In 30 seconds:
- Here’s the rundown of 5 Earth Day social media posts you need to take note of. Plus, we’re sharing an exclusive sixth tip at the end!
- We’ve set down some non-negotiables. Greenwashing is a no-no, so think before you post.
- Looking for Earth Day campaign ideas? We’re showing you how to use each example as a template for your own brand.
How can you create meaningful Earth Day Social Media Posts this year? With sustainability and the ticking clock against global warming consistently on our minds, it’s essential that brands stand up and show their support for this important day and its associated causes.
Earth day lands on 22nd April every year (a Saturday in 2023), and more than 190 countries celebrate it. With an estimated 1 billion people worldwide participating, it’s a huge conversation that brands can be a valuable part of. But that means supporting where possible and contributing to the real meaning behind the celebration.
But what about your Earth Day social media posts?
Social media platforms in particular are the ideal place for brands to participate in discussions and shout about climate change. The hashtag #earthday has been used over 6.5 million times on Instagram and has 6.4 billion views on TikTok. Of course, if you’re looking to join this mass of content, you’ll need to stand out. So how can you give your Earth Day marketing campaigns the green light? Let’s start with some non-negotiables.
How can we promote Earth Day?
Understanding your audience and what they are looking for will help you implement the right strategy to create the best Earth Day campaigns possible.
First things first. Who’s likely to see your Earth day social media campaigns?
Young people tend to be highly interested in discussions around sustainability. Both Gen Z and millennials are especially concerned about the environment, with three-quarters of Zoomer consumers stating that sustainability is more important to them than brand names. 75% of Millennials are eco-conscious to the point of changing their buying habits.
Appealing to these demographics will be key to the success of your social media campaigns. But remember, these groups are especially sceptical. Millennials and Gen Z are less trusting of the average brand. They are both generations of researchers, too, meaning they will find out if you’re being hypocritical. Greenwashing simply won’t wash with them.
So make sure your Earth Day marketing campaigns are truthful. Providing genuine value, truthful facts, and an honest understanding of what Earth Day is all about is critical.
So with all that in mind, what are the best examples of brands getting Earth Day social media posts right, and why should you take note?
Earth day social media posts: use these examples as a template
What do you say in an Earth Day post? These 5 examples get the green thumbs up from us. Use these brilliant ideas as post templates to help you form campaigns that will ace your ROI.
1. Allbirds - Keep the Amazon Prime
Allbirds, the American sustainable footwear and apparel company, wanted to highlight the importance of the Amazon rainforest. With a clever play on words, they named their campaign “Keep the Amazon prime”. They pledged to match donations to the @amazonwatch organisation for the month of April up to a total of $50,000.
Their Earth Day social media posts spanned several days with new content showing the impact humans are having on the Amazon Rainforest. One Instagram post was a reel that immersed viewers into a symphony of the sounds heard in the forest.
How your brand can use this as a template:
Matching a charitable donation is an excellent way of creating engagement whilst benefitting the earth. Having a genuine nonprofit partner for World Earth Day makes sense, but you need to back these claims up with authentic and impactful content.
Allbirds created visceral content that appealed to their viewer. You only have to look at the comments section of the rainforest reel to see a mass of positive statements. People especially seemed to react to the sound of that post.
Use sound and visuals to create an emotional connection with your viewer like Allbirds did, and you’ll build worthwhile conversations around your cause. Allbirds didn’t just leave it at one post. They created a series of social media content to boost the effect, so take a page out of their book and deliver more than one post for maximum ROI.
2. Back Market - Hacking Apple phones
Back market is the leading online marketplace for refurbished tech. They’re all about thinking outside of the box (literally) regarding sustainability and actively speaking out against tech waste (one of the leading forms of waste).
For Earth Day, they posted a fun video on TikTok “hacking” Apple phones in a store and showing off their refurbished models for less via an airdropped video.
@backmarket_uk When you “hack” for a good cause.. #EarthDay #EarthDay2022 #BackMarket #refurbished #HackMarket ♬ original sound - Back Market UK 🇬🇧
How your brand can use this as a template:
Using social media to promote your real-life events or promotions can skyrocket your brand reach. In Back Market’s video, they documented the fun “prank” in a genuinely fun and exciting way, catching real people’s reactions to the unexpected marketing.
You can double down on your Earth Day marketing campaigns by filming a real-life guerilla promotion. Maybe you take to the streets and ask real people questions about climate action or perhaps what mother earth means to them. Or, as Back Market did, do something a little controversial to boost engagement and start an exciting conversation. Whatever you choose, always use socials to share your real-life marketing campaigns and get twice the traction.
P.S. – we’re big fans of Back Market at Fanbytes by Brainlabs — check out our bonus example for more Earth Day tips from them 😉
3. Wrangler - Earth day jeans
Creating a product based around an event or holiday is not new. But the way you market it on socials is critical. Wrangler created a pair of Jeans especially for Earth Day using an archived design.
The jeans feature a planet-friendly custom illustration revisited from the 1970s. The jeans themselves are responsibly made with 100% organic cotton, digitally printed designs, easy-to-remove raw copper buttons and vegan leather. They even printed the care label with soy-based ink. All of these are part of the brand’s sustainability platform, “WeCare Wrangler.”
How your brand can use this as a template:
You don’t have to make a specific “Earth Day” product to support the celebration. If you’re already working on improving your products’ carbon footprint, speak about that in your marketing. Better yet, reuse old archived designs, ideas, and product plans to bring forward a recycled idea for the future.
