Kevin Ferguson writes in The New York Times, for eight years, Procter & Gamble has tried everything to market its PUR disinfectant powder — a quick way to make filthy water usable and a potential boon for poor nations where unsanitary water causes thousands of deaths each year.

But sales of the water purifier are up–but how?

Ferguson goes on to report, Proctor & Gamble now uses social marketing techniques — similar to those used to promote condom use — that combine education and subsidized product pricing to encourage behavior change and product use.

“We’ve learned to target our approach to people that need it the most — people with really dirty water, people with HIV/AIDS, moms with newborns at health clinics, and malnourished children,” said Dr. Greg Allgood, a toxicologist who directs P&G’s non-profit Children’s Safe Drinking Water program.

How else can social media help market tough to sell products?

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