GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT YOUR CLEANUP

Media attention can be very beneficial to your cleanup, especially if you plan to make it an annual event. The lure of media attention might help secure additional support from sponsors and attendees. Keep these tips in mind if you would like to incorporate media outreach in your event.

PRINT, RADIO, TELEVISION, BLOGGER PROMOTION

Tips to attract and leverage media attention:

  • Customize an e-mail or letter to reporters and bloggers who may cover your event using this press release template. Include the link if you have an event web page or Facebook page.
  • Invite reporters and bloggers to attend your cleanup.
  • Mention any sponsors and/or community leaders and elected officials who may be attending.
  • Follow up after the event with a press release summarizing the day including statistics on trash removed and photos.
  • Set up an internet alert (such as Google) to track any media coverage you receive.
  • Save copies of all media received. You’ll be able to use them the following year to help secure sponsorship and/or encourage elected officials to participate.

Example blurbs for newsletters, blogs, calendars, etc.:

[Your organization] invites you to participate in the [River Cleanup] in conjunction with American Rivers’ National River Cleanup®. Join us on [Date, Time, and Location] for a fun day of removing tons of trash from our [River/Stream].  For more information or to signup please contact [Organizer’s name and contact information] or view our cleanup information at www.AmericanRivers.org/cleanup.

Tons of trash and debris are removed by thousands of volunteers every year and YOU can join them. Participate in the [River Cleanup] hosted by [Your

Organization] in conjunction with American Rivers’ National River Cleanup®. The [River Cleanup] will be held at [Location, Date and Time]. Visit www.AmericanRivers.org/cleanup to sign up or find more information or contact [Organizer’s name, contact information].

 

SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION

Tag @AmericanRivers in your social media posts so we can share, retweet and keep up with your cleanups!

FACEBOOK

  • Create a public Facebook event and send it out to your network.
  • Encourage attendees to share the Facebook event and event photos on their social networks.
  • Post in local Facebook groups such as fishing, paddling, neighborhood and citywide groups.
  • Take advantage of paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram to increase your visibility.

INSTAGRAM

  • Use or create a public Instagram for your organization and post photos of your river. Link signup information in your bio so interested volunteers can find you.
  • Encourage volunteers to post photos of the river before and after and tag your group and/or American Rivers to inspire others.
  • Include hashtags and location tags, which can lead to new followers and increase your visibility.
  • Tag any sponsors you have and ask if they can post your event flyer or cleanup photos before, during or after on their page.

TWITTER

  • Encourage live posting or tweeting during the event. Use a common hashtag to make it easy for people to find posts from your cleanup.

NEXTDOOR.COM

  • If your community has a com page, invite your neighborhood to your cleanup. Nextdoor.com allows residents to connect with their neighbors and share community happenings.

FLICKR

  • Post photos to a Flickr photostream. Be sure to share with American Rivers, too, and we’ll add a link back to your organization’s National River Cleanup® event page. Share these photos on Facebook. Tag volunteers and American Rivers in the photos to help share with a wider audience.

YOUTUBE

  • Post videos of your cleanup on your YouTube channel.
  • If you have a short video, please share it with American Rivers so we can post on our YouTube channel, too, and help you spread the word.

LOGO

For permission to use American Rivers’ logo, please contact the National River Cleanup® manager by email at NationalRiverCleanup@americanrivers.org or by phone at (800) 347-7550.