Basic Elements of Social Marketing: Behavior Change

The critical question at the heart of social marketing is: Can we change behavior as a result of deliberate, organized programs of social change? A basic understanding of behavior change is useful in developing a successful outreach program.

These factors may motivate the target audience to make a desired behavior change, or contribute to the continuance of an undesired behavior.

What works best to influence behavior on a large scale? Five basic tactics can be instrumental: facts, force, feelings, freebies, and facilitation. These tactics can be utilized in various combinations as the focus or bases of SCHIP social marketing efforts.

Facts. Be sure the message contains the key information or facts about the program that are intended to influence behavior. The importance of the message itself should not be underestimated, although there is ongoing debate regarding whether knowledge alone can change behavior.

Force. Combine regulations with communication to change behavior (e.g., all children must have insurance coverage to register for school).

Feelings. Feelings about a program or service influence potential participants’ behavior regarding the program. Assess and address how the target population feels about the behavior/program. Focus groups and Doer/Non-doer research are two methods useful for collecting feeling/perception data. Doer/Non-doer research compares perceptions of people who have done the desired behavior (e.g. , enrolled in SCHIP) to people who have not done the behavior.

Freebies. Freebies provide incentive to do the desired behavior. Incentives can not only help influence personal potential participant behavior, they can also help make systems work by providing overt rewards to key players in the system. Note, however, that even good incentives can not overcome structural barriers of a program.

Facilitation. Facilitation makes it easier to do the desired behavior. Facilitate entry into the program by simplifying, streamlining, and integrating the eligibility process as much as possible to reduce barriers to enrollment.

It is important to note that behaviors are influenced more or less effectively by specific tactics. Clearly identifying the specific behavior you are trying to influence and understanding which tactics most effectively influence that behavior will make a difference in the marketing strategies you choose.