Social Marketing: Winning Hearts & Minds is the Real Business of NonProfit Organisations
April 30, 2011; Mark Buzan's PR and Public Affairs Spot on the Web: Often when we think of marketing strategy, the idea that comes to mind for associations is corporate promotion or selling a product. However, in the non-profit organisation sector, marketing strategy takes on a broader appeal in what has long been coined as "social marketing".
Beginning in the 1970s, it has in the last decade matured into a much more integrative and inclusive discipline that must not be confused with social media marketing. Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing, along with other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good. Social marketing can be applied to promote merit goods, or to make a society avoid demerit goods and thus to promote society's well being as a whole. For example, this may include asking people not to smoke in public areas, asking them to use seat belts, or prompting to make them follow speed limits.
Social marketing occurs where the focus is on achieving specific behavioral goals with specific audiences in relation to different topics relevant to social good (e.g.: health, sustainability, recycling, etc.). A marketing campaign that promotes and reminds people to get regular check-ups and all of their vaccinations when they're supposed to is an example. In essence, the goal of such a marketing initiative is to encourage a long-term behavior change that benefits society.
In many ways, is this not one of the main reasons why nonprofit organisations, charities, and associations exist?
Yet, with what should make sense for the reason of why many NGOs exist, why do many fall astray?
Social marketers, dealing with goals such as reducing cigarette smoking or encouraging condom use, have more difficult goals: to make potentially difficult and long-term behavioral change in target populations. Good social marketing strategy applies a "customer oriented" approach and uses the concepts and tools used by commercial marketers in pursuit of social goals like Anti-Smoking-Campaigns or fund raising for NGOs. Non-profit organisation leaders would be wise to learn from the experiences of their marketing colleagues in the corporate world.
Good social marketing strategy, just as all other forms of marketing, requires that non-profit associations apply marketing concepts in every touchpoint throughout the organization. On May 12, 2011, my colleague, Jim Mintz will be delivering a unique webinar: Social Media Marketing and Behaviour Change as part of our joint year-long Successful Association Marketing Webinar series. I hope you will consider registering!
What has been your experience in social cause marketing? What challenges do you feel non-profit leaders encounter in establishing a marketing culture in their associations?
Mark
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Mark Buzan is Principal and Chief Magnifying Officer in Action Strategies, a full service marketing communications consultancy for nonprofit associations.
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