by 19 people |
Social marketing works to help people change their behaviors to become healthier or to improve society or the world in some way. On the continuum of methods to bring about health and social change are the two used most often: education, which uses rational facts to persuade people to change their behaviors, and coercion, which forces people to adopt a behavior under threat of penalty for not doing so. Somewhere in between those two points lies social marketing -- the use of commercial marketing methods to persuade people to change their behaviors for reasons that go beyond the rational facts to appeal to their core values. So often, people know exactly what they should be doing and why, and they still disregard what their head tells them. Social marketing adds heart back into the mix and utilizes emotional appeals to resonate with the part of the brain that determines what people actually do, as opposed to what they know they should do.
First a Quick Note About Terminology
because people can mean different things when they say "social marketing"
What social marketing is not:
- Viral marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
- Dating or matchmaking services
- Public service announcements
- Focus groups
- Cause marketing (companies adopting a cause to improve their image and get more sales)
What social marketing is:
- A process that uses commercial marketing techniques to promote the adoption of positive health or social behaviors
- An approach that benefits the people who are adopting the behaviors or society as a whole, rather than the organization doing the marketing
- It may include some of the items in the "not" column above (okay, not the dating service) but those activities in and of themselves are not social marketing.
- Viral marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
- Dating or matchmaking services
- Public service announcements
- Focus groups
- Cause marketing (companies adopting a cause to improve their image and get more sales)
What social marketing is:
- A process that uses commercial marketing techniques to promote the adoption of positive health or social behaviors
- An approach that benefits the people who are adopting the behaviors or society as a whole, rather than the organization doing the marketing
- It may include some of the items in the "not" column above (okay, not the dating service) but those activities in and of themselves are not social marketing.
Social-Marketing.com
Weinreich Communications
- Social-Marketing.com
- A website with more articles and links about social marketing, as well as a description of Weinreich Communications' services and trainings. See how we can help you make "change for good."
- Spare Change Blog
- Nedra Weinreich's two cents about using social marketing for change
An Introduction to Social Marketing
The health and social communications field has been rapidly changing over the past two decades. It has evolved from a one-dimensional reliance on public service announcements to a more sophisticated approach which draws from successful techniques used by commercial marketers, termed "social marketing." Rather than dictating the way that information is to be conveyed from the top-down, public health professionals are learning to listen to the needs and desires of the target audience themselves, and building the program from there. This focus on the "consumer" involves in-depth research and constant re-evaluation of every aspect of the program. In fact, research and evaluation together form the very cornerstone of the social marketing process.Social marketing was "born" as a discipline in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler and Andreasen define social marketing as "differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society." This technique has been used extensively in international health programs, and is being used with more frequency in the United States at the national, state and local levels for such diverse topics as drug abuse, exercise and human trafficking.
What is Social Marketing?
Some links to more information
- What is Social Marketing?
- from Weinreich Communications
- Wikipedia - Social Marketing
- Entry from the online encyclopedia
- Social Marketing Institute
- Website has many useful resources though the organization is now defunct
- The Social Marketing Concept
- from Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development
- What is Social Marketing?
- From Population Services International
- A Synopsis of Social Marketing
- From the Institute for Social Marketing
- Social Marketing Lite (pdf)
- An e-book from Bill Smith at the Academy for Educational Development
- Seven Doors Social Marketing Approach
- From Social Change Media in Australia
Hands-On Social Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide
by Nedra Kline Weinreich
"Hands-On Social Marketing demystifies the process of developing and implementing a social marketing campaign. Nedra Kline Weinreich translates the concepts of social marketing into a clear, step-by-step process that almost anyone can follow."
-- Karen Bernstein, Project Director, Los Angeles County STD Program
-- Karen Bernstein, Project Director, Los Angeles County STD Program
Hands-On Social Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide
Amazon Price: $52.15 (as of 07/04/2009) 
Ten Tips for Effective Social Marketing
Condensed from my article at http://www.social-marketing.com/building.html
- Talk to your customers.
The key to effective social marketing is talking (and listening!) to the people you are trying to reach. Social marketing is a customer-driven process. All aspects of your program must be developed with the wants and needs of the target audience as the central focus. In order to learn what your customers want, you must ask them! - Segment your audience.
Good marketers know that there is no such thing as selling to the general public. To be most effective, you need to segment your target audiences into groups that are as similar to each other as possible in terms of demographics, attitudes and behaviors and to create messages specifically for each segment. - Position your product.
Your product positioning determines how the people in your target audience think about your product as compared to the competition. Social marketing products are usually behaviors, attitudes or ideas. What benefits do people get from using your product? How do you make it easy for people to adopt the product? - Know your competition.
