for-profit firm to publicize its
relationship with the charitable organization to improve
people’s impressions of the for-profit corporation

and the products it sells.

On the other hand, cause-related marketing

generates revenue for the charitable organization as a direct
consequence of the products or services sold. Therefore,
advancing a social cause is not the primary purpose of a firm;
rather, it is the secondary goal of a company to increase sales
or any other marketing objective.

#3 – Marketing With A Conscience

A comparison may be made between sponsorship and pro-
social outreach. Nevertheless, the for-profit company aims to
improve the public’s opinion of its goods and services by
establishing a cooperative partnership with an organization or
cause that works to improve society. so social marketing
allows firms to convey how they have a wake conscience for
helping society back.

#4 – Societal Marketing
It is possible to confuse societal with social outreach or
marketing, but the two are not the same. Kotler and his
colleagues refer to businesses like this as socially responsible
profit-making companies. However, societal marketing is
considered a natural extension of the fundamental idea
behind marketing. For making a profit from the determination
and satisfaction of customer requirements in a manner that
protects or enhances the consumer and society.

Examples of Social Marketing

It is widely used in sectors of health and safety,
environmentalism, and social action.

Let us look at the social marketing examples to understand

the concept better.

#1 – Anti-Smoking
Many organizations and health institutes utilize such
marketing to reduce smoking and encourage quitting. These
activities assist new smokers and help individuals with the
habit quit. Some compelling TV ads portray real-life smokers
with lung cancer or tracheostomies.

#2 – Forest Fire Prevention
Many NGOs indulge in wildfire prevention social campaigns.
Other tactics include billboards and signs near campers and
fire extinguishing recommendations.
 #3 – Recycling
Conventional recycling marketing, such as curbside collection
or electronics drop-off facilities, focuses on teaching.
Showcasing reusable things, such as cloth or heavy-duty
plastic bags for shopping, and how to reuse furniture are
additional ways social outreach efforts on recycling operate,
along with state-level bottle redemption programs.

#4 – Handicap Accessibility
The effort of such marketing by the American Disability
Association promotes disability inclusion. It helped modify
laws and rules to make transportation, housing, and
playgrounds handicap accessible. To build an emotional
connection with consumers, firms employ handicap awareness
month, metro and elevator posters, and billboards.

Advantages And Disadvantages

Let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of the social
marketing concept:

Advantages
 It gives businesses a competitive advantage. Consumers
want to purchase goods from ethical and socially accountable
firms. These trends will gain appeal as campaigns and
concerns around social and ecological issues expand.
 A further benefit is the premium pricing. Businesses
transform their social and environmental initiatives into
distinct selling factors, enabling them to charge greater prices.
 Promotes health awareness and facilitates the adoption of a
healthy lifestyle.
 It contributes to green marketing efforts.
 It contributes to eradicating social ills that harm society and
people’s lives.

Disadvantages
 It is not uncommon for commercial marketing to be
conducted under the pretext of social outreach marketing.
 Creativity may sometimes be problematic since it forces the
listener to interpret the message for themselves, and the
interpretation may not be particularly assertive.
 There are occasions when the notion of such marketing is not
seen as an adequate mass communication theory.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is social marketing in public health?
In public health, social marketing definition implies behavioral,
persuasive, and exposure theories to target health risk
behaviors. The social cognitive theory uses response
repercussions, learning theory, and behavior modeling. The
application of these marketing ideas and techniques to solve
problems affecting a population’s health is what’s meant by
“social marketing in public health.”

What are social marketing campaigns?

Instead of traditional advertising, such campaigns aim to effect
positive social change. It employs marketing strategies to
serve social change by educating people about an issue or
cause and encouraging them to take action.

Why social marketing is important?

Social marketers focus on issues relating to society, the
environment, and the economy. They contribute to
malnutrition, poverty, lack of resources, inadequate schooling,
poor health, and climate change. Communities use social
marketing to influence people’s attitudes and actions, raise
awareness, and spread positive messages.