We have been celebrating Earth Day for 47 years and, over time, more and more people have been engaged in raising awareness for the need to be conscious about our planet and taking action to preserve it. But the earth is too fragile for us not to think that Earth Day should be every day.
While April 22 is the official day of observance, and its messaging is extending throughout the month of April, we know the volume of social conversation around it is incredibly high and can be hard to break through. But don’t let that stop you—there are lots of simple ways to engage digitally that will benefit you and your brand.
Join the online conversation.
#EarthDay, #EarthDay2017 and #EarthDay17 are a few hashtags likely to be used on social media to talk about Earth Day. If your brand is in the sustainability space, encourage leadership and colleagues to share sustainability efforts on social media. Explore creative angles for how to share your message in an engaging way—it could be as simple as a Twitter poll, Boomerang, GIF, image or video. If proactively sharing isn’t your thing, encourage your colleagues to follow along and monitor these dedicated hashtags on Twitter or Instagram and engage in real-time.
Sign up for a newsletter.
This year’s Earth Day theme focuses on increasing environmental and climate literacy, so why not start with your own? Let the news come to you and sign up for a daily, weekly or monthly newsletter. Some of my favorites include Sustainable Brands, Triple Pundit and GreenBiz, but there are tons out there—many are focused on specific topics so you can find one or more that is the right fit for your interests..
Commit to living greener and sharing your journey.
Lending your individual voice online can create awareness and action, which is ultimately what matters – and small actions can make a big difference. This year, make a realistic pledge to live greener and share your journey on social media. If you’re interested in reforestation, plant a tree and Instagram it. If you’re passionate about reducing waste, commit to bringing your lunch in reusable containers and document your progress on Twitter. By sharing your progress publicly, you can hold yourself accountable, while also encouraging others in your network to share their environmental passions.
With this year’s Earth Day holding specific significance with environmental policy and legislation changes, it’s more important than ever that both companies and individuals stand up for what they believe in and their environmental communities online.
For those who want to get out from behind their computer screens and do something, look for a local March for Science in your area and document what you’re experiencing, seeing and hearing on social media.
But ultimately, when it comes to Earth Day-specific digital/social content, don’t force it. Although it’s a crowded conversation, people can spot the inauthentic immediately, so better to sit this year out if there are no substantive efforts to share.
