Tips for Helping the Environment Through Social Media
Social media is more vital than ever for your environmental campaign. People are more inclined to take action when they learn about social or environmental issues through social media. Over two-thirds of Americans are more likely to volunteer, donate, or share information after “liking” or “following” a nonprofit or corporate social responsibility program online. Here are a few takeaways that environmental organizations should be aware of:
Select your social media platform based on your intended demographic.
Facebook is Americans’ most popular social media network, so you should only plan a digital campaign. However, different parts of the population prefer their digital platforms to Facebook. If you want to launch an anti-littering campaign focused on Millennials, for example, you can use Tumblr. Twice as many millennials use Tumblr as the typical American.
If you want to target Baby Boomers, for example, to publicize a syringe or medication collection campaign, Facebook is your best chance. More than half of boomers say they use Facebook to discuss social or political issues but are less active on other sites. There are platforms where you can target audiences with different ages such as millennials and gen zs. You can use Instagram, Snapchat, or Tiktok. Buy TikTok likes if you need to reach more followers for your page.
Motivate people to take action.
There is a disconnect between intent and action—between what people claim they do and what they do. People are likely to learn about adjustments they can make daily to lessen their environmental impact, and some claim they have done so.
Rather than seeing this disparity as an indictment of social media activism, it is a “great opportunity” for organizations to urge people to take real action. Don’t just provide your present and prospective followers with passive online activities like “liking” or “sharing” stuff. Instead, provide your followers with actionable items they can do to make a difference, such as providing feedback on your hazardous waste collection program or signing a pledge to modify their behavior pledging to compost or recycle batteries, for instance.
Make the message relevant and urgent.
How can you make your campaign stand out in a sea of social and environmental causes on social media? So, as we covered in the previous advice, provide your followers with activities they can take that will make a genuine difference, for example, sign up for the litter collection event. Explain how the action will benefit their neighborhood and the environment. Brag about how much litter was gathered at the previous cleaning events rather than starting with a guilt prod such as litter and pollution.
