Is social marketing just another label?
Posted by TeamPC on 2 May 2017
Social marketing agencies have become really busy of late. But what exactly is social marketing and why are so many industries using it to initiate behavioural change? Is it just another confusing label invented by the creative industry, or is there more to it than meets the eye?
Delivering behavioural change
There’s a type of marketing - social marketing - that can influence our health and lifestyle habits. But how exactly does it work?
Too frequently marketing is about making profit. That still counts to an extent, or marketing agencies couldn’t survive. But with social marketing there is a different emphasis. It’s about delivering behavioural change.
All of the evidence now available supports the fact that social marketing is effective in encouraging people to make healthier decisions about their lifestyles, and to take control of their health.
How does social marketing work?
Like its name, social marketing is designed to influence social issues – poor behaviours that lead to acute health problems, community recycling, and to create better awareness of local medical services, education opportunities leading to better life chances – any social issue that affects the quality of peoples’ lives.
But social marketing doesn’t just set out to create personal behavioural change (although it may start with that); it’s also about changing our society, and improving our world – in other words, it works hard to improve the bigger picture.
Building a less NHS-dependent world
We don’t perhaps see our NHS healthcare service as a marketing leader, but in social marketing, health, ‘leading’ is what some people believe they are doing.
The NHS and its healthcare partners have been using social marketing campaigns and the latest automated software for years to penetrate a number of serious health issues. By making an early intervention that encourages people to change their behaviour and lifestyle habits, the healthcare sector hopes to build a healthier, less NHS-dependent world.
The big idea behind this is that by understanding customers and targeting those with specific health concerns before they become issues, or encouraging people to lead healthier lives, we can all be motivated to change. This new people-based marketing approach is capable of delivering ‘change’ on a massive scale, ultimately benefiting individuals, those around them, but whole communities too.
Social marketing might be one of those things that is often misconstrued, or sometimes confused with social media marketing, but it certainly isn’t a meaningless label. There are more and more that believe a people-based marketing approach is the way forward.
Who are we? We’re Perfect Circle - an award-winning social marketing agency, (in Manchester and London) delivering positive behavioural change across the UK.
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