Social Marketing confused with societal marketing confused with social media marketing

I’d like to highlight some of the confusing terminology being used by today’s marketing profession. I say social media other marketing punters say social media marketing or the nice charity type marketer might talk about their latest do good social marketing campaign. Confused yet?

I thought marketing was all about differentiation.

What is Social Marketing? Well if you believe Wikipedia ‘social marketing’ is seen as using standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals. Its primary aim is ’social good’ while in ‘commercial marketing’ the aim is primarily ‘financial’.

However, Social Marketing ought not to be confused with Societal Marketing.

What is Societal Marketing? Again according to Wikipedia ‘societal marketing’ is a marketing concept that holds that a company should make good marketing decisions by considering consumers’ wants, the company’s requirements, and society’s long-term interests.

However, Societal Marketing ought not to be confused with Social Media Marketing.

What is Social Media Marketing? And lastly, Wikipedia tells us’ Social Media Marketing’ is the act of using social influencers, social media platforms, online communities for marketing, publication relations and customer service. Common social media marketing tools include Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

I would like to plead with those people writing marketing books. Please stop creating new marketing terms, phrases or buzzwords…most of them are just rehashed anyway.

No more…well not until I write my book!