Theory 009: Social Marketing

Social marketing is a key concept in marketing that is utilized by the marketer in hopes of changing a target audience’s behavior for their (the marketer’s) benefit. It is able to influence and change behavior in such a way that it is both sustainable as well as cost-effective. The process of social marketing is one that is systematic and planned; it is not the type that can be impulsively worked on as it would effect a certain number of people at a certain scale. It involves combining ideas from both commercial marketing as well as the social sciences.

Social marketing was first introduced as a discipline back in the 1970s by two people named Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman. They discovered that the same marketing principles they were familiar with also had the capability and the potential to sell intangible matters such as ideas, attitudes, and behaviors. Therefore, instead of focusing on selling something concrete, social marketing focuses on matters which are more abstract in nature.

In social marketing, it helps the marketer decide the following: which target audience to work with, which behavior to influence or change, the process of influencing or changing, and how to quantify such. Rather than study how the audience thinks, what is focused on more in regards to social marketing is the way they behave and act. In examining behavior and action, what is looked at is as follows: there is the question of what people actually do, why they do such, what influences them and what they influence, and the different hindrances or incentives that may come from their behavior.

In wondering whether to use social marketing, one there are a number of reasons on why it would benefit. The first would be that it would help reach the ideal target audience. Instead of facing just a general group of people, focusing on a particular one would potentially bring in more profit. The second would be that it helps the marketer adjust their message accordingly to the chosen target audience. Knowing what they’re interested in would entice the marketer to change their message accordingly to the audience’s own wants. Finally, social marketing would help one cultivate long-lasting change in their target audience. Through social marketing, the marketer would be able to easily see how their respective target audience would react, therefore aiding them in creating something that would make them adjust once more to what the marketer would want.

Nowadays, social marketing has been especially common in the world of health communications. One can say that the approach of health communications has changed over the years; instead of simply relying on public service announcements, people involved in health communications have shifted to social marketing. Instead of merely dictating information at their audience, health professionals now choose to listen to the needs and wants of their own target audiences. Social marketing has been used extensively in various health programs in relation to sexual health (contraceptives) as well as other topics such as drug abuse and heart disease. This is especially common in the United States.