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SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS:CREATING YOURSOCIAL MARKETINGPLAN

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and content expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Center for Mental HealthServices (CMHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

One of your system of care RFA requirements is to develop a social marketing plan that will serve as yourroad map to communications and outreach. A comprehensive plan will help you reach your program goalsand support your expansion and sustainability.Social marketing is an approach that uses commercial marketing strategies to drive behavior changearound a social issue. Developing a social marketing plan can help you be more strategic andaudience-focused in your communication efforts and achieve better results. (Please note that socialmedia is not the same as social marketing and they are often confused. Social media—such asFacebook and Twitter—is a tool/activity that can be used toward achieving some of the goals you createwithin your social marketing plan.)This document is provided as a tool to help you build a comprehensive plan. It is not intended to serve asa “fill-in” document that can be submitted to meet your requirement. You can use this guide to help youthink about the sections that should be included in your plan, then decide what document format (i.e.,narrative, graphic flow chart, etc.) works best for your system of care.Before you start to write your plan, we recommend that you: Form a social marketing committee. A tip sheet is available from your social marketing TA Providerif help is needed regarding committee composition. One of this committee’s tasks will be thecreation of a social marketing plan. The process should not be a one-person job. Make sure that everyone is aware that the plan is due at the end of your first-year fundingagreement and that the scope of the document should focus on year 2 with projections throughyear 4. A social marketing plan also functions best when your committee participates in periodicreview and revision of the plan throughout years 2–4.Once you have completed your plan at the end of year 1, we recommend that you: Review your completed plan to make sure that you have included each section explained inthis guide. Ask your social marketing TA Provider to review and provide feedback. Obtain final approval from your system of care governance board. Submit your plan to your assigned Government Project Officer.SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS1

Figure 1: Visualizing the Social Marketing ProcessSystem of Care HistorySystem of Care Program GoalsFigure 1 depicts the social marketing planning process. Each of the individual parts builds on the others.Understanding the starting point and including each individual component shown above will make yoursystem of care social marketing plan more effective.Each section of the above diagram is explained in depth in the next few pages of this guide.2SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS

Section 1: System of Care History/BackgroundWhen you begin your social marketing plan, it is important to review the history of your system of care.Whether you are a brand new or experienced system of care grant, a brief explanation will provide contextfor your plan.Summary of key points to be included in your background section:SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS3

Section 2: System of Care GoalsYour social marketing goals should directly support your overall system of care program goals. Includethese program goals in your social marketing plan so that there is a clear connection between your socialmarketing efforts and how they will help to achieve your system of care goals.Our system of care goals are:4SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS

Section 3: Social Marketing GoalsGoals can focus on foundational activities such as sustainability and partnership growth, or programmaticactivities, such as increasing access to services and participation in the system of care. Each socialmarketing goal(s) should support an overall program goal, like one of those listed in Section 2 above,as well as identify a change in either knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, or behavior. For system of carecommunities, one priority goal is developing tangible support for expanding and sustaining the program.No matter the goal(s), it’s important to obtain buy-in on them early so everyone involved in the planningprocess is aligned. Here are some questions that may help to focus your goal writing efforts: What issue is most important to your program right now? Who is most affected by this issue? Who makes decisions about, or influences this issue? What measurable outcomes would you like to achieve through your communications efforts? How will you know you are achieving your goals?Your social marketing plan goals should state desired outcomes for your communication efforts. This planshould be a “living” document and should grow with your system of care. You may need to start settinggoals for the short-term or combine short-term and long-term goals that serve your program goals.Example of a social marketing goal that supports a program goal:Program GoalEnable more people to seekmental health services.Social Marketing Goal(s) Raise awareness of servicesavailable. Reduce negativity associated withseeking services.A well-written social marketing goal should be accompanied by measurable objectives. Including ameasurable objective around changes in attitudes will help you evaluate whether your social marketingstrategies have been successful. Consider using the practice of S.M.A.R.T. goals—making sure yourgoals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS5

Section 3: Social Marketing Goals, continuedOur social marketing goals are:6SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS

Section 4: AudiencesSystems of care engage multiple groups for the benefit of children, youth, and families, but reaching allof these groups—particularly within a one-year period—is not practical or realistic. Think about the one ortwo key audiences that you need to get on board first to obtain the support necessary to facilitate state,tribal, or region-wide implementation.Whose knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors should be impactedto meet your identified goal(s)?Once you have identified no more than three audiences for your goal, it’s important to analyze youraudiences. One of the key principles of social marketing is that it uses language and tools that will reacheach designated audience.If you try to reach an audience but do not take the time to understand them, your social marketingwill be less effective.The worksheet on the following page is design to help you understand your audience.Note: Once your audiences have been identified, your social marketing committee should consider adding membersfrom this audience to the committee if they are not already a part of the group.SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS7

Audience WorksheetWhen considering the change in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors you are asking your audience toundertake, it is important to think through the following questions.1. W ho is your audience? What are some characteristics of this audience (i.e. gender, ethnicity, incomelevel, education)?2. W hat do you know about this audience’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate tochildren’s mental health?3. What else do you know about this audience? How do they spend their time? Who influences them?What might make them listen to you or motivate them to change? What are the language considerations?8SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS

4. H ow could you collect information about the characteristics of this audience?(For example: interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc.)5. What change in knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors do you seek for this audience?6. W hat stands in the way of your audience thinking, acting, or behaving differently based on yourmessage? (For example: the audience does not believe mental health challenges are treatable,the audience lacks transportation, stigma, etc.)SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS9

Section 5: MessagesNow that you have defined the audience you want to target in your social marketing, you can craftmessages that are geared to them, based on what you know about them.Your messages deliver important information about the issue and compel the target audience to think,feel, or act in a way that helps your system of care achieve its goals. Surrounding your key messagesshould be supporting information that helps reinforce the following: The importance, urgency, or magnitude of the issue Relevance to the audience The barriers and benefits to the audience (per your audience analysis) Ensuring there is a face on the following Specific values, beliefs, or interests of the audience An understanding of what would motivate the audience to think, feel, or act FactsEnsure that your messages and supporting information is effective by soliciting input from members of youraudience to determine language that will resonate with them. You will learn more about this in the sectionon pretesting.Be sure to identify which message is designed to reach each audience and think about what that audiencecould gain from understanding your message. Supporting information should show key facts that bolsteryour ge:SupportingInformation:10SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS

Now let’s review and reflect on what we have come up with. Revise our draft messages as needed.Check that the messages you have developed meet the following considerations: Are there current events or local issues that are related to your messages? Check that yourmessages consider the context within which your audience is thinking about the issue and reviseabove as needed. Will your audience understand the phrases that you’ve used to describe the issue? (For example,do the messages use jargon, acronyms, or ideas that may be out of context for them?) If not,revise your messages so that they are more easily understood. Carefully crafted messages can draw attention to children’s mental health issues, but it’s importantto put yourself in the audience’s shoes to better understand how they might react. Therefore, makesure you can answer: Why? Why does your message matter to the audience? What other issues are competing for theirattention? Who cares? Will your audience actually care about children’s mental health as you’ve presentedit? Do your messages highlight the benefits of the audience? So what? Now that you have them hooked, have you been clear about what you want them to do?SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS11

Section 6: ChannelsWhat are the best ways to reach the audiences you have identified? Where do they get their information?Where are they likely to see your messages?For families and youth, those ways of “channels,” may include other partners, important communitymembers, and media – both traditional and digital. For professionals, channels may include internalnewsletters, meetings, or Audience:Channel(s):12SOCIAL MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS