By: Marikay Shellman BPW Colorado Virtual Chair, NFBPWC Environment and Sustainable Development Committee (2022-2024) 

Ways to get the word out on the environment on social media. 

By Susan E. Oser/Michigan Affiliate 

To get some advice and an idea on what we could do as a committee or in general, how we should get the word out on the environment on social media, Suzette Cotto, PR Chair was consulted for some basic ideas on what to do.  She was very helpful in brainstorming this article and thanks to her, I am hopeful that these ideas can help you as well in our committees or on your own social media posts. 

First, know what information you want to share.  With all the information out there concerning the environment, it’s best to put a focus on at least one thing that is prominent in the news or that one thing you really care about.  For example, right now, everyone is talking about microplastics.  With this focus, why not give your opinion on your experience on the matter?  Maybe you can discuss what people are saying about the news and who are downplaying the issue.  Interviewing someone and putting the interview on YouTube, snippets on YouTube shorts and TikTok and promoting that interview will drive traffic.   

Note:  If you are using video from another source for your posts, please ask for permission, especially if you are part of an organization trying to get the word out on the Internet. 

You might also want to make sure that when you post up about an issue that you give a reason why your audience should act.   Perhaps it’s an urgent matter, such as a petition that needs to be signed.  Maybe you want them to check out a video related to your post.  Perhaps you want to encourage interaction and conversation (if it is not too combative). 

Remember that no matter what you do, your posts should be short with references, keywords, and hashtags.  If you post a link that is too long, you can look for websites such as tinyurl.com to help you.  Sites like X (Twitter) are quite limited in the number of characters you should use.  So, be careful.  Most people do not have a big attention span, so the shorter the better. 

No matter what you are doing online, make sure to get online every day for a few minutes to at least an hour or so to see what topics you’ve posted have engaged your audience.  You do not want to stay on too long or get too overwhelmed.  Give yourself a break and take a breather if you must.  It’ll be good for your mental health and help curb any burnout you might be experiencing.   

To get a clearer idea of what posts are making waves and grabbing attention, check your analytics if you can see what topics are getting the most hits and find ways to keep that engagement going.  You might also want to consider what kind of audience you want to attract with your message.  Perhaps you have a connection with an organization that you might want to quote or repost your support of.  Sometimes you can gain attention and new followers that way. 

So, what are some things that you do now to get the word out about the environment?  Keep your eye on your news feeds.  If there is something you think your followers should know, just retweet it.  If you want to make a comment, just respond to it.   You can even do a search on a topic and see what comes up.  It is all up to YOU and what YOU are passionate about in relation to the environment. 

For example, on X (Twitter), if you click on Explore on the left side, you will see a search screen at the top where you can type in a topic or scroll through the For You, Trending, and News headings to see what’s going on and if anything on the environment pops up.  If not, just click on the search bar and type in a word or phrase you want to research. 

So, let’s go back to our earlier topic microplastics.  In the search button type out that term.   

You might see something like this:  

But then if you just click on the bar and hit return you can see all kinds of entries related to the highlighted key word of microplastics.  You can choose if you want to find them from the Top, Latest, People, Media, or Lists. Clicking on the Latest tab and scrolling down, this entry came up that you can click on directly: 

Clicking on the heart will like it, which is always a good idea to do.  You can also retweet/quote your thoughts and tag someone with a @ (for example @ (insert your state senator) ) so you can get the message out there.  It would also be a good idea to follow the poster since they put up such great information about the issue. 

Note that whatever you do online in the environmental spectrum, it needs to be respectful and engaging.   That’s not only how you gain followers, but you will get repeat responders getting involved in the conversation.  And who knows?  You might just inspire someone to quote you or get just as involved if not more so with an environmental cause. 

Please note that the ESD Committee will be hosting a special Earth Day event on April 22, 2024, at 5:30 MDT titled the Pulse of Earth Day.  It will be an interactive discussion about environmental awareness that has affected you and if anything has inspired you to act.    Please stay tuned for future updates and details and the date gets closer.