Sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Digg have revolutionized the way we interact with one another on- and off-line. Social media marketing—the conversations we have about businesses on those websites and the way the businesses themselves invite us to experience their brands on the Internet—continues to affect consumer behavior and to influence how much we spend and what we buy, as well as when and why we buy it. However, one question has yet to be explored in depth: can social media marketing, in the right hands, have the same profound effect on the way we treat one another? In other words, can we be encouraged to reach out—to donate more, to volunteer more frequently, and to support a dazzling array of vital causes—by social networking sites? Social marketing, generally understood as marketing messages intended for social good instead of financial gain, has long been used to promote public health, political participation, and other interests in the public good. Charitable endeavors have already taken up social networking tools to increase donations and to spread the word about efforts for causes like Haiti. Faith-based institutions have developed online presences through websites, Facebook fan pages, YouTube channels, collaborative blogs, and Twitter accounts. As non-profits of all shapes and sizes continue to transfer the proven benefit of exposure to millions of users and invite them to contribute to conversations about pressing issues, social marketing and social media marketing will become increasingly intertwined. That the process may make the world a little better for all of us is an exciting thought.
