How Social Marketing is Shifting the Conversation
In a world of constant exposure to digital marketing, the one that really resonates the most with people is where the thoughts are being shifted. This is encouraged through Social Marketing, the idea of changing or maintaining behavior’s that either help society or individuals. It’s different from social media marketing because that focuses on using social media as a tool to engage with people, but not necessarily as clear intentions as social marketing.
Companies in the Works of Social Marketing
There are a lot of companies that use social marketing in their efforts to shift the discussion around world issues. Apple used their smart watches as a way to keep their users aware. For example, if a person was to walk through an area near a social organization, their device would vibrate to alert them of petitions they could sign or redirect them to the mobile sites. This is a great example of mobile marketing put to work because it keeps users involved in social issues through any sort of device. This would be effective for their campaign because it would provide a unique experience for the user to have using just this Apple device and having the ease of mobile marketing on their wrist.
An organization that I also found really interesting was Oaktree. Located in Australia, they focus on young people taking charge to end poverty. What I really liked about this website was the set-up of their landing page. The call to actions were seamlessly integrated at the top of their page and allowed for a great user interface. For each call to action, the consumer could choose if they wanted to take part in different cause levels within the organization. This could include donating to the organization, becoming a student ambassador, or joining in on the “Living Below the Line” campaign.
With Oaktree, a lot of their efforts would be successful because of their effective user interface. Allowing people to easily navigate on their website is a great way to encourage people to join the cause, especially if they are reaching out to young people.
How to Utilize Social Marketing
This past year I’ve had the privilege of working in the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) at Western Washington University. I’ve served as the assistant marketing coordinator for the office and believe that providing the space and resources for marginalized students and people of color on this campus is important. Being a part of this position, I’ve wanted to do a lot more to share the organization across campus and the community.
With the skills that I learned in this course, I want to be able to help optimize the social media efforts of the office and focus on better outreach to students and people. Having the Hootsuite certification, I want to create an account for the office to help manage multiple platforms that can communicate club times and ESC events. With the website, making sure that the user interface and experience are attractive and functional will help send the message across that there is a space for students and people of color to spend time.
My current marketing efforts include using MailChimp to send out monthly newsletters to the club leaders and their members. Using tips from Hubspot about Inbound Marketing, I can learn more about people that want to be potential donors, supporters, or are ESC Alumni that want to help support the space for the future. Getting their attention in a more personalized manner will establish a better relationship and affinity to the organization which can sprout more scholarships and funding for the community.