Benefits of Using Social Media for Societal Marketing

This article discusses the benefits of using social media for societal marketing, ethical issues to consider, and different marketing tools and strategies to reach a large target audience. It also includes references for further reading.

Running head: CREATING A SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN 1
Benefits of using social media
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date

Running head: CREATING A SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN 2
The use of social marketing has become a common phenomenon for advertising the
goods and services of an entity. Social media involves the interaction that individuals have on
social media platforms. Some of the common social media platforms used for societal marketing
comprise of Facebook and Twitter. One of the benefits of using social media to enlist
partnerships or funding is that it is fast. People can easily use social media as long as they are
connected to the internet. Social media can also reach a large audience since it is used across the
globe. As a result, it makes it an effective marketing tool. Social media is also cheap compared to
other platforms such as radio and TV. The latter requires a lot of resources which might not be
available to many people. Lastly, it is possible to get the response of people through their likes or
comments. Client's response is vital because it helps to determine the probability of a person to
support an idea.
Ethical Issues
The use of the internet to disseminate information has its ethical ramifications. For
instance, the entity must observe confidentiality while using the internet. The company must
avoid disclosing specific information without the consent of its owners. Also, the firm must
always disseminate accurate and reliable information. The measure will assist in increasing
public confidence in the information they receive. False and unverified information might make
the public to lose faith in the enterprise. Additionally, the entity must determine the people who
should access the data. It should limit those who are not authorized to access the data. The report
should only reach the target audience. Also, some of the sensitive information the entity
disseminates might be subjected to surveillance.
Target population

Running head: CREATING A SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN 3
My target population for the water sanitation program will comprise of the general public
and the schools. It is because they are worst hit by waterborne diseases when an outbreak occurs.
I will also use various tools to disseminate my message to the audience. My strategy will also
involve identifying my target audience and develop the content they like. As a result, they will
generate an interest in the advert thus reaching a broad audience. Gather enough data after the
investigation to find out how many people were able to receive your information. The
information obtained might be vital for future research.
Social marketing plan
My social marketing plan will first establish my goals and objectives. Development of
goals will assist me to measure my success at the end of the program. Also, the goals set must
also be SMART. My strategy will also focus on the competitor's strategies. I will study the
various strategies they use to create awareness about their products and services. The measure
will assist me to come up with measures on how to beat the competition in the market.
Understanding the competitor's strategies is also essential for comparison purposes. Moreover,
my marketing strategy will aim at reaching a large target. It is because the purpose of advertising
is to reach many people (Dewey, 2016). Therefore, selecting a media that will reach a large
audience will achieve this objective. To sum up, my strategy will aim at developing an excellent
content for my audience. The content you create for your audience is vital since it will determine
if they will develop an interest in your message. It is advisable to develop a message that can
easily be understood by your target audience. Also, the message should be short and precise to
the point.
Marketing tools

Running head: CREATING A SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN 4
One of the methods is by the use of social media focus groups. The use of social media
focus groups will help to disseminate the information to a large audience. Also, the groups can
discuss the information in detail thus improving their understanding of the message.
Additionally, the approach is appropriate because the audience can access the information within
twenty four hours. The second approach is through the use of brochures. These are small books
or magazines containing images of the advertised information. The primary reason is to attract
the target audience and to increase their understanding on the subject. Brochures are excellent
marketing tools to both the literate and the illiterate (Tuten & Solomon, 2013). The literate can
read and interpret the information through the pictures. Besides, the illiterate can also interpret
the pictures even if they cannot read. Therefore, the information will reach a wide audience. The
information in brochures is also short and precise. Short information makes it easy for the reader
to understand. It is because the audience can read all the information and comprehend it since it
is short and precise.
Another approach is by the use of flyers to disseminate information to the target
population. Brochures are paper adverts that are intended to pass information to a large audience.
It contains both words and pictures that give information to the audience. They are appropriate
advertising tools since they are easy to prepare. Moreover, they have few catchy words that are
appealing and catchy to the audience (Zimmerman & Ng, 2017). As a result, the audience can
easily understand the message. They are also affordable since they do not require large sums of
money to print them. Therefore, the entity can also print many copies for their audience. Flyers
are also easy to produce compared to other advertising media like magazines and newspapers.
Therefore, information will reach the target population on time. Finally, they do not require any
special materials to produce. They only require any paper that can produce visible information

Running head: CREATING A SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN 5
and ink. It is contrary to other forms of advertising media like magazines which require specific
materials to produce.
Besides, the other advertising tool is the PSA's. Public service announcements do not
advertise any good or service. They aim at creating awareness among the members of the public
regarding a particular issue. For instance, creating awareness about cancer in the society. It aims
at influencing the public to change their behaviors. The public can change their consumption
habits after the announcement. They can stop certain habits like smoking and excessive
consumption of alcohol to decrease their chances of getting cancer (Pérez, 2011). The
announcements can use road shows and celebrities to attract huge gatherings before announcing
their message. They can also convey their message through mass media platforms such as radio
and television. The approach is appropriate because the information reaches a wide audience.
Also, demonstrations can be done to enable the public to understand certain facts well. In some
cases, the public can seek clarification on certain issues. Such clarifications will broaden their
knowledge on the subject of discussion (Matson, 2012). It is also easy to frame the content for
your target audience. It is because the information being conveyed is clear to the public. Finally,
the announcements can be repeated severally on mass media platforms thus allowing the
audience to access the information.
Ethical Issues
There are various ethical issues that one must consider before disseminating information
to your target audience. One should observe professionalism when disseminating the information
to the members of the public (Wood, 2016). For instance, the language used should be desirable.
It is also essential to respect the rights of other people and entities. For instance, the right to

Running head: CREATING A SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN 6
privacy and confidentiality. One should refrain from disclosing information regarding other
entities or individuals without their consent (Fertman, 2017). Also, the participants in this study
should do it willingly. Also, Pay attention to some of the sensitive issues in the society. Some of
these issues comprise of issues touching on culture and religion. For instance, in some cultures, it
is a taboo to discuss certain issues in public. Therefore, the giver of the information should
familiarize him with these issues before disseminating information. The measure will help in
decreasing conflicts between the organization and the society. As a result, the entire process will
be successful in the long-run (Dewey, 2016).
Also, avoid giving information that cannot be supported by facts. It is because the main
purpose of these announcements is to educate the public. Therefore, one cannot educate the
public by giving them wrong information (Marquardt, 2010). If their advert contains some
information that kids should not access, they should advertise it late at night. It is because at this
time kids are not active in mass media platforms. The organization should adhere to ethics to
ensure that their mission is successful.

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References:
Dewey, J. (2016). Ethics. Read Books Ltd.
Fertman, C. I., & Allensworth, D. D. (Eds.). (2017). Health promotion programs: From theory to
practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Matson, J. (2012). Functional assessment for challenging behaviors. New York, NY: Springer.
Marquardt, N. (2010). Implicit Mental Processes in Ethical Management Behavior. Ethics &
Behavior, 20(2), 128-148. doi: 10.1080/10508421003595950
Pérez, L. (2011). Marketing Social. Pearson Education de Mexico, SA de CV.
Tuten, T., & Solomon, M. (2013). Social media marketing. Boston: Pearson.
Wood, M. (2016). Social Marketing for Social Change. Social Marketing Quarterly, 22(2), 107-
118. doi: 10.1177/1524500416633429
Zimmerman, J., & Ng, D. (2017). Social media marketing all-in-one for dummies. Hoboken,
N.J.: John Wiley.