Social marketing is similar to conventional marketing, but the end goal is not to sell a product to make profits, but to achieve a social benefit (e.g., improvement of health, conservation of resources) for society.
Social marketing is not easy to implement and involves changing intractable behaviors in complex economic, social, and political climates, often with very limited resources. When social marketing is successful, people will start to spread the message about a certain product, behavior, or technology themselves.
Though there exist numerous definitions of social marketing, this section is based on the following definition:
Social marketing (for example, in the context of health) is the use of commercial marketing techniques to promote the adoption of behavior that will improve the health or well-being of the target audience or of society as a whole.
For instance, improving the current situation regarding hospital services can be connected with the behaviors of the local community. By applying social marketing principles, one can efficiently change the current behavior and therefore improve the health or well-being of the local community.
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2 Adapted from MacFadyen, L., M. Stead, and G. Hastings. 1999. A Synopsis of Social Marketing. Stirling, United Kingdom: Institute for Social Marketing. www.sswm.info; and Scott, B. 2005. Social Marketing: A Consumer-based Approach to Promoting Safe Hygiene Behaviours. Leicestershire, United Kingdom: WELL. www.sswm.info