Promotion – The 4th P of Social Marketing: A Scoping Review of Efforts from 2010–2022

Social marketing is a recommended framework advocated by the federal government for health promotion professionals to use in the creation of programming and campaigns. Arguably the most visible element of any social marketing effort rests with its 4th “P” – promotion. This scoping review (n = 174 publications) sought to understand how social marketers around the globe over a 13-year time span promoted their ideas to target audiences. Seven promotional channel strategies were identified (print, interpersonal, mass media, online/digital, promotional materials/products, social media, and media advocacy). The most popular strategies were print and interpersonal channels. Social marketing efforts used an average of 3.86 (SD = 1.47) promotional channel strategies. However, most efforts reviewed (55.7%) did not include any images or examples of the promotional strategies they utilized. Additionally, the majority also did not list an author affiliated with a communication department/school or communication agency (82.2%). For social marketing to truly achieve its aim of promoting social good for all of society, it is important for writeups of these efforts to be less ambiguous in their descriptions of their efforts so that future promotion professionals are not having to start from scratch when seeking to communicate effectively with their populations.