A comparative analysis of social media usage of health and education foundations: In the context of social marketing

This study aims to comparatively analyze how leading health and education foundations in Turkey reflect their social marketing strategies on the Instagram platform. In the digital age, the role of social media, which has become a strategic communication tool for non-governmental organizations, is increasingly important in fulfilling missions focused on social benefit. In this context, the research designates the official Instagram accounts of Kızılay and LÖSEV from the health sector, and Darüşşafaka and the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV) from the education sector as its objects of study. The study adopts a comparative case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, and uses qualitative content analysis as the data collection technique. The Instagram posts made by the selected foundations between January 1, 2025, and June 30, 2025, were systematically coded under the categories of main theme, content format, communication tone, social marketing tactic, and visual analysis. The findings indicate significant differences in the social marketing strategies of health and education foundations. While themes of "emergency", "saving lives" and "emotional storytelling" are prominent in the communication of health foundations, it was determined that education foundations focus on themes of "investment in the future", "success stories" and "hope". In terms of social marketing tactics, it was observed that health foundations use more direct and urgent calls to action, whereas education foundations adopt a more inspirational language that encourages long-term support. These results reveal that the nature of the field of activity fundamentally shapes the digital communication strategies and social marketing approaches of non-governmental organizations. Keywords: Civil Society Organizations, Foundations, Social Media, Instagram, Social Marketing