Social marketers need to be aware of the competing messages and behaviors pulling on their target audiences. Your product's competition may be another product, such as french fries versus fruit, or it may be other behaviors that someone has chosen to do instead. Your product must be more attractive than the alternatives to be accepted. - Go to where your audience is.
People will not go out of their way to find your message. You will need to put your message in places your target audience spends its time. - Utilize a variety of approaches.
Social marketing involves much more than television advertising campaigns. The most effective programs use a combination of mass media, community, small group and individual activities. You also need to think beyond communications and look at how you are distributing the product, how to reduce the price (whether monetary, physical or emotional), and how you can change the environment to support behavior change. - Use models that work.
As with any field, social marketers design programs using the most effective and useful models available to them. In one model particularly useful to social marketers, the Transtheoretical Model, people must move through several steps in a continuum before adopting a new behavior. You can segment by a particular stage of behavior change or target people in each stage sequentially with different messages. - Test, test, test.
All of the products, promotional materials, and services you develop for your program should be tested with your target audience to gauge their potential effectiveness. The customers are the experts on what works best for them, and they can help you make sure that the materials are attention-getting and accomplish your objectives. - Build partnerships with key allies.
By pooling resources with other organizations working toward the same goal, you can have a greater impact as well as access to new audiences. - See what you can do better next time.
Evaluation occurs throughout the social marketing process, gathering data so you can use that information to improve your program both during and after implementation.
Social Marketing Tools
Websites that will help you plan your social marketing program
- Seven Steps to a Marketing Plan
- Tutorial from Health Canada
- Social Marketing in Public Health Conference
- An annual conference at the University of South Florida - highly recommended for newcomers to the field
- Public Service Advertising Research Center
- An on-line information library dedicated to public service advertising
- Tools of Change
- A social marketing planning toolkit promoting health and environmental citizenship
- Turning Point Social Marketing Collaborative
- Presentations, resource guides, other publications on social marketing. Also has instructions on how to order a CDCynergy Social Marketing Edition CD-ROM.
- Making Health Communications Programs Work: A Planner's Guide
- The National Cancer Institute's "pink Bible" for health communicators
- Field Guide to Designing a Health Communication Strategy
- From Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Spare Change: my two cents on making a difference with social marketing
the latest from Nedra's Blog
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMore Useful Blogs
- On Social Marketing and Social Change
- From R. Craig Lefebvre
- Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog
- Insights from the best minds in marketing.
- Katya's Nonprofit Marketing Blog
- From the author of "Robin Hood Marketing"
- npMarketing Blog
- Marc Sirkin's nonprofit marketing blog
- Believing Impossible Things
- Communication for social change, e-pr, media, development communication, social innovation
- Beth's Blog
- A place to capture and share ideas, experiment with and publish links about nptech, educational technology, information design, visual thinking, creativity, ICT in the developing world, and much more.
- Houtlust
- Examples of nonprofit campaigns and social advertising
Social Marketing University
Next training is coming June 2-4, 2008 in Washington, DC!
Social Marketing UniversityHow do you help people adopt behaviors that will make them healthier and happier? How can you create positive social change?
At Social Marketing University, you will move beyond the usual educational approach to changing health and social behaviors. Using social marketing, you will learn how to persuade individuals to take action for change by addressing the values, needs and desires that motivate them. It's about understanding and connecting with your audience by applying the same effective marketing tools that companies like Nike and Apple use.
Join Nedra Kline Weinreich for this two-day training. By the time you leave, you will have an effective social marketing strategy for your own program and the skills to implement it immediately.
For more information, see the Social Marketing University information page. To receive announcements of future training dates and locations, contact training@social-marketing.com.
Stick Figures in Peril
a changing selection of safety promoting signs from Flickr
These signs were designed to save lives and promote safety. But can you figure out what the pictures are trying to tell you without the words? A huge social marketing challenge (and sometimes quite humorous when looking at comments others have left about what the signs mean)!
Warning
Danger Avalanche
So much peril
Less Peril When you...
Riding With Despair...
who are these people...
stay clear of body
Only grab wood if yo...
Warning!
Social Marketing-Related Job Links
- Social Marketing Specialist
-
Hound - Silver Spring, MD
The is seeking a Social Marketing Specialist to... or marketing field preferred 3 years of experience working in social marketing, communications, or... ... - Business Development Manager - Mental Health and Social Services
-
Albertina Kerr Center - Portland, OR
connections with other social service agencies, while... 40,000/Year CBEDUCATION 4 Year Degree CBCATEGORY Nonprofit - Social Services CBINDUSTRY Social Services... - Marketing Executives Needed- Pro Bono (Nonprofit) Client Management
-
Taproot Foundation - Chicago, IL
Week) Marketing Executives Needed- Pro Bono (Nonprofit) Client Management About the Job Marketing... areas: Education Health Environment Social Services... ... - Ass. Director of Membership Communications, healthcare nonprofit
-
Orange County Medical Association - Orange, CA
database coordination, social networks, fundraising... CBEXPERIENCE At Least 1 Year CBCATEGORY Business Development CBINDUSTRY Health Care - Health Services... - Mgr Community Benefit Health
-
Kaiser Permanente - Modesto, CA
administration of health or social services at local... health and community benefit program development and with nonprofit health and human service groups... ...
