Social Media Marketing Strategy for Curbing Smoking Crisis

This paper explores the use of social media as a marketing strategy to address the smoking crisis in society. It discusses the impact of smoking, target populations, and the 4Ps of marketing. Various theories and approaches are also examined, including individual-level theories, ecological approaches, and community-based approaches. The paper highlights the importance of social media in reaching and transforming the behavior of the target groups.

Running head: SMOKING
Smoking
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

SMOKING 2
SMOKING
Smoking is simply defined as the act of burning substances with some chemical
compositions then inhaling it through the mouth or nostrils into the bloodstream. In most cases,
smoking has always been linked to alteration of the normal functioning of the body system. The
most commonly smoked substance is tobacco, whose dried leaves tend to vaporize and deliver
other active substances such as nicotine into the lungs where they are rapidly absorbed into the
bloodstream. This paper is set to explore social media as a marketing strategy employed in
curbing the issued related to smoking as a crisis in society today.
Smoking is common in youths and adults in nearly all countries of the world. It,
therefore, means age is a vital factor in determining the smoking prevalence. 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). Ethnicity is also a contributing
factor towards the prone populations related to smoking. Statistics show that American Indians/
Alaska Natives have the highest percentage in the proneness to cigarette smoking (CDC, 2018).
Several articles have been used in line with smoking and public health awareness.
At an individual level, several theories have been established to promote health
understanding and awareness among the victims in question. For instance, the health of the belief
model, the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior have been of an impact
on health issues. 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. Theories include Ewart's social action theory and the theory of gender power.
Another level of approach is the community-based approach. Some theories have been put into
consideration in the promotion of the healthy behaviors at a community-based level, including;
the coalition theory and the concept of developing community capacity (Wendel et, al., 2009)
2

SMOKING 3
However, we’ve had several improvements that transpired for the population group.
Currently, there is an emphasis on human rights for people with chronic mental health
conditions, people abusing drugs and alcohol and people with Alzheimer’s disease. Under this,
smoking zones have been defined in busy streets and cities worldwide. In trying to reach out to
the adults and young adults prone to smoking, several strategies were put in place in order to lay
down the information and alertness on health behaviors. Most importantly, social media
marketing strategy has proven to be significant in reaching the target groups and transforming
their behavior. As a strategic plan for effective implementation of the marketing process, it was
vital to consider the 4Ps of marketing. Social media marketing strategy has proven to adequately
encompass the principles of the 4Ps of marketing.
The first P is the product itself. Our products, in this case, are both service oriented and
tangible goods. Under the service delivery aspect, we are marketing the knowledge about the
dangers and effects of smoke together with the diseases associated with smoking and the curative
measures and products. On the other hand, there are people who have already been affected by
smoking practice and need medication to recover from the illness associated with smoking.
Therefore, we are also marketing medicines to handle the side effects of the smoking operation.
Smoking weakens body immunity. Consequently, the body becomes prone to diseases such as
tuberculosis and cancer. Our products are therefore differentiated 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. Such medicines help deal with clients who are addicted or
who are yet to start smoking. Therefore, product differentiation has helped capture a wide range
of customers in the smoking industry.
3

SMOKING 4
Secondly, the price of our product is established to stabilize the marketing process. For
that reason, three pricing approaches are employed to support our social media marketing
strategy. Firstly, a competitive pricing strategy is vital. Under this strategy, the prices of the
competitors in the market are analyzed before setting a favorable price to lure more customers in
the market (Varstreetinc, 2019). However, competitive pricing cannot work alone as one may
find himself operating under loses. Therefore, Cost-plus pricing strategy plays a vital role in the
organization. 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). Social media marketing strategy is vital in this pricing strategy as it is
less expensive thus lowers advertisement costs consequently leading to the setting of favorable
competitive prices. 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). This strategy has proven to lure customers for new 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
cheaper as it involves designing and posting in softcopy form, other than using printouts and
radio broadcasting (Zhang, 2014). There are five exemplary examples that reveal success in the
application of healthcare social media marketing strategy. Such examples include: SickKids VS,
#YESMAMM, Movember, The Eye of A Child, and Things Everybody Does But Doesn't Talk
About (Krums, 2018). However, the marketing strategy has been faced with a few challenges. A
4

SMOKING 5
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. Marketing is all about putting
the right product, at the right price, at the right time and right place. In our case, we're targeting
the adults and the young adults between the ages of 20 years old to 45 years old. Social media is,
therefore, the best platform to reach out to this 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 instance, schools and institutions of higher learning, workplaces, and
offices, recreational places such as football pitch and sports occasions. The place of marketing
the product is also in the determination of the prices to be applied. Therefore, a social media
marketing strategy is the most significant as it incorporates all the principles of the Four Ps of
marketing.
5

SMOKING 6
References
Bragg, S. (2018). Cost-plus pricing [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/16/cost-plus-pricing
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
Kenton, W. (2019). Penetration Pricing [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/penetration-pricing.asp
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/
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/
6