Social marketing applies commercial marketing strategies to change or maintain human behavior for the benefit of individuals and society. It focuses on action, not awareness—getting people to vaccinate, recycle, or quit smoking rather than simply think positively about those topics. Do not confuse this with social media marketing, which promotes brands on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. While some marketing blogs use the terms interchangeably, academic and public health sources treat them as distinct disciplines with different goals.
What is Social Marketing?
Social marketing uses the "4 Ps" of commercial marketing—Product, Price, Place, and Promotion—to solve social problems rather than sell goods. [Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman coined the term in 1971], defining it as the design and implementation of programs to influence the acceptability of social ideas. The approach has two parents: social science (which provides theories on behavior and policy) and commercial marketing (which provides tools for influence and exchange).
The core goal is always behavior change. If a campaign only increases awareness or shifts attitudes without changing what people actually do, it is not social marketing. The benefits must be defined by the target audience, not assumed by the organization running the campaign.
Key differences from commercial marketing: - Commercial marketing benefits the marketer financially; social marketing benefits the consumer or society - Commercial marketing sells products; social marketing "sells" behaviors - Commercial marketing can use social marketing tactics (e.g., a corporation funding health screenings), but the primary goal determines the classification
Why Social Marketing Matters
- Targets resources cost-effectively. By researching specific audience segments, organizations avoid wasting budget on broad awareness campaigns that do not drive action.
- Influences policy. Social marketing ensures policy goals reflect actual human behavior rather than idealized assumptions. [Water rationing policy in Jordan] used this approach to set realistic conservation targets based on citizen behavior patterns.
- Creates sustainable change. Unlike one-time education campaigns, social marketing removes barriers to make desired behaviors easier to maintain long-term.
- Complements health and development programs. [Studies at Stanford University and in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in the 1980s] demonstrated that social marketing approaches effectively reduced population-level risk factors for heart disease.
How Social Marketing Works
Social marketing follows a systematic, six-stage process: Getting started, Scope, Develop, Implement, Evaluate, and Follow-up. Within these stages, practitioners execute specific research and intervention steps:
- Identify the behavior. Define exactly what action you want people to start or stop (e.g., "use condoms consistently" not "understand STD risks").
- Segment the audience. Divide the population into groups based on demographics, psychographics, or readiness to change. Different segments may require different interventions.
- Identify barriers. Use surveys, focus groups, or interviews to discover what prevents the behavior. Barriers may be cost, time, accessibility, social stigma, or lack of skills.
- Reduce barriers and costs. Make the behavior easier, cheaper, or more convenient than the alternative. This might mean extending clinic hours, providing free tools, or creating social support networks.
- Pretest interventions. Test messages and delivery mechanisms with a small group before full rollout. Modify based on results.
- Promote benefits. Publicize both the personal benefits of the behavior and the removal of barriers, using channels where the audience already spends attention.
Applying the 4 Ps: - Product: The desired behavior itself (e.g., recycling) and any associated tangible items (e.g., recycling bins). - Price: The cost to the individual in time, effort, money, or psychological discomfort required to perform the behavior. - Place: Where and when the audience performs the behavior or accesses related services. Reduce friction by bringing services to them. - Promotion: Communication strategies including advertising, public relations, and word-of-mouth—not as standalone tactics, but as part of the broader behavior change system.
Types of Social Marketing
| Type | Focus | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic | Policy, organizational strategy, and long-term planning | Shaping national health policy or organizational mission |
| Operational | Specific program implementation and delivery | Running a local smoking cessation clinic or recycling program |
| Community-Based (CBSM) | Environmental behaviors using psychology-based tools | Local conservation, energy reduction, or waste management |
Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM), developed by Doug McKenzie-Mohr, specifically targets sustainable behaviors. It uses commitments, prompts, social norms, and feedback rather than just information campaigns to overcome psychological barriers to environmental action.
Best Practices
Research the audience's perspective, not your assumptions. Investigate what the target population values and what they perceive as costs. [Texas child car seat campaigns] succeeded because they addressed specific parental barriers (cost, installation difficulty) rather than assuming parents simply did not care about safety.