Social Marketing-Related Education Programs
NOT a comprehensive list!
If these don't work for you, look for the best university that meets four criteria:
* great marketing department in a business school
* great public health school
* a faculty person with a strong interest in social marketing
* a university that has the flexibility to allow the student to work across disciplines to create what is desired
(thanks to Michael Rothschild for these suggested criteria)
To be prepared for a career in social marketing, try to take courses in:
* Quantitative research methods/Statistics
* Qualitative research methods
* Evaluation design
* Behavior change theory
* Marketing and communications
* Mass media production/design
* Medical anthropology/sociology/psychology
* Social change methods
* Program planning
* great marketing department in a business school
* great public health school
* a faculty person with a strong interest in social marketing
* a university that has the flexibility to allow the student to work across disciplines to create what is desired
(thanks to Michael Rothschild for these suggested criteria)
To be prepared for a career in social marketing, try to take courses in:
* Quantitative research methods/Statistics
* Qualitative research methods
* Evaluation design
* Behavior change theory
* Marketing and communications
* Mass media production/design
* Medical anthropology/sociology/psychology
* Social change methods
* Program planning
- George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services
- MPH and graduate certificate program in Public Health Communication & Marketing
- University of South Florida College of Public Health
- Social Marketing in Public Health certificate program
- Johns Hopkins University (in DC)
- MA in Communication with a concentration
in health communication, also has course on social marketing - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Department of Health Behavior & Society; Also has distance education course on Health Communication Programs
- Johns Hopkins University Business School
- Masters of Science in Marketing degree -- aimed at working professionals. It does not focus on social marketing, but is flexible enough that those who are interested in social marketing can tailor assignments and projects to research social marketing campaigns while pursuing the official concentrations.
- Harvard School of Public Health
- Department of Society, Human Development and Health
- Ohio University
- Communication and Development Studies
- Michigan State University
- Masters in Health Communication Program
- Emory University Rollins School of Public Health
- Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
- University of Michigan School of Public Health
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education graduate programs; Business School also offers social marketing course.
- Emerson College-Tufts University
- Joint Program on Health Communications
- Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- Community Health Sciences Program
- Colorado State University School of Business
- Social Marketing & Social Issues Center
- Carleton University Sprott School of Business, Canada
- Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non Profit Marketing
- University of Lethbridge, Canada
- Faculty of Management has social marketing course and is home of Centre for Socially Responsible Marketing
- University of Stirling, UK
- Marketing department offers course on social marketing and is home to the Institute for Social Marketing
- Cardiff University, UK
- The Business School offers an MSc in Strategic Marketing which includes a module with a strong emphasis on social marketing.
- Middlesex University, UK
- MA in Health and Social Marketing
- Massey University, New Zealand
- Professional Development in Marketing Program includes course on social marketing
- Open Polytechnic, New Zealand
- This course is offered through distance learning, designed for public sector communicators and includes a component on social marketing.
- Australian National University
- Concentration in Non Profit and Public Sector Marketing
Social Marketing Playlist
because social marketers can't be serious all the time!
Here are some songs about social marketing (aren't they?). Send in your ideas for the list!
- Everybody's Changing - Keane
- Hip to Be Square - Huey Lewis and the News
- Revolution - Beatles
- Heard it through the Grapevine - Creedence
Clearwater Revival - People Get Ready - Jeff Beck
- Do You Know? Do You Care? - Phil Collins
- Segment - Charlie Parker
- Who Do You Want to Be? - Oingo Boingo
- I Need to Know - Tom Petty & the
Heartbreakers - High on Emotion - Chris De Burgh
- Ain't Misbehavin' - Fats Waller
- Change the World - Eric Clapton
What do you think of this Social Marketing Lens?
add your comments and questions
Aika wrote...
I enjoy reading your lens,I like your 10 tips for effective social marketing, easy to understand. If you have time,pls drop by at my lens sometimes: business credit cards..thanks
Posted May 24, 2007
MrLewisSmile wrote...
This is an excellent lens! I had never come across 'Social Marketing' until now.
Posted September 10, 2006
by weinreich
I have worked with many nonprofits and government agencies to help them
use
social marketing to bring about positive change in health and social
issue...
