Background: Over the past half century, social marketing has come into its own, both as a discipline and a practice, for creating positive social outcomes. However, as the operating environment continues to evolve, the role of social marketing in the change landscape requires consideration. Focus of the article: In this article, the author presents a commentary on the present and future role of social marketing research and practice through the lens of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Topics discussed in the analysis include the boundary definition of social marketing, modalities of practice, sources of funding, the complexity of target issues, and professional standing and competition. Importance to the social marketing field: Critical analysis of social marketing research and practice can assist to maintain and grow its relevance and adoption among key stakeholders. Recommendations for Research or Practice: Several recommendations are made for addressing the issues identified in the SWOT analysis. These include conscious effort to market social marketing; clarify the concept of audience orientation when designing social marketing solutions; address specific research questions that produce academic and managerial insights; utilize corporate partnerships creatively; offer social marketing course to retain accreditation of professions such as marketing, public health, environmental studies, or public administration; and, encourage documentation of initiatives. Limitations: The discussion presented here is based purely on opinions and experience of the author.

中文翻译：

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社交营销的优势，劣势，机会和威胁（SWOT）：评论

背景：在过去的半个世纪中，社会营销已经成为一种创造积极的社会成果的学科和实践活动。但是，随着运营环境的不断发展，社会营销在变革中的作用需要考虑。本文的重点：在本文中，作者通过优势，劣势，机会和威胁（SWOT）分析的角度，对社会营销研究和实践的当前和未来作用进行了评论。分析中讨论的主题包括社会营销的边界定义，实践方式，资金来源，目标问题的复杂性以及专业地位和竞争。对社会营销领域的重要性：对社会营销研究和实践的批判性分析可以帮助维持和扩大其在主要利益相关者中的相关性和采用率。研究或实践建议：针对SWOT分析中发现的问题提出了一些建议。这些包括有意识地努力进行社会营销。在设计社会营销解决方案时阐明受众导向的概念；解决产生学术和管理见解的特定研究问题；创造性地利用公司合作伙伴关系；提供社会营销课程以保留对市场营销，公共卫生，环境研究或公共管理等专业的认可；并鼓励记录倡议。局限性：这里提出的讨论纯粹基于作者的观点和经验。