Digital Marketing: “Green Up” Your Act
On April 22nd, we will be celebrating Earth Day’s 51st anniversary.
On this occasion, big multinationals in various sectors foster sustainability and environmentally friendly solutions. With consumers caring more about their impact on the planet and scientists alerting us about the worrying state of the earth, it is high time to think about ways to limit the carbon footprint and have a sustainable presence online.
IBM ran a study in 2020 on consumer behaviour and found that 57% of consumers are willing to change their shopping habits to be more environmentally conscious. In the same study, nearly eight out of 10 respondents stated that sustainability is important to them.
Sustainable digital marketing vs greenwashing?
Ecologically sustainable marketing refers to marketing for an environmentally sustainable brand that focuses on meeting consumer wants and satisfying environmental needs. This type of marketing is a subset of goal-driven marketing. This marketing seems to be more adapted to evolving people’s consuming behaviour. Since the pandemic started, consumers want to know where their products come from, how they’re made, in which conditions, their impact on the environment, and support local communities. This “green revolution” encourages companies to adopt sustainable practices and be more transparent about their production processes.
However, some brands have implemented another marketing strategy described as greenwashing or green sheen. Greenwashing designates marketing strategies that businesses and organisations use to appear ecological. They make their customers believe their products and services are more ethical, environmentally friendly, or sustainable than they actually are. This strategy is implemented only to increase profit and attract an audience that cares about environmental issues.
Thus, having an eco-marketing strategy is thinking about ethical and morals ways to grow an online community and generate revenue. The idea is to benefit the consumers, the planet, and your business.
How to implement eco-marketing strategies?
Incorporating some eco-friendly adjustments into your marketing strategy doesn’t necessarily require significant changes. You can make several minor adjustments to limit your impact on the environment. Here are a few improvements you can make to lower your business carbon footprint:
If you sell products, it would be ideal to use recyclable and recycled materials for your packaging, printing and wherever is possible. Obtain eco-labels and endorsements for your products.
Be transparent about your ecological objectives and achievements. Share your goals with your customers and let them know about the upcoming changes within the business through social posts, blogs, or newsletters.
Partner with an organisation tackling environmental issues and get involved in their activities (e.g. giving back to the community, planting trees, and raising awareness).
Choosing green hosting for your website, i.e., a hosting solution powered by renewable energy.
You can also use refurbished equipment, send fewer or lighter emails and declutter your inbox to lower your environmental impact daily.
Get your audience involved in your green activities. Ask for feedback and use surveys. They could help you achieve your goals in a better way.
Have a larger purpose. Brands typically judge their success by the numbers. The most significant indicator of success is how much revenue they have or will generate in any given period. Sustainability shifts this perspective by having brands evaluate themselves by something bigger than profit. As a brand, you have to promote something that’s bigger than your products and services and transcends any particular industry.
Think ahead. Sustainability marketing is all about building long-term value. Too often, brands focus on gaining immediate returns. For instance, many marketing tactics like running Google Ads and blogging are great lead generators. However, what happens once your lead has made a purchase and turned into a customer? How will you build loyalty? Sustainable marketing looks at ways to nurture consumers during the buyer’s journey.
The downline
Eco or sustainable digital marketing places the planet, the people, animals, customers, and stakeholders’ best interests at heart.
With the celebration of Earth Day, several companies are getting involved in the “go green” movement. Brands encourage customers to adopt greener behaviour. It’s excellent news that environmental issues are in the spotlight, and multinationals are fostering sustainability. However, we hope this won’t be a temporary greenwashing marketing strategy.
At UNBXD, we ensure to limit our environmental impact. It’s been two years since we became carbon positive. We offset 188.88 tonnes of CO2 and planted 2,761 trees during this time.
To learn more about our commitment to being a sustainable creative agency, read our blog on the topic.