Mediaboss Marketing

For many nonprofit managers, marketing equals fundraising.

But your organization exists for more than just bringing in donations. Withsocial marketing methods that help change behavior change, you can fulfill your mission.

Although social and commercial marketingusesthe same tools, they do not have the same goals. Social marketing sells behavior change while commercial marketing sells things.

Many people confuse social marketing with social media marketing,peer-to-peer communications, orconsumer-generated content.

But social marketinghas been around fordecades.It's been used to address issues like family planning,HIV/AIDS, andbreast cancer screening.

When social marketers create a marketingstrategy, theyusethe samemarketing mix as commercial marketers.

But, they adjust the social marketing mixfor their uniqueproducts and environments.

So what does the social marketing mix look like?And how is it different from theFour Psthat commercial marketers use?

Social marketing products arenot usuallyphysical items although some are, such ascondoms.

Social marketers sell a particular behavior. And while that behavior might be life-saving, people might notwant to do it. Eating more fiber, conservingwater, exercising, or getting a colonoscopy may not seem pleasurable.

So how do you help people want to do these things? You must use the same tools ascommercial marketers.Promote the product'sbenefitsbased on the target audience'score values. Show them how using the product helps them become the person they want to be.

People don't mind paying to change behavior as much as they dislikethe social and emotional costs.

How can youto reduce the "price" as much as possibleandmake it easy to perform the behavior?

How will you make the product available? How and where can people carry out the action? Where can they get the product?

The idea of a camera's aperture is relevant here.

A camera's lens opens and shutsin a snap to let inlight when you take a picture. There is also a small window of opportunity to communicate your message to atarget audience. And at a time and place whenthey can act on it.

Your potential participants will not go out of their way to look for your messages. Go to them and help them learn about the product and perform the behavior.

How you promote social marketing does not differ much from commercial marketers.

One key difference may lie in the types of target audiences addressed. Many of the people that you try to reach are not theconsumers that abusiness would even consider going after.

They may be lowincome, non-English speakers, hard to find, and notinterestedinchange.

Only the most creative social marketers can promote their products to these hard-to-reach populations.

Becausesocial marketing programs are so hard, wehave to addfour more Ps to the social marketing mix

To planand managea social marketing campaign we mustconsider allthe people involved.We must addressthe target audience, groups that influence them, policymakers, and the media.

There are also the people within your organization that you must convince or inform.

For instance, board membersand management staff must approve theplans. Even the receptionist needs to know what to do when someone calls in response to your campaign.

Many social marketing issues are so significant that one organization cannot address them. That's when you need partners to pull off a particular campaign.

Partners, such asother nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses,should have one or more of theseattributes:

Government or organizational policies can promotesocial change on a large scale.

When policies supporta particular behavior, people aremore likely to make thechange and stay with it.

Most nonprofit organizations cannotset aside a percentage of their revenue for marketing activities.

Use the social marketing mix to go beyond fundraising. Use marketing to make an impact on the lives of the people your organization exists to serve.

Read more from the original source:
How to Sell Behavior Change with Social Marketing