Learn the basics of social marketing with our 101 guide. Boost your brand's online presence and engagement using effective social marketing strategies.
You might be thinking social media marketing and social marketing are the same. Let’s be honest, they sound similar, and both are marketing strategies, so it’s common to be confused between the two.
If you’re passionate about saving the environment and people, social marketing solely focuses on improving human lives through marketing. How’s that possible, you may ask? Well, social media advertising trends do come into play here, however, the idea is to encourage a positive change among your audience.
Intrigued? We’ve gone through everything related to social marketing and curated a guide one-stop guide for you. So, let’s find out what is social marketing, why is it useful, and how you can start your own campaign.
In the 1970s, Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to trade products to customers could also be used to "sell" social agendas. So, the concept of social marketing was "born" to cultivate generally acceptable attitudes and behaviors. The idea was to positively impact social behaviors for the benefit of both the target audience and society as a whole, rather than just the marketer.
The goal of social marketing is to promote social good, so it can be used at a local, regional, state, national, or global level. Ads leveraging this type of marketing often use creativity and emotion to draw in customers and remind them to create that they’re capable of change.
Such campaigns are usually used by a broad range of government agencies, emergency services, and nonprofits in addition to charity. However, it isn’t limited to just these organizations, software companies, e-commerce platforms, and more are now leveraging this marketing technique.
According to research, a third of social media users (34%) reported being a part of a group that is passionate about a particular topic or cause, and 26% claimed to have inspired others to engage in social activism on social media within the last year.
We can see that the concept of social marketing can be a powerful tool in this day and age. So, what advantages can it bring to those using it?
Social marketing can be a great way for your company to reach a wide audience of potential clients. In fact, more than half of the people use social media platforms in over 26 countries, so it’s become easier to reach a large audience and raise the visibility of your brand.
Moreover, you can interact with them directly so it allows you a greater understanding of your audience. This further gives you the chance to tailor content to each individual, which can boost engagement and foster a sense of loyalty.
With social marketing, you’ll be able to figure out what’s consistent with the values of your brand or your people. By doing this, you can tailor your messages to speak to them on a consumer and societally conscious level. This is especially important for any marketing activities like inbound marketing or when reaching out via outbound email.
This way, you can determine your audience preferences and their activity and observe what appeals to them. You can use LinkedIn automation tools to have a deeper grasp of your audience.
If you have meaningful conversations with them regarding social concerns, your audience will likely stick around.
From Edleman’s research, we found that 81 percent of consumers said that they should be able to trust the brand to do what is right. Moreover, 53% agreed that brands should address at least one social issue that does not directly affect their business.
Today’s customers respect firms that focus on more than just simply to make money. That’s where social marketing comes in to develop your brand messaging so that it has a clear mission. So, people are more inclined to stick with your brand and think highly of your company when they see your commitment to improving the world.
By establishing emotional ties through storytelling, you can also humanize your business and build an online community. So, social marketing may help you establish trust and grow your company.
Similar to any other marketing strategy, there are "4 Ps" or fundamental components that make up the "marketing mix”: price, product, price, and promotion. So you must identify these and keep them front and center when setting up your strategy.
One of the goals of social marketing is to persuade the public that the advantages to society outweigh any potential costs. This price could include time, energy, and behavioral adjustments in addition to monetary expenditures.
A cheaply priced or free product could lead a customer to believe that it is of poor quality. That being said, some people won't be able to afford it if the price is too expensive.
Due to the need to strike a balance between these factors, social marketers frequently charge a small fee to elevate the transaction's perceived value and give it a feeling of "worth."
In social marketing, the "product" is the intended social action and the benefits it brings. People need to believe they have a real need and that the product is a good way to solve a specific problem.
So, you should focus on finding out how consumers view the product and the problem, as well as how important they think it is to take action. Ultimately, the product should appeal to consumers by offering solutions linked to the desired habit.
Here, “place” is where you plan to engage with your audience, which might be through newspaper ads, scheduled social posts, television commercials, and more.
Depending on your research, you can find efficient ways to reach your target demographic with advertising or planning social media activities. You should also consider how hard it is to alter the behavior and what barriers they might have.
The last “p” is promotion, which is related to advertising, media advocacy, public relations, etc. Essentially, the goal is to increase and maintain consumer demand for the product.
Of course, you can set up paid ads however, in addition to conventional marketing strategies, you might think about hosting concerts, exhibitions and even starting a small neighborhood party. Not only that, word of mouth can be quite useful to convince someone through a one-on-one conversation, more than the best-made commercial.
Lastly, these aren’t the only P’s that can influence social marketing, it can be through policy changes, public ( different stakeholders), partnerships, etc.
Instead of focusing on people's opinions or level of awareness, social marketing constantly aims to modify or sustain a desired behavior. In most cases, it’s used for many different social reasons, such as environmental, social activism, and health and safety initiatives.
Let’s take a look at how you can build your strategy:
Lastly, don’t forget that these changes won’t happen overnight. It might take months or even more to find a middle ground with your audience that’s enough to influence their behavior.
If you’re looking to bring about a change in your business, one of the best methods you can use is social marketing. However, it’s important to note that the community needs to change and that encouraging positive behavior changes can take some time.
However, social marketing can serve as an excellent support, especially when you have an informed audience. It also allows businesses to flourish over a long period to reach their goal ultimately.
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Eduard Klein is an International Digital Growth Marketer, Blogger, and Entrepreneur with a global mindset. He guides through the process of starting and growing a digital business, and riding the wave of digital technology and marketing without getting swept away.
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