Social marketing represents a great projection opportunity for initiatives that generate a real impact in different social areas. As entrepreneurs or business owners, it is important to know how it is applied and, if applicable, generate campaigns of this type for our brand and our society.
The concept of “marketing” is associated with many different practices and as customs and communication channels change, new ones are always emerging.
Social marketing is one of those terms that is being heard more and more but not everyone is sure of its meaning or confuses it with other similar ideas.
In this article I am going to tell you what social marketing is, how to apply it and its difference from social media marketing.
what is social marketing
social marketing It is the application of skills towards a cause, an objective or a business that has a social impact.
Did you think social marketing was social media marketing? Many people think the same but in reality it is not so (we will talk about this later).
Unlike a “traditional” marketing (which generally uses the principles of this discipline to seek private profit) the objective of social marketing is to achieve a positive change in some behavior, thought or habit of society.
How to apply social marketing
To put social marketing into practice, organizations and companies can resort to various options. The most commons are:
- Identify social causes according to your purpose
- Carry out specific campaigns
- Be a socially responsible brand
1) Identify social causes according to your purpose
When you find causes that you can support with your venture, you can approach the people in charge of marketing or dissemination and become a sponsor or collaborator in events they organize. An example is that if you sell school products, you approach an institution that is responsible for teaching literacy to indigenous communities and you can join the cause by donating some of your products.
2) Carry out specific campaigns
In this modality, companies choose a specific social project and put together a campaign around it. In this way, they seek to achieve a benefit in society from the promotion and communication of that cause to their public.
An example of this could be if a brand sets up a campaign to allocate a percentage of its Children’s Day sales to the Children’s Hospital of Mexico and pediatric oncology research. In this way, it helps to make its public aware of the importance of this topic and, in turn, can provide concrete help to the hospital.
3) Be a socially responsible brand
A more scalable and durable way of facing the social marketing is to make the brand socially responsible as part of the business. This can work for a new company or to transform the one that is currently running.
How does this work? The key is to link the business objectives to the social cause that you want to defend.
An example of this is a brand that produces cars with electric motors, such as Tesla. These vehicles are ecological since they work with a clean energy source (they do not emit toxic gases or smoke). And in this way, the purchase of these cars (business) is directly associated with a positive impact on the environment (less pollution).
Something important to keep in mind when applying social marketing is that it should not be an “advertising” flag. Today consumers see through such tactics.
The proposal has to be applied in the company in an external but also internal way. For example: a brand cannot promote ecology and recycling in a campaign if its offices do not even separate waste.
Therefore, to advance with a social marketing strategy, it is key that the brand commits to a cause in which it truly believes and can sustain it over time in a responsible manner.
Examples of social marketing in Mexico
An excellent example of social marketing is Tiendanube. This “pre-loved” clothing brand rescues and sells second-use baby clothes so that more children can use them and extend the useful life of each garment.
They have clear values and a mission to take care of the planet by promoting reuse practices for baby clothes.
Another good example of a brand that has applied social marketing to its business objective is
This brand of sunglasses has a well-defined cause that is to take care of the planet by promoting responsible consumption and they reflect this with the use of biodegradable materials in their products.
They create sunglasses with wood or bamboo to reduce the use of plastic.
Learn more about Pandas:
social marketing vs. social media marketing
Now that we have defined what social marketing is, we are going to talk about its difference from social media marketing (or as it is often called, according to its name in English, social media marketing).
They sound very similar but they are not the same! Unlike social marketing, marketing in social networks is about applying marketing strategies in the different channels of -precisely- social networks:
- Youtube
- …and the list probably goes on.
This social media marketing has different objectives when it comes to trying to capture the largest number of followers. Some of them are:
- Drive traffic to the online store to convert it into customers.
- Position the brand.
- Generate interaction with the public.
- Build a community.
- Provide information and customer service.
So as confused as they may be initially, you can see how their goals are actually different.
The future of social marketing
There is a reality that not only affects Mexico, but is a worldwide phenomenon: Consumers are increasingly aware of the products they buy and the brands they choose to do so.
This means, on the one hand, that they are interested in knowing where what they buy comes from: what raw materials were used, who produced it, where and under what conditions.
On the other hand, consumers also want the brands they choose to have a social impact: that they show a more “human” side, that they care about social causes and caring for the environment.
And attention! This social marketing idea should not be used as an advertising strategy that seeks only to increase sales. As I said above, buyers recognize this type of false intent from afar.
Conclusions
It is important that, as much as social marketing actions help the positioning of a company, the commitment is genuine. Thus, consumers will be able to connect with the brand on a much deeper emotional level.
Not only will this build a loyal following for them, but it will help make a real impact on our society or planet. And that is truly priceless!
As an entrepreneur, it is important that you take into account this type of marketing and create strategies that allow you to have a significant impact such as the examples that I mentioned above. If you also want to create a Tiendanube, remember that you can and take your business to the next digital level.
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