So you’re keen to hold a cleanup, but just not sure how to get people to help out… here are our TOP 5 tips for getting people to attend your cleanup.
1) Be social
Everything these days is online so get to it… set up a Facebook event detailing the date, time and location of the cleanup. You may also want to include some key information for volunteers like bringing refillable water bottles and gloves and remembering their sun protection.
You can then use this link when you post to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the lead up to the event.
Remember to give people plenty of notice. You can always follow up with reminder posts in the week before the event.
If you’ve got a website, think about setting up a page dedicated to your clean up. It’s a great space to provide more detail and add a thank you and photos after the event. You can also use this link in social media posts.
But I don’t have a website I hear you say… in this case think about other websites that may be able to promote the event on your behalf.
2) Get your friends and family involved
A cleanup is always a little more fun if you’ve got your friends and family there to help out and share the experience. Let them know what you’re planning and find out how they can help in the lead up and on the day. Remember, they know people too so get them to share information with their contacts.
3) Local councils, community groups and schools
Local governments and member groups such as Lions Clubs and Rotary have the potential to engage the masses on your behalf – they’re also community focused!
Get in touch to let them know you’re planning the event and ask how they can help. Maybe they can email their contacts, feature your event on their website, bring a group of people along to the event or make an in-kind donation.
Approaching local schools to get involved is a great way to raise awareness with young people and get them involved as part of the solution. Contact the principal about the potential of them joining you for the day. If they can’t join as a school group they may be able to advertise your event through their newsletter.
4) An old school cleanup poster
It might seem a bit old school, but posters still work a treat in getting details of your event out there. A simple design featuring the date, time, location and some key details and you’ve got yourself a poster! Local businesses, cafes and shops with high foot traffic are the best targets for your posters.
Walking around to distribute posters is a good opportunity to engage with business owners face-to-face. Take your time to let them know about what you’re doing and why.
5) Get your cleanup famous
Local newspapers and radio stations are always looking for local content. Give them a call and let them know your event is coming up. As well as promoting the event beforehand the newspapers may be interested in some photos and statistics (how many people, how much trash collected) for a follow up article.
Remember to check their lead times for information. Some local newspapers are only printed weekly and require content to be supplied the week prior to printing.
Check out our blog and specifically 3 Great Reasons to do Beach Cleanups for some facts and figures you can include to help inspire others to get involved too!
Not necessary, but some events you could link your cleanup to throughout the year are Earth Day on 22nd April, World Ocean Day on 8th June or World Cleanup Day on 21st September.
If you’ve got other great ideas for promoting a cleanup event we’d love to hear about it…