How to Create a Winning Digital Campaign this Earth Day

• Updated on: 2018-10-31
• Read original article here

An estimated 1 billion people take part in the Earth Day celebrations every year, according to the Earth Day Network. Since its inception in 1970, the occasion has traversed a long way, and does not limit itself to only vignettes of environmental activism today. So, how can you get involved in the most celebrated ‘green’ day of the year? Marketers across the globe are investing in digital campaigns hoping to cash in on the social relevance and outreach of this event.

But, before rushing into grabbing a share of the exponential global attention, you need to be aware of the global theme of Earth Day this year: Environmental and Climate Literacy. To understand how your organization can optimally leverage this event, you need try and narrow down your objectives. Is it just the transient Earth Day showbiz that you just want to be a part of, or do you want to showcase the tenets of environmental activism through your organization’s digital marketing initiatives? Both have their own set of benefits. However, the risks are more with the former.  

Over the years, several enterprises and brands have faced the lash of “Earth Day Fails. The majority of them have either tried to blatantly engage in some random goodwill campaign, despite being reputed as not ‘environment friendly’. A large part have also, sheepishly deployed some serious ‘Green washing’ campaigns around Earth Day.

Yet, there’s plenty you can do to initiate a meaningful and sustainable Earth Day marketing campaign. That way, you will be able to realize some serious customer engagement, making your brand standout among the crowd.

The following tips will help you hit the right spots, and leverage the right digital channels to drive your Earth Day campaign.

Before you go all out with your Earth Day social media campaign, make sure you have done your homework. Create a viable campaign model based on talking points you want to stress on. Don’t miss out on leveraging analytics to ensure that you are well versed with the behavior, activities and interests of your target audience. Remember, waging strategic, targeted campaigns by utilizing videos, webcasts, live chats and hashtags will help you reach out to more people.  

On Earth Day 2015, NASA posted a simple, yet engaging tweet with the hashtag #NoPlaceLikeHome, urging users to celebrate and share images of their favorite place on Earth. Needless to say, this created quite a stir and managed to elicit desired audience emotion. Leveraging social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will enable you to persuade your target audience in the spirit of things. It will also provide you with a gateway to portray your own sustainability efforts.

Executing a well-targeted content marketing campaign is of utmost importance. Try and uphold the green spirit while developing brand-friendly content. Hitting on influential topics might prove to be the easiest way to include your brand in trending web conversations. However, if it’s not done the right way, you might alienate readers with highly confusing, off-the-topic info. Remember, it is important to stress on what differentiates your brand from others.

You do not need to necessarily wait for a red letter day to kick off an industry-specific content marketing campaign, as long as you have creative writers in your arsenal. Focus on aligning your brand’s voice with any trending issue to connect the dots. To keep the campaign sustainable, anticipate trends, and stay prepared with content options well ahead of the big day.

Targeted Earth Day mailers can help you cultivate healthy relationships with your customers. Pour in a bit of ingenuity while promoting your ‘green deeds’ through email campaigns. Ensure that there is enough value and relevance in your message. While it may not create a real difference to everyone on your list, there are many who would really appreciate your efforts.

Again, imbibe the belief that every day is another Earth Day. That way, you will be able to keep your email campaign sustained and reap the benefits eventually. Do not bombard your customers with regular mailers. Instead, select specific events and make genuine efforts to drop a note. Don’t forget, customers are your assets and it’s nice if you manage to make them believe that you care.

Reaching out to your customers, the mobile way, is perhaps the best thing to do this earth day. The Earth Day themed promotion for your app should genuinely support environmentally conscious initiatives.

On the other hand, if your app’s framework depends more on shipping items in high-emission diesel vehicles and packing them in hard-to recycle materials, then expect your Earth Day mobile campaign to prompt some blowback. The benefits resulting from this kind of promotion is often overshadowed by negative publicity and user confusion.

Once you are sure, implement a distinctive app marketing campaign, like a photo contest, or a multi-channel messaging campaign. This will help you directly approach your client base and guide your brand to potential customers.   

This Earth Day, focus more on telling compelling stories rather than palpably running behind revenues. Collaborate and connect with users to share thoughts. Only then will you be able to go beyond the realms of “Green Washing” to imbibe a more realistic, meaningful and engaging Earth Day digital marketing agenda with a sustainable, long-lasting influence.