The Power of Social Marketing in the Public Sector: A Look at Community Motivation
When your end goal is to have a positive impact on environmental change, it’s important to know the right way to communicate your message, especially within the public sector. This is where an effective use of social marketing can be very beneficial. Simply put, social marketing is when you sell an idea, instead of a product, when you are trying to change the behavior of individuals for their benefit as well as their communities. It’s quite powerful when used effectively.
During a recent seminar, I had the pleasure of meeting Caroline Berryman, Manager Communications, Community Engagement & Marketing, York Region. She spoke about marketing in the public sector and the different ways social marketing tactics were implemented to benefit the communities within York Region. She described marketing in the public sector and marketing in the private sector as two sides of the same coin. The primary difference between the two is the marketing methods used to enact engagement and the desired outcomes, while the methodology and the tools used are applicable to both sectors.
"Nothing ever stays the same. Things change, they evolve and as such, you need to stay on top of the trends"
No matter which side of the coin you focus on, Berryman reminds us that nothing ever stays the same. Things change, they evolve and as such, you need to stay on top of the trends. It’s important to be agile and pivot as needed in order to respond to the change in the conversation and it’s also essential to be a great storyteller, especially when you are trying to educate or promote a product or idea. She believes it’s key to be adaptable and flexible within marketing and she places a high value on partnerships. It will benefit any marketer to be strategic when approaching a new project and asking important questions such as the timeline, the budget, all while setting realistic expectations.
So how could these skills benefit marketing in the public sector? When evaluating the effectiveness of social marketing, different engagement tools may be required depending on the end goal. For example, as marketing in the public sector focuses on the communities within the region, one tool that can benefit community engagement is Social Pinpoint, a software that allows your community members and stakeholders to communicate through idea walls, surveys and more importantly interactive maps. Community members can use these maps to indicate where they might want something specific that could benefit their community.
If a different type of community engagement is needed, other marketing strategies can be implemented. This was the case for York Region’s Project Pollinator. This project involves the creation of a pollinating bee and butterfly meadow in grass areas around the region. The meadow will be an investment in the environment by minimizing the amount of grass to cut and therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions) as well as planting flowers to increase the presence of bees and butterflies, pollinators essential to nature’s ecosystem. For the pilot project located beside the road, on Bayview Avenue just south of Bethesda Sideroad, a mix of digital marketing and community outreach was used to introduce this initiative to the surrounding community. A social media campaign and designated landing page supported the signs posted near the site of the meadow and the door hangers left for every house nearby.
To ensure that the door hangers didn’t negatively impact the environment York Region is working to protect, they were made using recyclable materials and seeds attached to each one to further invest in nature in the community. Members of the community and students from the local school were invited to join in the inaugural planting of flowers and trees to create the pollinating bee and butterfly meadow. Maybe the next campaign for Project Pollinator will include more community outreach through York Region’s digital platforms and even pencils you can plant once you’re done using them.
Now, the planting has taken place and the meadow is expected to reach full bloom in September. I’m sure it will be a sight to behold. And that is the power of social marketing: investing in an idea, a community and in this case, the environment all while hoping for a positive outcome.
