Social marketing vs. social media: Unfolding the differences for health promotion audiences

background. Social marketing adapts traditional commercial marketing principles to promote voluntary social and behavioral change. Some public health authorities have used it to plan evidence-based interventions, bring health products to market, and improve service delivery. It has been used successfully to address smoking prevention, family planning, poor nutrition, breastfeeding reticence, and physical inactivity. Specific objectives included in Healthy People 2020 (HP 2020) seek to expand its use by state health departments, teach its principles in schools of public health, and catalyze its presence in professional development initiatives. However, the spiraling popularity of social media has created confusion about these two distinct strategies.

methods. Using social marketing's eight benchmarks, we are employing case examples of social marketing and social media to improve differentiation of the characteristics and applications of each. This presentation addresses issues related to misunderstandings between social marketing and social media that threaten achievement of the stated HP 2020 objectives.

results. Public health professionals are subjected to misinformation about social marketing. Whereas social media can be employed as a strategy in social marketing initiatives, both terms often are used interchangeably by lay and public health communities. Public health professionals who claim to apply social marketing in their work, but instead are utilizing social media alone, may be missing opportunities for more targeted audience reach and effectiveness.     

conclusion. Education of public health students and professionals is necessary to clarify the misunderstandings between social marketing and social media. Such effort will improve the likelihood of realizing the HP 2020 objectives.