Concept of Social Marketing
The concept of social marketing has been used in the public health discipline to improve the general welfare of many to come. Social marketing helps companies, organizations, and individuals maximize positive impacts while minimizing adverse effects on society for a product or behavior desired by the marketer.
This includes current products that are already being sold and addresses how to get the market ready for new products that have not yet reached their potential. The idea still exists today even though it was put into practice back in 1950 when American Marketing Association described social marketers as people who “seek to influence attitudes or behaviors directly rather than through the intermediary factors of demand.”
Social marketing can be defined as using marketing concepts, tools, channels, and messages to further social, political, and environmental issues. This concept of social marketing will be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs and its benefits, process, and future trends for implementation.
Social marketing is a powerful tool for businesses looking to connect with their target audience and build their brand. Unlike traditional marketing techniques, social marketing involves engaging with customers and prospects on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. By creating and sharing relevant and valuable content with their audience, businesses can establish themselves as thought leaders and build customer trust and loyalty.
Core disciplines in social marketing
The core disciplines in social marketing are market research, public education, policy analysis and development, applied communications strategy, and multi-channel advocacy. The five tools used to implement those disciplines are incentives (e.g., discounts), education (e.g., websites), communication (e.g., studies and campaigns), policies (e.g., bans), and enforcement (e.g., fines).
Social Marketing emerged due to a growing recognition by marketers during the 1950s that their traditional product-focused efforts were not sufficient to stimulate demand for new products or services that they believed were required for social progress.
General Motors
General Motors was the first company to embrace this marketing approach when it developed a research program during the early 1950s intending to learn about potential consumers of an advanced, leaded gasoline additive that it had invented. This program evolved into what is today known as market research.
It has evolved considerably throughout many disciplines
The social marketing concept has evolved considerably throughout many disciplines, including communication, education, health care, psychology, public policy, and medicine. Kelly Black said, “Social marketing is not just promoting healthier lifestyles or environmentally friendly products. It can be used for any purpose such as increasing voter turnout, preventing youth violence, helping people manage their money, creating healthy communities, creating safe spaces online for teens, promoting literacy, and more.”
According to Black
Black also says, “Social marketing is a tool with which to create positive change in people’s lives. It allows us to tackle tough problems by building on the strengths of individuals, communities, businesses, and social institutions.” In addition, he goes on to say that “social marketing isn’t just for large national organizations. Small groups can also use it and gain from it even more than larger organizations do.”
Social marketing
- Definition of social marketing occurred during the 1950s when marketers realized traditional advertising tactics failed to drive social change.
- It combines market research, public education, policy analysis and development, applied communications strategy, and multi-channel advocacy.
- Social marketing allows people to come together for a common goal; it may be used for any purpose, such as increasing voter turnout and creating safe spaces for teens online.
- According to Kelly Black, “Social marketing is not just for promoting healthier lifestyles or environmentally friendly products. It can be used for any purpose, such as increasing voter turnout, preventing youth violence, helping people manage their money, creating healthy communities, and more.”
- Dr. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President Risa Lavizzo-Mourey suggests that the key is determining what you want your target audience to do.
- Then, they will benefit from those benefits associated with those actions.
Social marketing allows people to come together for a common goal; it may be used for any purpose, such as increasing voter turnout and creating safe spaces for teens online. It also allows marketers to combine market research, public education, policy analysis and development, applied communications strategy, and multi-channel advocacy to impact consumers and society substantially.
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Who developed the idea of social marketing?
With the 1971 publication of “Social Marketing: An Approach to Planned Social Change” in the Journal of Marketing by marketing authorities Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman, social marketing became a recognized field of study.
Use of social marketing
People commonly use this to tackle challenging problems by building on individuals, communities, businesses, and social institutions. Through practical tools such as incentives, education, communication policies along with enforcement mechanisms has helped very effectively reduce smoking prevalence among certain targeted groups such as young adults, for instance, 9/10th’s as opposed to just 5 percent nearly 50 years ago.
