Digital Marketing Communication as an Instrument in Social Responsibility Projects After the Earthquake in Türkiye

Abstract

The earthquakes that took place in Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Adana, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, and Elazığ on February 6, 2023, at 04:17 and 13:24 Turkish Standard Time, resulted in significant property damage and fatalities. After these earthquake disasters in Türkiye, all government institutions, non-governmental organizations, individuals, and international actors implemented a variety of social responsibility projects to provide aid to the region and mitigate the effects of the earthquake on the lives of the people. Since the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred between 2020 and 2022 accelerated the digital transformation of businesses, the use of social media and digital marketing tools by individuals and institutions has increased significantly. Although Digital Marketing communication tools such as e-commerce web sites, social media marketing, and search engine marketing are primarily marketing and profit-oriented technologies, it has been demonstrated that they can also be used in social responsibility projects due to their widespread use by individuals and businesses and their ability to quickly deliver messages to the masses. Following the development of a conceptual framework for social responsibility and digital marketing communication, examples of the use of Digital Marketing Communication Tools, such as E-Commerce Web Sites (Topraktan Tabağa, Umut Hareketi), Social Media Platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Youtube), Search Engine Advertisement (Google Ads), and Social Media Advertisement (Facebook), in Türkiye's post-earthquake social responsibility projects are examined in this study. Based on these examples, suggestions for influencers, institutions, and content managers regarding the use of marketing communication tools in social responsibility projects are shared, and recommendations for future research are provided.