Social Media Marketing Strategy for Curbing Smoking

This document discusses the social media marketing strategy for curbing smoking among the target population. It explores the target population, social marketing strategy, examples of evidence, theories used, implemented interventions, and evidence of success. The document emphasizes the effectiveness of social media advertising in controlling smoking behavior.

Running head: SMOKING
Smoking
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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SMOKING
Target Population
Smoking is common in youths and adults in nearly all countries of the world
(Surgeongeneral.gov, 2019). For example, more than six hundred thousand middle school
students and three million high school students smoke cigarette (Surgeongeneral.gov, 2019).
Statistically, smoking prevalence is higher among HIV infected adults who are aged between 40
years and 49 years than those aged between 18 and 29 years (CDC, 2017). Smoking rates differ
from country to country. For instance, Andorra, Luxembourg and Belarus are the top three most
smoking nations across the globe whereas Dominica, Togo and Zambia are the least smoking
nations around the world (Smith, 2018). The UK on the other hand is 79th in the smoking rank
(Smith, 2018). Ethnicity is also a contributing factor towards the prone populations related to
smoking. For instance, the rates in England are above average in mixed and white ethic groups
unlike in Chinese, black and Asian ethnic groups where the rate of smoking is below the average
(Public Health England, 2018). Statistics show that American Indians/ Alaska Natives have the
highest percentage in the proneness to cigarette smoking (CDC, 2018). Among the American
Indians, women have recorded a higher percentage of smoking (24%) compared to men (19%).
Following the above data, our promotional strategy is set to curb smoking among the women
who are at the youth and young adults stage (20-45 years) in America specifically in the Alaska
Native ethnic group.
Social Marketing Strategy
Social media advertisement is the best priority for the organization. The promotional
strategy has proven to be vital in reaching the target groups. As a strategic plan for effective
implementation of the marketing process, it was vital to consider the 4Ps of marketing. Social
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media marketing strategy has proven to adequately encompass the principles of the 4Ps of
marketing.
The first P is the product itself. Our products are differentiated (both services and
tangible products) to cater for all level clients in the smoking industry. For instance, pills such as
Bupropion (Zyban) are essential in cutting ones craving for tobacco. Another product is
Varenicline (Chantix) which helps with the craving for nicotine and withdrawal symptoms.
Furthermore, we promote nicotine replacement therapy such as inhaler, lozenges, chewing gum,
nose spray, and adhesive patch which have proven to minimize the motivation to consumption of
tobacco (Nagesh and Wadgave, 2016).
Pricing of our products play a vital role in expanding our market. We use competitive
pricing strategy where prices of the competitors in the market are analyzed before setting a
favorable price to lure more customers in the market (Varstreetinc, 2019). We also use cost-plus
pricing strategy. In this case, the total production expenses are calculated and narrowed down to
a unit cost to which a reasonable profitable amount (markup) is added to define the price of our
products (Bragg, 2018). Lastly, we employ a price penetration strategy whereby a lower price is
set while introducing a new product to the market before gradually increasing with the demand
(Kenton, 2019). Social media advertisement is cheap thus encourages promotional kind of
pricing of products.
Our next P is Promotion, which involves the dissemination of the product information to
consumers by differentiating it from other products and services. Social media marketing would
involve the use of familiar platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, twitter. Facebook, for
instance, would provide a larger promotion platform to reach out to the target population due to
its widespread use and affordability. The cost of using social media platforms is way-down
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cheaper as it involves designing and posting in softcopy form, other than using printouts and
radio broadcasting (Zhang, 2014). However, the marketing strategy has been faced with a few
challenges. A typical example of the challenges faced in social media marketing is an
inadequacy in equal distribution of social media platforms among populations of different kinds.
However, the major challenge faced is the introduction of scam in most of the products and
services offered online. Therefore, restrictions and copyright legalization measures on our
products shall be put in place to curb the challenge. By using the well-labeled brands for the
product, social media provides the most basic and outgoing platform for the marketing of the
product.
The final P comes as the place of marketing the product. Firstly, we target the internet
(social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter in knowledge delivery. Social
media is, therefore, the best platform to reach the target population as most of them spend almost
all of their time on the internet, doing either school assignments or job tasks in their specific
fields of specialization. For the tangible products, we provide delivery services within America.
Examples of Evidence
Buckley (2017), presents a story of a friend within his writings who regularly tweeted
and updated his status regarding his intentions to stop smoking. The support receives from the
site ultimately enabled him to stop smoking. Research by Baskerville, Azagba, Norman,
McKeown, and Brown (2015) at the University of Waterloo reveals that young adults who use
social media to quit smoking are twice more successful compared to ones who employ traditional
means. There are five exemplary examples that reveal success in the application of healthcare
social media marketing strategy. Such examples include: SickKids VS, #YESMAMM,
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Movember, The Eye of A Child, and Things Everybody Does But Doesn't Talk About (Krums,
2018).
