This style of marketing is sometimes called “marketing for good.” This style of marketing promotes a positive societal transformation that tries to influence positive actions instead of selling a product. Social marketing attempts to change behavior for the benefit of consumers or society. Commercial marketing, on the other hand, will attempt to change behavior for the benefit of the brand, such as sales. Typically, social marketing is used by nonprofits, charities, government organizations, emergency services, police, and fire groups. So, what is involved in social marketing and how do you go about creating a campaign? Here are some things to consider.
1. What behavior is it that I’m trying to change?
2. What benefits are there from this behavior change?
3. Who is the audience?
4. Are there any barriers preventing this change?
5. How can I reduce those barriers if so?
Make sure that you test your ideas on smaller groups before “going live” and see how it does. Some benefits of social marketing are promoting greener, more sustainable living, promoting health consciousness, reducing social issues, allowing you to reach a larger audience, and it is cost-effective. If a brand uses social marketing then they will benefit from taking a stance on a topic because people now want to buy from socially and environmentally responsible businesses. In short, some things should happen to have an effective social marketing campaign: create interest/awareness, change attitudes, motivate people to want to change, incite that change, and sustain it. It could take some time to see if the change happened and when we some time, we mean years. It’s not uncommon for social marketing campaign measurements to happen slowly, over time. You will have to be patient but following the right guidelines will almost certainly help you succeed.
