Using Social Marketing
to Achieve SMART
About Water Goals:
An Introduction
Christine Brittle, Ph.D.
The Baldwin Group, Inc.
SMART Social Marketing
• Social marketing is a strategic component of
SMART About Water:
– SMART trainers do not need to be social
marketing experts.
– Social marketing is meant as a helpful perspective
to achieve SMART objectives; social marketing
approaches should be used wherever possible
throughout SMART.
– We hope that trainers will be strategic and
audience-specific whenever possible – this makes
us all social marketers!
Social Marketing Training Goals
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Define social marketing.
Describe how social marketing is different from conventional
outreach approaches.
Understand the importance of segmenting audiences and
focusing on outcomes.
Understand why it is important to take audience
needs/wants/preferences into consideration when interacting
with communities.
Describe key characteristics of the eight SMART audiences.
Understand how to conduct basic market research (in the
form of audience listening) to learn more about target
audiences.
Understand how social marketing can be employed at the
ground level in the SMART initiative.
Exercise: Introduction to Social Marketing
• Pair up in groups of 2
• Find something that you and your partner like
to do that not everyone else might like to do
(hiking, sky diving, cooking, etc.)
• Think about how you would convince the
following people to join you in this activity:
– The Pope
– Your mom
– Your taxicab driver
Exercise Discussion
• Share your activity and your three
approaches:
– How were they different for each
audience? How were they the same?
– Was it easy or difficult to adjust your
approach for each audience?
• Congratulations! You’re on your way to
becoming social marketers!
What is Social Marketing?
• The application of commercial
marketing techniques +
• To influence a key target audience +
• To voluntarily change a behavior =
• For the good of society
Key Point
Social marketing is about being strategic.
Pick a crucial issue and a key audience.
Then, think about the issue from the
perspective of your target audience.
Pretend that their perspective
is all that matters.
Because it is.
The 4Ps of Social Marketing
Marketing is more than communications:
• Product – The action/behavior you are
interested in influencing
• Price – What is costs (not just $)
• Place – Where it happens (convenience)
• Promotion – How people learn about it
Why Social Marketing is Effective
• Social marketing recognizes that
information alone does not change
behaviors
• Social marketing focuses on target
audiences, including their needs, wants,
and motivators
• Social marketing focuses on making
behaviors easy, fun, and popular!
Social Marketing is Strategic
• We don’t have unlimited time,
resources, or personnel
• Social marketing makes us focus on:
– The most important messages
– The most important people
• Everything else can wait until later
Social Marketing is Audience Focused
• Audiences are the beginning and end of social
marketing
• Think of your audience continuously:
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Are they interested in your issue?
Do they care about your issue?
What are they passionate about?
What do they need to know about your issue?
How do they want to find out?
• Whenever possible, select audiences who can
help you reach your goals and who are
motivated to act
Social Marketing Segments Audiences
• Not all people are the same, so not all
people can be treated the same
• Break your audiences into similar
groups based on things such as:
– Interest level
– Wants and needs
– Motivators
– Access points
Social Marketing is Outcome Focused
• If they believe you and they aren’t doing
it, it doesn’t matter!
• If they understand you and they aren’t
doing it, it doesn’t matter!
• If they like you and they aren’t doing it, it
doesn’t matter!
• AND, if they ARE doing it, we don’t
care why!
Social Marketing Relies on Exchange
• Recognize that we are asking for a
tradeoff
• Acknowledge competing behaviors
• State clearly what you are offering and
know what you are asking:
– You get = Safer water, peace of mind
– You pay = Time, higher water bills
Social Marketing Addresses Barriers
• Barriers are real but often downplayed
or ignored. This is a huge mistake!
– Barriers can be physical, emotional, social,
monetary, or time-oriented
– Barriers can be subconscious
• Social marketing is about finding
effective bridges to overcome these
barriers
Social Marketing and Stages of Change
• People go through a series of five stages in
changing behaviors (pre-contemplation,
contemplation, preparation, action,
maintenance/advocacy)
• It takes time to change behaviors, and
change is not linear (people regress)
• Messages/interactions should be targeted to
each stage
1. Pre-contemplation
• Definition: No awareness of need to
modify behavior, and no intention to do
so (lack of personal relevance)
• Messaging: Start helping people to
understand the issue – focus on
awareness, not persuasion
2. Contemplation
• Definition: Know that the issue exists
and audience members are considering
action
• Messaging: Build on initial
understanding; messages can start
attempting to influence behavior change
3. Preparation
• Definition: Preparing to take action, but
not yet engaged in behavior; might be
learning about behavior
• Messaging: Address barriers to change
and encourage behavioral “trials” to
sample intended behaviors or
preparations such as learning where to
buy needed tools, etc.
