1. What is Social Marketing?
Social marketing is “the application of proven concepts and techniques drawn from the commercial sector to promote changes in diverse socially important behaviors. This marketing approach has an immense potential to affect major social problems if we can only learn how to harness its power

2. How to maximize audience exposure to messages?
Three Major Channels
How to maximize audience exposure to messages?
3 Channels
Paid
Earned
Owned
Leverage
Buy it
Borrow it
Build it
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3. Social Marketing Strategies
Audience Segmentation
Targeting
Tailoring
Marketing Strategy
Mission
Branding
Marketing mixes
Create a social mobility
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4. Social Marketing Wheel
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5. Evidence of Effectiveness
Bottom line: Small effect sizes for social marketing, but potentially large population impacts
Better ways of life, both preventive and corrective
Better health and quality of life
Decrease in health problems
Better knowledge of healthy living
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6. Evidence of Effectiveness (2)
Favorable changes in health risk behaviors
Reduction of health risk behaviors should be attributed to “Non-coercive” campaigns
Changes in health risk behaviors are easier to promote than those that happened in the past
Healthy living styles and values should show greater effect sizes and long-term maintenance.
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7. Social Marketing in Health Care
Some efforts to change consumer behavior, primarily through risk communication
Campaigns should manifest the consequences if health risk behaviors
Integrated marketing communications must be efficiently and effectively implemented
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8. Many Opportunities for Social Marketing in Health Care…
Synthesize knowledge
Generate knowledge
Translate knowledge
Purposes:
Elderly
Pregnant women
Young children
People with disabilities
People with health risks
Target Populations:
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9. Social Marketing Opportunities
All of these purposes and populations are currently targets of social marketing efforts by many hospitals
Significant opportunities to apply social marketing
Goal is to identify social marketing strategies that can be translated to health care settings
Which ones seem most readily actionable?
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10. What Strategies & Tactics Work in Social Marketing?
Countermarketing
Argument credibility and likeability
Theory-based change models
Social modeling & behavioral alternatives
Risk communication (with certain populations)
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11. What Does NOT Work in Social Marketing
Negative messaging can be ineffective with specific audiences
High cost tradeoffs (loss of immediate, desirable lifestyle options in return for long-term health gains)
Ambiguous messages (do this, except when…)
Evidence-based messages need to have clear associated behaviors
Low exposure
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12. Global Social Marketing Challenges
Increase in health issues competing for public attention (tobacco, obesity, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS)
Busy lifestyles, people’s time limitations, technology
Cluttered media environment for health information
Increase in the number and type of communication channels, including the Internet
Consumers & practitioners: Demands on time, multiple education/information sources, changing practice guidelines, fads in health promotion
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13. Potential Lessons for Health Care
Social marketing messages for health care should be delivered to consumers by trusted sources that enhance credibility
Consumers are more likely to change behavioral precursors and health care behaviors if messages are credible, likeable, and have source credibility.
Health care providers have a unique opportunity to serve as trusted sources for some target audiences
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14. Potential Lessons for Health Care
Health care consumer behavior can be changed through underlying behavior change principles
Health care choices can be portrayed as socially desirable while also providing accurate, science-based facts and information
Science-based information can be made appealing
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15. Some Principles of Effective Communication
Personalize risk data -- use stories, narratives, and anecdotes
Use graphics and other pictorial materials to clarify messages
Be sensitive to local norms, such as culture, speech, and dress
Use a variety of approaches such as written, oral, and electronic
Use clear, non-technical “plain” language appropriate to the target audience
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16. Conclusion: Implications of Social Marketing for Health Care Practice
Social marketing can be useful in health care practice
Evidence on social marketing suggests underlying principles can influence health care consumer decision making through multiple strategies
Health care setting provides a unique opportunity to reinforce messages aimed to consumers through brief counseling
As a trusted source, practitioners’ reinforcement of social marketing messages adds value beyond the effects of mass communication
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