Theories Used
At an individual level, several theories have been established to promote health
understanding and awareness among the victims in question. The theories used include:
Health of the belief model- The model emphasizes that the use of tobacco is determined by
individual's perceptions regarding aspects such as barriers to quitting, cues to change tobacco
use, treatment costs and effectiveness, seriousness of the crisis as a problem, and personal
vulnerability to illness as caused by use of tobacco (Champion & Skinner, 2015). This theory has
been applied by the social media users to base their approaches in changing individual behavior
and personalities as a strategic approach in quitting smoking among the target groups.
The theory of reasoned action- This theory tends to explain the correlation between attitudes
and behavior. Therefore, the use of social media should focus on transforming one’s attitude
toward smoking to attain good behavior. The story of a friend employs this theory as the victim
changed his attitude towards smoking and utilized social media to strengthen his priority against
smoking behavior.
The theory of planned behavior- This theory links belief to behavior. Ones one’s beliefs
against smoking have been transformed then there is a likelihood of quitting the smoking habit.
Individuals who receive responds that transform their beliefs towards smoking on social media
platforms like in the story of a friend consequently quit the smoking habit. At the ecological
approach, theories seek to change the policy and social-level determinants of health. Therefore,
the product is viewed as a product of society's rules and regulations. Therefore, such theories
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have been put into consideration in the promotion of healthy behaviors at a community-based
level (Wendel et, al., 2009).
Implemented Interventions
Examples of the interventions that have been implemented include WhatsApp marketing
and Twiter marketing of products and services. A monitoring and evaluation program was also
initiated to tress the effectiveness of social media platforms. Fortunately, social media has
proven to be effective in curbing the smoking crisis. However, the organization is yet to
implement Facebook within promotional strategies.
Evidence of success
There is a lot of evidence revealing the effectiveness of social media advertising as a
strategic approach in curbing the smoking habit within the target group. For instance, the
effectiveness of social media in faster dissemination of information across a wide area has been
expressed through the five global exemplary examples which include SickKids VS,
#YESMAMM, Movember, The Eye of a Child, and Things Everybody Does But Doesn't Talk
About (Krums, 2018). The story of a friend by Buckley (2017), also reveals the success of the
strategy in curbing the smoking behavior. Finally, research at the University of Waterloo reveals
faster the effectiveness of social media advertising as opposed to traditional methods in
controlling smoking behavior (Baskerville, Azagba, Norman, McKeown and Brown, 2015).
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References
Bakerville, B., Azagba, S., Norman, C., McKeown, K., and Brown, S. (2015). Social media
helps young adults quit smoking [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150609141734.htm
Bragg, S. (2018). Cost-plus pricing [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/16/cost-plus-pricing
Buckley, J. (2017). Researches Reveal Interesting Facts [online]. Retrieved from:
https://vapingdaily.com/blog/social-media-quitting-smoking-researches-reveal-
interesting-facts/
CDC (2017). The burden of Tobacco Use in the U.S [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-
states.html
CDC (2018). American Indians/Alaska Natives and Tobacco Use [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/disparities/american-indians/index.htm
Champion, V., & Skinner, C. (2015). The health belief model. Retrieved from:
https://mdquit.org/health-behavior-models/health-belief-model
Kenton, W. (2019). Penetration Pricing [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/penetration-pricing.asp
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Krums, R. (2018). 5 Exemplary Examples of Healthcare Social Media Marketing Success
[online]. Retrieved from: https://www.ambir.com/blog/5-exemplary-examples-
healthcare-social-media-marketing-success/
Nagesh, L., and Wadgave, U. (2016). Nicotine replacement therapy [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003586/
Public Health England (2018). Ethnicity facts and figures: Ethnicity in the UK [online].
Retrieved from: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/health/preventing-
illness/adult-smokers/latest
Smith, O. (2018). Mapped: The countries that smoke the most [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/world-according-to-tobacco-
consumption/
Surgeongeneral.gov (2019). Preventing Tobacco use among youth and young adults fact sheet
(online). Retrieved from: https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/preventing-
youth-tobacco-use/factsheet.html
Varstreetinc (2019). What is competitive pricing? Definition, strategies, and example [online].
Retrieved from: http://blog.varstreetinc.com/what-is-competitive-pricing-definition-
strategies-example/
Wendel, M. L., Burdine, J. N., McLeroy, K. R., Alaniz, A., Norton, B., & Felix, M. R. (2009).
Community capacity: theory and application. Emerging theories in health promotion
practice and research, 2, 277-302.
Zhang, S. (2014). Social media is a cheap but effective way of marketing [online]. Retrieved
from: https://tkbr.publishing.sfu.ca/pub802/2014/02/social-media-is-a-cheap-but-
effective-way-to-marketing/
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