The biggest thing to note? Wrangler speaks openly about where their product came from, why they made them and precisely what makes them sustainable. Stating genuine, research-based info will build trust with your audience and show them your efforts for the day. In short, give them the facts. Don’t try to pull the wool over their eyes; they’ll shine a light on your brand before you know it.
4. United - TikTok education
Airlines get a bad rep for sustainable practices. After all, how can you get a tin full of people to the other side of the world without using a ton of fuel? United Airlines are trying to change their carbon footprint, and they want people to know about it.
They partnered with TikTok influencer Philip Cook (@chemteacherphil) to educate TikTokers on Direct Air Capture technology. This new system absorbs CO2 from the air (like a tree), and it’s one of the technologies that United Airlines are partnering with to help #savetheplanet.
@chemteacherphil #ad Capturing carbon dioxide from the air is one way to reduce carbon in our atmosphere, and @united is committed to lowering its carbon footprint by investing in technologies like this. #earthday ♬ original sound - Phillip Cook
How your brand can use this as a template:
Education doesn’t need to be boring. In fact, on TikTok, the hashtag #edutainment (education and entertainment) has gotten over 313 million views. That’s why it makes a perfect platform for young people to learn about sustainability and how to save the earth.
Teach your target audience about your brand, what it stands for and what it’s doing for the environment in a fun way. Make your content entertaining and exciting. You need to grab your viewer’s attention and keep them engrossed.
Better yet? Boost these efforts by partnering with education influencers. Influencer marketing pays off. 60% of marketers shared that influencer-generated content performs better and drives more engagement than branded posts. So think about the kinds of influencers that could get your message across and start your outreach strategy. You’ll soon reap the rewards.
5. Kleenex - DIY practical tip
How can we clean up the world’s waste? It’s a gargantuan task. People are doing their bit, but often they look to brands and public features to inspire their efforts. Upcycling is the route Kleenex have gone. They have shared simple hacks that people can do to transform their empty Kleenex boxes into something they’ll use in the future.
The brand collaborated with influencers, and each creator showed a different way to change up the empty Kleenex box. One turned theirs into a Birthday money box for a family member. Another upcycled the boxes into a cute storage box.
@agirlandagluegun Easy birthday gift 🎁 shop @Kleenex®️ Brand at Costco #kleenex #costco #ecofriendly #earthday #ad #crafting #upcycling #kleenexhacks ♬ original sound - Kimbo West
How your brand can use this as a template:
Sharing practical tips, hacks and tutorials is a great way to get people engaged during Earth Day. it doesn’t have to be a direct upcycle of your product, either. If you’re a food brand, maybe share some composting tips for your customers. If you’re a skincare brand, perhaps you can show people how they can have a zerowaste beauty routine.
Whatever you decide for your campaign creative, ensure it adds value to your viewer’s life.
BONUS: How Back Market supercharged their content strategy after Earth Day
Back market came to us with a simple task: get TikTokers talking about sustainable tech.
We needed to do some social listening first to understand what kind of conversations around sustainability was already happening. Using Bytesights, our in-house data insights tool, we found that #fastfashion was a massive conversation related to sustainability on TikTok. But we saw a significant gap when it comes to tech waste.
We needed to channel the enthusiasm around the “fast fashion” conversation into a new discussion on how you can help save the earth with refurbished tech. So that’s exactly what we did.
Using a range of influencers perfectly matched to the Back Market ethos but also in a mix of different niches, we formed a creative campaign based on tech waste education. Letting these influencers take the creative reigns was key, so we allowed them to share organic social media posts with their followers through varied themes like comedy skits and relatable videos.
We didn’t necessarily want to preach to the already converted (i.e. sustainable communities) – we wanted to generate mass brand awareness. So using different kinds of influencers with loyal followings was the ideal way to boost brand awareness.
Using Bytesights to track the campaign’s progress, we highlighted the content that was performing best and supercharged it with paid ads, all of which featured a CTA and link to learn more about how wasteful the tech industry is – and how shopping refurbished tech is a more sustainable and attractive alternative.
@inthedarkvlogs Imagine thinking iPhone 13 is good 💀 @backmarket_uk #backmarket #fyp #foryou #funnyvideos #ukcomedy ad #comedy #skit #school #ukschool #usschool #relatable #viral ♬ original sound - Adrian Markovac
How your brand can use this as a template:
Working with the right influencers can skyrocket your reach to targeted audiences ready to convert. But only if you partner with the right people.
Ensuring you pick the correct talent is key, so spend time on your influencer outreach.
We use our Bytesights technology to find the ultimate influencer for your campaigns using social listening and in-depth data. Effectively we take away the long-winded outreach tasks.
Find out more about Bytesights.
Make your Earth Day efforts evergreen
Earth day should be every day for brands. Why? 87% of consumers say they would purchase a product from a company that “stood up or advocated for” an issue they care about.
3 in 4 adults feel somewhat worried about global warming, making it a prime conversation for you to speak up about. Young people are looking to brands for real change, with 63% of millennials agreeing that companies have a more important role than governments in creating a better future.
You need a lasting, impactful social media strategy to ensure you are consistently speaking up about social and geopolitical issues. This will help you build stronger relationships with your customers, increase brand awareness and nurture your following. So, don’t shout “Happy Earth Day!” and then go silent on these issues for 364 days. Keep sharing your brand values, stories and methods you’re taking to help climate action.
If you’re wondering how you can make that happen, let’s talk. We work with global clients to create both short-term campaigns and longer strategies that are authentic, believable and, most importantly, deliver results.
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