Choosing Sustainability: The Power of Sustainable Social Media Marketing in Business

Picture this: It's a sunny day, and you're scrolling through your social media feed. You might be sharing a post, liking a photo, or even making a new connection. What if I told you that every click, share, and like has an environmental footprint? Surprising, right? But don't worry! By the end of this read, you'll be armed with the environmental sustainability knowledge to make your social media game strong and eco-friendly. So, let’s dive into the digital realm and reveal its green potential.

The Power of Social Media: The Modern Game-Changer

The digital age has seen social media evolve from a mere communication platform to a powerful marketing tool. Businesses of all sizes use their power to grow, achieve targets, generate leads, and, more importantly, build social networks. It's not just about posting a few pictures anymore; it's about telling your brand's story, engaging with your audience, and creating lasting relationships.

Sadly, amidst all this growth, we sometimes take social media as a 'secondary' marketing strategy when, in fact, it's the heart of modern brand-building. It has transformed the way businesses communicate, market, and grow. The stats speak for themselves: companies report up to 75% increased traffic and lead generation through social media efforts.

Social media is not a new phenomenon, but it has grown exponentially in the last decade. According to Statista, there were 4.48 billion active social media users worldwide as of October 2021, which is more than half of the global population. Moreover, new social media platforms emerge more frequently nowadays, such as TikTok, Threads, or Clubhouse, offering new ways of engaging with audiences and creating content.

Not Just a Tool, but a Revolution

Social media isn't merely a set of platforms; it's a revolution. From small businesses in tucked-away towns to giant corporations in bustling cities, social media offers many benefits and opportunities. It allows you to reach a large and diverse audience, communicate your shared values and goals, showcase your products or services, generate leads and conversions, collect feedback and reviews, and build a loyal community around your brand. Social media can also help you improve your SEO ranking, increase your website traffic, and enhance your online reputation.

However, social media also comes with some challenges and risks. It requires time, resources, and skills to manage it effectively. But there is another aspect of social media that is often overlooked: its environmental impact.

The Environmental Cost of Every Like: The 'Invisible' Carbon Footprint of Social Media

As surprising as it sounds, a significant environmental impact is attached to our digital activities. Our content specialist, Justyna Weronika Łabądź, already told us about this in one of our previous articles about the environmental impact of digital technology. Most of us are unaware of the environmental footprint our online behaviours leave in a world dominated by digital interactions. You may think that social media is harmless for the environment as it does not involve any physical materials or resources. However, this is not true. Every time you use social media, you are consuming energy and emitting carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas that causes global warming and climate change. From a short tweet to an Instagram story, every use of data has a carbon-hidden cost that can cause environmental issues.

According to research from Brightly, the carbon emissions from social media platforms equal millions of cars on the road annually. Another intriguing finding from Carbon Literacy is that the average time we spend on social media, about 145 minutes daily, emits as much CO2 as driving from London to Edinburgh in a small car! (approximately 660 kilometers/410 miles or more). Imagine every 'like,' 'share,' and 'comment' puffing out a bit of CO2. Surprised? Academic research from the University of Edinburgh, cited by Brightly, explains that data centers supporting our social media activities account for a carbon footprint equivalent to the entire airline industry!

How does this happen? Well, every action you take on social media involves data transmission and storage. This SM data is processed by servers that are located in data centers around the world. These data centers consume vast amounts of electricity to power and keep their equipment cool. According to a report by The Shift Project, data centers accounted for about 1% of global electricity consumption in 2019.

Data centers, the backbone of the internet and social media platforms are energy-intensive. They operate round-the-clock, processing vast amounts of data, and cooling systems ensure they don't overheat. Most of this energy currently comes from non-renewable sources, making these centers significant contributors to global carbon emissions.

Just consider this: a photo uploaded to a server might remain there for years, continually drawing power. Multiply this by billions of uploads daily, and the environmental implications will become clearer.

So, how much CO2 do you emit when you use social media?