4. Action
• Definition: Actually engaging in
behavioral change
• Messaging: Support, encourage, and
reinforce change
5. Maintenance/Advocacy
• Definition: Change has occurred and is
being sustained
• Messaging: Reinforce change and
encourage audience to spread the
word; people in this stage often can
influence others [these people are
sometimes called spark plugs or opinion
leaders]
Stages and Appropriate Requests
• Stage of change influences what we ask
of audiences (and how we ask it)
• Asking too much of an audience may
lead to them “tuning out” or ignoring the
request
• Tip: Request actions that are consistent
with stage of change; make your
requests reasonable for your audience
Discussion: What’s Different?
• Based on this overview, how is social
marketing different from traditional
outreach?
• What is the biggest change you see
between your typical approaches and
social marketing?
• How have you already been doing
social marketing?
How SMART is using Social Marketing
• SMART is a social marketing initiative:
– It is focused on a key issue (wastewater as
a critical and overlooked threat)
– It is focused on a key objective (get small
communities to engage in source water
protection and planning)
– It is focused on reaching key audiences
with messages that work (audience-focus)
Understanding SMART Audiences
• SMART recognizes that it cannot (and
should not) try to reach everyone
• It wants to reach the most critical
audiences with the most critical
messages
– The national planning workshop identified
eight key audiences for this effort
Know Your Audience
• To successfully engage in social
marketing, you have to know your
audience:
– What do they know?
– What stage of change are they in?
– What do they like? What interests them?
– What motivates them?
– What are their barriers to change?
Discussion: Priority Audiences
• We need to reach audiences that:
– Possess critical information
– Can make decisions
– Are active and involved in the community
– Influence others
– Generally make things happen
• Based on this, who should SMART
reach? Why?
8 Identified SMART Audiences
• First priority audiences:
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Local/elected officials
Operators
Homeowners/landowners
Watershed groups/associations
• Second priority audiences:
– Homeowner associations, septic professionals,
civic groups, NCWS
• See detailed information on each audience
Local/Elected Officials
• Who: Many levels of leadership, often
not a full-time job as a leader
• Knowledge: Ins and outs of local
community
• Motivators: Serving community,
reduced complaints, saving money
• Barriers: Lack of time and financial cost
to address issue
Community Water System Operators
• Who: In charge of many things, not just
water system
• Knowledge: About doing their job, but
less about community outreach/policy
change
• Motivators: Do the right thing, save
time, less monitoring
• Barriers: Don’t have authority, little time
Homeowners and Landowners
• Who: Individuals with on-site septic
systems living in small communities
• Knowledge: Know about on-site systems
• Motivators: Protect water, save money,
protect property values
• Barriers: Source of problem may be
outside jurisdiction, limited interest until
“crisis” occurs
Watershed Groups and Associations
• Who: Groups with a specific water focus
• Knowledge: Lots about water in general,
not as much about septic/drinking water
• Motivators: Doing the right thing, making
a difference, activism
• Barriers: Distrusts industry, dislikes
compromise
Homeowner Associations
• Who: Groups of homeowners living in
clustered communities
• Knowledge: Varies greatly, some will
know more than others about this issue
• Motivators: Protecting drinking water,
saving money
• Barriers: Issue is complex and
potentially expensive to deal with
Septic Installers and Service Providers
• Who: Mostly small business people
who interact with customers
• Knowledge: Lots about septic, less
about source water protection
• Motivators: Business-oriented, making
money
• Barriers: Lack of time
Civic/Special Interest Groups
• Who: Involved individuals within a
community
• Knowledge: How to get things done in
their community
• Motivators: Doing the right thing,
positive publicity
• Barriers: Competing with other issues
Non-Community Water Systems
• Who: Mostly part-time operators
• Knowledge: Often understand both
drinking water and wastewater
• Motivators: Technical assistance,
ability to be involved in community
• Barriers: Lack of time, not adept at
communications with others
Similarities Across all Groups
• Time is limited
• Prefer short messages
• Agreement that issue is important, but
understanding is limited/incomplete
• Few resources (financial or time) to
readily devote to this issue
• Other competing priorities
Differences Across Groups
• Initial interest in this topic
• Willingness to work on this topic
• Level of authority to solve problem or
address issue
• Level of comfort in working with others
in community to solve problems
• Communication styles and preferences
Discussion: Being Audience Specific
• Based on these brief profiles, how do
you think you might approach these
audiences differently? Think about:
– Operators vs. watershed groups
– Community groups vs. septic professionals
– Local officials vs. homeowners
– Non-community operators vs. homeowner
associations
Looking Ahead …
• Tomorrow we will talk about using
social marketing to:
– Learn about Audiences
– Select Audiences
– Recruit Audiences
– Work with Audiences
– Deal with Frequent Problems
Using Social Marketing
to Achieve SMART
About Water Goals:
Applications
Christine Brittle, Ph.D.
