Social Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing

I had a recent Twitter exchange with @rnadworny and @mjayliebs about Social Marketing that has prompted me to write this thought post about Social Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing.

Rich kicked it off with this tweet: Interesting distinction RT @tedrubin: Social Media is what you call the platforms, Social Marketing is how it is leveraged by brands.

As I read that in my Twitter Stream I had a quick reaction so I (of course) fired of a reply to Rich:

@rnadworny Except that "Social Marketing" already has a definition: it's about behavior change NOT social media tools: http://bit.ly/4uP1go
@ejyoung67 That looks like an old definition. Time to dust it off and modernize perhaps. Oral rehydration?
@rnadworny disagree. There's a whole field for social marketing -- all about making behavior change. I teach a class in it ;-)

Which then prompted @mjayliebs to post his thoughts in posterous. His final point in that post was, "Social Marketing, IMHO is simply Marketing using Social Media through a Social Network Service."

I then wrote: Well @mjayliebs and @rnadworny, you might want to check out @nedra 's blog: http://www.social-marketing.com/blog/ I have used her book. AND  @rnadworny @mjayliebs Social Mkting happens today. Hospitals, non-profits, governments. It's marketing for social good. Not same as soc med.

Rich then posed this question: @ejyoung67 @mjayliebs Does the social business use social marketing? This definition predates social media, so does it need an update?

So what follows is my response to that question -- What is Social Marketing and is a definition that was set forth in the 1970s now out of date because of a new type of technology communication toolset -- namely "Social Media"?

According to Nedra Kline Weinreich, author of "Hands On Social Marketing", a text I have used in my Non-Profit and Social Marketing class,

Social marketing was "born" as a discipline in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler and Andreasen define social marketing as "differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society." (What is Social Marketing?: http://www.social-marketing.com/Whatis.html) 

Time may have gone by, but I'm still a strong believer in this definition. Social media is about making CHANGE.  Positive change.  Change for social good.  It's using corporate marketing techniques in a way that moves away from profit to the improvement of society.  Would I use social media to help me in my social marketing? Yep I would. Check out Network for Good (an organization where the author of another book I use in my class, Robin Hood Marketing by Katya Andresen, works) to see how they are leveraging a host of online tools to help them accomplish what they do.

I really like how Nedra breaks it down over at her Social Marketing Squidoo:

What social marketing is not:
- Viral marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
- Dating or matchmaking services
- Public service announcements
- Focus groups
- Cause marketing (companies adopting a cause to improve their image and get more sales)

What social marketing is:
- A process that uses commercial marketing techniques to promote the adoption of positive health or social behaviors
- An approach that benefits the people who are adopting the behaviors or society as a whole, rather than the organization doing the marketing
- It may include some of the items in the "not" column above (okay, not the dating service) but those activities in and of themselves are not social marketing.

As the tools we use in Marketing and Communication have changed due to technological innovation and the advent of so-called "social" networks, I am seeing more and more people us the term social marketing when what they really mean is social media marketing -- in other words they are using social media tools as part of their marketing strategy.

Take a look at some of these amazing Social Marketing campaigns:

• The Montana Meth Project: http://www.montanameth.org/
• Go Red for Women: http://www.goredforwomen.org/
• The Truth Campaign: http://www.thetruth.com/
• The Population Media Center and their Soap Operas for change: http://www.populationmedia.org/
  

There are so many others where a myriad of communication tools, from Radio, TV and Print, to social networking, blogging, and tweeting have all made a difference and helped people to make positive changes in their behaviors.

Finally, Beth Kanter who writes a blog on Non-profit marketing has provided a guiding definition of social media that I believe fits well within the context of this post.  She wrote that,

"Social media is … a way of using the Internet to instantly collaborate, share information, or have a conversation ideas or causes we care about. It’s a world where anyone can be a publisher, a reporter, an artist, a filmmaker, a photographer or pundit …. Even an activist or citizen philanthropist!”  (Institute for Sustainable Communities, Social Media Tools http://tools.iscvt.org/tech_tools/socialmedia_tools/start)

There you have it. A clear definition for Social Marketing and a clear definition for Social Media. So no folks, it's not time to change the definition of Social Marketing -- it's time for marketing professionals to re-acquaint themselves with the term and what it really means. Social media tools have provided a huge opportunity for all marketers to connect, engage and empower -- for Social Marketers these tools have added even more power to their messages of making positive changes in society. Let's not confuse a tool (social media) with a well grounded marketing process that has stood the test of time and made a difference in people's lives.

Do you have other examples of great and meaningful Social Marketing campaigns that may or may not have utilized social media?  Send them my way.

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous