The use of digital technologies in social marketing: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose With the explosion of digital technologies in contemporary daily life, fuelled by a pandemic and remote working, online learning and shopping and the proliferation of social platforms, much remains nebulous about the opportunities these technologies hold for social marketers beyond their previously documented use as communication and promotion tools. This paper aims to provide a rich examination of the variety of digital technologies used within social marketing and establish the scale of integration between digital technologies and social marketing. Design/methodology/approach Following systematic literature review procedures, a systematic literature review through eight databases was conducted. The systematic review focussed on the assessment of social marketing studies that incorporated a wide range of mature and emerging digital technologies such as the internet, mobile platforms and social media channels. A total of 50 social marketing studies (2014–2020) were analysed. Findings The review found that there have been major advancements in the technologies available to social marketers in recent years. Furthermore, the adoption of digital technologies by social marketers has evolved from a communication or promotion function where generic information is pushed to the citizen, towards the use of these technologies for a more personalised design, content and behaviour change intervention. In some studies, the digital technologies were the primary means for interactions and collaborations to take place. The review also found that digital technologies target more than the individual citizen. Digital technologies are used to target multi-level stakeholders, policy makers and partners as part of behavioural change interventions. Originality/value Only two previous reviews have synthesised digital technologies and their use in social marketing. This review provides a recent depiction of the range and scale of integration within social marketing. Specifically, it demonstrates the expansion beyond a persuasive application to their use for research, segmentation and targeting, collaboration and co-creation, the product and facilitator of service delivery. Finally, this review provides a heat map to illustrate the integration between digital technologies and key concepts and criteria within social marketing.

Understanding the origin and evolution of affinity as a multidisciplinary concept: A conceptual approach to consumer affinity

“…For this purpose, the current research adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses (PRISMA) proposed by Moher et al (2009), which suggests four phases for the literature review: identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion (see Figure 2). This protocol was initially designed in the field of healthcare science but it has been subsequently used in business and marketing studies (e.g., Flaherty et al, 2021; Nikbin et al, 2021; Rehman et al, 2020). We also followed the systematic literature review procedure outlined in the works by Donthu, Kumar, Pattnaik, et al (2021) and Donthu, Kumar, Pandey, et al (2021).…”

“…Against this background, and in response to the need for a better understanding of the theoretical and empirical foundations of this important concept in Marketing, this study aims to provide an updated analysis of the literature on consumer affinity to clarify the origin and conceptualization of this notion, proposing avenues for future research based on a systematic and consolidated review of previous studies. For this purpose, and after a general review of the multiple disciplinary sources for affinity and the conceptual evolution of the term in the field of Marketing, we will use the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocol (Moher et al, 2009), which provides clear guidelines for systematic reviews and has been applied in multiple studies in Marketing and Social Sciences (e.g., Flaherty et al, 2021;Nikbin et al, 2021;Rehman et al, 2020). Thus, guided by the contribution of previous studies, this article will endeavor to shed light on the following research questions (RQs) regarding the concept of affinity and, more specifically, consumer affinity: The remainder of the article is structured as follows.…”

Examining 50 years of social marketing through a bibliometric and science mapping analysis

“…Thus, governments could use social marketing to transform behaviors in areas such as health, education, sustainable consumption and so on. An analysis of digital transformation should also be Social marketing considered (Flaherty et al, 2021). Government efforts to promote the use of mobile health technologies could strengthen the efficiency and sustainability of health systems.…”

Social marketing: ready to help revolutionise marketing education

“…Head, 2017), and overdue social transformations, with movements to address pressing social inequalities and injustices, as others have similarly noted (Chandy et al, 2021;Flaherty et al, 2021;de Ruyter et al, 2021). These testing times require far-sightedness, genuine concern with the well-being of society and the environment and a holistic systems perspective.…”

“…The world is confronting a perfect storm of serious social and environmental challenges: a global pandemic, an urgent climate emergency, a variety of wicked problems (Crowley and Head, 2017), and overdue social transformations, with movements to address pressing social inequalities and injustices, as others have similarly noted (Chandy et al , 2021; Flaherty et al , 2021; de Ruyter et al , 2021). These testing times require far-sightedness, genuine concern with the well-being of society and the environment and a holistic systems perspective.…”