The Baldwin Group, Inc.
Recap from Yesterday
• Social marketing is a mindset: It’s about
being ruthlessly focused on your
audience
• Social marketing is strategic: Don’t just
tell everyone everything you know, think
about who needs to know what and how
they need to know it
Discussion: Tailored Messages
• Watch the following public service
announcements:
– How are they tailored for specific
audiences?
– What do they assume people care about?
– Do you think they would be effective?
– Why or why not?
It’s a nice idea, but …
• How can I really use social marketing in
my work under SMART?
– Social marketing is a mindset (audience,
audience, audience)
– Social marketing is a series of well-defined
steps
5 Stages of Social Marketing
• Define Problem: Know what you want to do
and why (your expertise is key)
• Market Research: Understand your
audience: barriers, motivators, etc.
• Planning: Determine best way to reach
audiences and to achieve goals
• Implementation: Make it happen
• Evaluation: Define and measure successes
1. Define Problem
• Formally and specifically identified in
the SMART grant:
– Source water protection for small and very
small systems (most in need of assistance)
– Addressing wastewater issues (key threat)
– Training in 245 communities
– Hands-on assistance in 18-24 communities
2. Market Research
• Learn about your target audience and
their needs, wants, and desires:
– Eight key audiences were identified at the
national workshop
– Audience profiles for each audience were
developed
– You will gather additional information about
each audience in the field via audience
listening techniques
3. Planning
• Within each community, determine the key
audiences (they will vary from place to place).
Identify:
– What you need the audience to do, what you need
them to know, and the specific exchange you are
asking of them (product)
– Any barriers they face and what they see as
benefits (price)
– Where to get them information/interact with them
(place)
– How and where to communicate best with them
and to motivate them (promotion)
4. Implementation
• Take into consideration what you already
know about each audience
• Make adjustments as needed based on
audience listening
• Use social marketing techniques with
every audience whenever possible
5. Evaluation
• Evaluation is being conducted as a
separate part of the grant. Evaluation
will focus on:
– Stages of change for various target
audience members
– Evaluation of technical assistance calls
– Publications/publicity about the program
Applying these 5 Steps
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1 – Define problem (we have our goals)
2 – Market research (listening)
3 – Planning (considering audiences)
4 – Implementation (working with
audiences)
• 5 – Evaluation (help as needed)
SMART Market Research
• The national workshop gave an “expert”
overview of the target audiences, but
you will have the opportunity to work
specifically with these groups
• Take advantage of opportunities in each
community to do your own market
research to learn more about key
audiences
Audience Listening
• The simplest, cheapest, easiest form of
market research is audience listening
(and it is surprisingly effective)
• Go, ask, listen. No judgment allowed.
• Use open-ended questions:
– What are you concerned about in your
community? Who do you work with to get
things done? Do you ever think about your
drinking water? Why or why not?
Exercise: Audience Listening Practice
• Pair up in groups of 2
• Find out what each person’s favorite sport or
sports competition is, and what they like
about it
• Your challenge is to be as neutral as possible
– Learn as much as you can without giving away
anything about whether you like it or not
• Have your partner guess your real thoughts
• Use the form on the next slide to get started
Sample Interview Questions
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What is your favorite sport?
What do you like about it?
How does it compare to other activities?
How do you participate in it or view it?
Is there anything you don’t like about it?
Exercise Discussion
• Report back: How neutral were we?
– Could you guess whether your interviewee
liked your sport or not?
– Why or why not?
– What are some examples of “non-neutral”
feedback?
– How can we be on the alert for those?
Planning: Learn and Prioritize
• Learn as much as you can:
– Who are the potential audiences?
– Who is affected by this issue?
– Who can make a difference on the issue?
– Who are the people who already care?
– Who is most likely to be critical to reach
within this community? Why?
Exercise: Prioritizing Audiences
• As a large group, generate a set of
questions to ask yourself when deciding
which audiences to work with in any
community. Be as specific as possible.
Remember, the audience you select to
interact with first will vary from
community to community.
Planning: Recruit an Audience
• Once you have identified audiences to
work with, you need to determine how to
meet with and engage them:
– What motivates each audience in general?
– What is motivating about this issue?
– What are the barriers with this issue?
– Where are you likely to encounter audience
members?
Exercise: Recruit an Audience
• Break into four groups (2-3 people per group)
• Each group takes one of the top four target
audiences (officials, operators, homeowners,
watershed groups) and identifies potential
ways to recruit that audience
• Start by making clear what the specific
exchange for the audience is, as well as the
motivators and barriers for the audience
• Develop a short “pitch” for that audience
• Use the form on the next slide to get started
Recruiting
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Audience: _________________
Exchange: _________________
Motivators: _________________
Barriers: _________________
Recruiting/involvement “pitch”: _____
_______________________________
_______________________________
Planning: Thinking of the Interaction
• Once people have agreed to work with
us, our audience focus continues
• Remain aware of audience needs and
wants:
– How do people like to get information?
How often?
– When and where can they meet?
– How will they interact with others?
Exercise: Work with Your Audience
• Break into two groups (4-5 people per group)
• Each group takes one of the top two
audiences (officials, operators) and identifies
potential ways to work with that audience
• Make a plan to describe (see next page):
– When and where interactions will occur?
– How long they will last?
– Barriers you might encounter and how to
overcome them
Audience Interactions
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Audience: _________________
Place to interact: _________________
How often: _________________
How long: _________________
Specific barriers: _________________
How to overcome: _________________
Discussion: It’s not my problem …
• A frequent barrier we encounter is “it’s
not my problem.”
– First, evaluate whether there are other
audiences to reach first who are more
easily motivated. If not:
• How can we make it their problem? What
issues does it connect to that they do care
about? What people? What values? What can
we appeal to (e.g., self-image) to make people
more interested?
Discussion: But this used to be free!
• Another barrier is the cost to address
problems.
– First, ask yourself if the cost is one *you*
would pay. If not, rethink your solutions. If
you would pay the cost, think about:
• How can costs be reduced? How can benefits
be enhanced? What are the long-term and
short-term costs and benefits? Was the item
really “free” before, or were there hidden costs
related to health, environment, etc.?
Discussion: Why should I care?
• Source water protection is often about
prevention, not crisis management. Consider:
– What are the personal, societal, health, or
environmental goals that support prevention?
– For what other issues is prevention worthwhile?
– At what level of crisis would audience members
“automatically” care? Does the community want to
get to that crisis stage before taking action?
– Is prevention cheaper than dealing with a crisis?
– Who does care? How can they influence decision
makers?
Spreading the Word
• Once you’ve formed a good relationship
with one or two key audiences, you can
help others spread the word
• Encourage them to think about social
marketing ideas as well
– Remember: It all comes down to audience!
Sample Additional Resources
• Social Marketing Lite: Ideas for folks
with small budgets and big problems
http://www.aed.org/Publications/upload/
Social-Marketing-Lite-1st-ed.pdf
• The Basics of Social Marketing
http://www.turningpointprogram.org/Pag
es/pdfs/social_market/smc_basics.pdf
• Additional resources are in your binders
Thank You!
• Any additional questions or comments?