What Makes Social Marketing Different?
Audience Orientation
Social marketing planners take time to learn what the target audience
currently knows, believes, and does. All decisions are made with the audience's
perspective in mind. The program is designed to fulfill the audience's needs and
wants.
You may already know a lot about your audience and have some ideas about the
program's activities. It can be tempting to start planning based on these ideas,
but social marketing requires that you test those assumptions with the target
audience first. You may be right, but you may also be surprised at what your
audience thinks and says.
Tip
Sometimes people equate formative research or focus groups with social
marketing. Understanding the target audience is a crucial part of social
marketing, but is not sufficient on its own. It is good practice in any planning
process.
|