Focus on single, specific behaviors. "Live healthier" is too broad. "Walk 30 minutes daily" is actionable and measurable.
Remove barriers before advertising. If the clinic closes at 4:00 PM when your audience works until 5:00 PM, no amount of promotion will drive attendance. Extend hours or offer mobile units first.
Combine multiple interventions. Advertising alone fails. Pair promotion with barrier reduction, skills training, and policy changes that make the desired behavior the default option.
Measure behavior change, not awareness. Count the number of people recycling, not the percentage who know recycling is good. [England's lung disease strategy] tracked actual smoking cessation rates, not just campaign recall.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing social marketing with social media marketing. Many digital marketers refer to Instagram campaigns as "social marketing." Fix: Reserve the term for behavior change benefiting society. Call platform-specific brand promotion "social media marketing."
Mistake: Aiming for awareness instead of action. Campaigns that only increase knowledge about health risks without changing habits waste resources. Fix: Design every touchpoint to enable a specific behavior (book an appointment, pick up a condom, install a car seat).
Mistake: Assuming you know the benefits. Organizations often assume financial savings motivate behavior, while audiences may value social acceptance or convenience more. Fix: Ask the target audience what they gain from the change, in their own words.
Mistake: Relying solely on mass media. Broadcasting PSAs without addressing access barriers or providing skills training rarely works. Fix: Use the 4 Ps framework to ensure the behavior is accessible, affordable, and easy before promoting it.
Mistake: Ignoring maintenance. Getting someone to quit smoking differs from keeping them smoke-free. Fix: Plan follow-up stages that reinforce the behavior and prevent relapse.
Examples
1963 Family Planning (India) [K.T. Chandy and colleagues at the Indian Institute of Management implemented the first documented social marketing program], distributing government-brand condoms nationwide through trained retailers with active point-of-sale promotion. The program integrated consumer marketing with public health goals, establishing the model for modern family planning campaigns.
SunSmart (Australia) The Victoria Cancer Council launched this skin cancer prevention campaign in 1988 with the slogan "Slip! Slop! Slap!" (slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat). Unlike awareness campaigns, it provided specific actionable behaviors and continued for decades, demonstrating long-term commitment to behavior maintenance.
Water Rationing Policy (Jordan) The Jordanian government used social marketing principles to design water rationing policies. Rather than imposing arbitrary restrictions, researchers studied household water use behaviors and barriers to conservation, then designed policies that aligned with realistic usage patterns.
FAQ
How is social marketing different from commercial marketing? Commercial marketing aims to benefit the marketer financially by selling products. Social marketing aims to benefit the consumer or society by changing behaviors. While both use the 4 Ps and market research, social marketing success is measured in lives improved or behaviors changed, not revenue.
Is social marketing the same as social media marketing? No. Social media marketing promotes brands on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to drive sales or engagement. Social marketing uses commercial marketing techniques to solve social problems like public health or environmental issues. The confusion arises because both terms contain "social," and some marketing blogs erroneously use them interchangeably.
Who can use social marketing? Governments, NGOs, public health agencies, and even corporations can use social marketing if the primary goal is social good, not profit. For example, a corporation genuinely trying to reduce employee smoking rates (not just improve its image) could use social marketing.
How do you measure success in social marketing? Measure behavior change, not awareness or attitudes. Track metrics like vaccination rates, recycling volume, or smoking cessation numbers. Also measure process indicators: barrier reduction (clinic accessibility), cost efficiency per behavior changed, and long-term maintenance of the behavior.
What are the 4 Ps in a social marketing context? - Product: The behavior you want people to adopt (e.g., using seatbelts). - Price: The cost in time, money, or effort to perform the behavior. - Place: Where the audience accesses the product or performs the behavior. - Promotion: Communication about benefits and barrier reduction.
Can social marketing work for small organizations? Yes. [Social marketing scales to local levels]. Small groups can conduct focus groups with limited resources, identify local barriers (e.g., lack of trash cans for an anti-litter campaign), and implement targeted interventions without national advertising budgets.