Well, it depends on many factors, such as the type of device you use, the duration and frequency of your data usage, the size and quality of the social media content you upload or download, and the source of electricity you use. However, some estimates can give you an idea of the carbon footprint of some common social media actions. According to Compare the Market, cited by Brightly, if you were to scroll for just one hour per day over the course of a year, this is what your carbon footprint would look like on some of the popular social media networks:

• Instagram’s Carbon Footprint: 22,995gCO₂Eq per year: equivalent Of: Driving 57 miles/91.7km in a car
• X’s (former Twitter) Carbon Footprint: 13,140gCO₂Eq per year: equivalent Of: Driving 33 miles/53.1km in a car.
• Facebook’s Carbon Footprint: 17,301gCO₂Eq per year: equivalent Of: Driving 43 miles/69.2km in a car.
• TikTok’s Carbon Footprint: 57,597gCO₂Eq per year: equivalent Of: Driving 143 miles/230.1km in a car

These numbers may seem small individually, but they add up quickly when you consider the billions of users and actions on social media every day. For instance:

• According to WordStream, in 2021, there were an average of 186 million daily active users on Twitter who sent about 500 million tweets daily.
• According to MarketSplash, today, there are an average of 2.69 billion monthly active users on Facebook, which means 1.62 billion users visit Facebook every day. On average, Facebook generates more than 8 billion daily views of video content; more than 100 million video hours are watched per day.
• According to Global Media Insight, YouTube has more than 2.70 billion monthly active users as of 2023, which means it has over 122 million active users daily. 1 billion hours of content is watched across the world every day on this platform.

Corporate Sustainability in Social Media Marketing

Managing all these situations can be tricky. But with some tweaks and shifts, businesses can ensure their social media strategy is environmentally friendly. So, now that the cat's out of the bag, how do we approach this? Here's how you can refine your social media strategy to be more eco-friendly:

• Optimize content for reduced loading times:  Images, GIFs, and videos—they're great for engagement, but they consume energy. Compress and optimize your content to ensure faster loading times, reducing energy consumption. Compressed and optimized digital assets are not just user-friendly but also planet-friendly!
• Limit social media ads:  A well-thought-out ad strategy, with fewer but more impactful ads, can strike the right balance:
• Use compressed images and videos to reduce the amount of social media data transferred and, consequently, the energy used to load the ad.
• Efficiently coded ads require less power to render, reducing energy consumption on the user's end.
• The more specific your targeting, the fewer unnecessary impressions you'll generate, thus lowering energy consumption due to ad loading. Use analytics tools to track your ad's performance and impact. Eliminate underperforming ads that waste energy without delivering results.
• Ad-heavy platforms consume more energy, so consider advertising on platforms that have committed to renewable energy for their data centers.
• Calculate the estimated carbon footprint of your digital ad campaigns and consider investing in carbon offset programs.
• Digital minimalism: More isn't always better in social media. Encourage quality over quantity when it comes to content and platform selection. But how? A one-size-fits-all approach to social media won't drive results. Tailoring your social media strategy to your specific target audience is essential for success. A well-adapted strategy speaks directly to the group you aim to reach, addressing their specific needs, pain points, and aspirations. By applying this method, you'll be able to create fewer but more meaningful posts that can decrease energy demands without compromising engagement. Also, applying a targeted approach asks for leveraging the social media platforms/channels where your audience is most active and delivering content in formats that resonate with them.
• Utilize renewable energy hosting:  The digital realm, although it may appear intangible and ephemeral, relies on concrete, energy-intensive servers. If you host any content externally and share it on social media, make sure you use hosting providers committed to renewable energy. By switching to hosting providers powered by renewable energy, the carbon footprint can be dramatically lowered. By doing this, the servers housing your digital content and websites remain carbon-neutral. Some choices are:
  • GreenGeeks
  • HostPapa
  • Eco Web Hosting
  • Krystal Hosting
  • Kinsta
• Promote sustainable habits:  As influential entities, businesses can represent sustainable behaviour by increasing awareness through sustainability content, sustainable products, or services. Promote eco-products, create social media content about sustainability, encourage green habits, and weave narratives about a cleaner, better world. Remember, you're not just marketing your brand but also a lifestyle.

Going green isn’t just a trend—it's a commitment with tangible benefits. For starters, an eco-friendly approach improves brand image. According to Smashing Magazine, eco-conscious brands with sustainable development goals have reported up to a 20% increase in customer loyalty. Moreover, businesses that adopt green strategies often find themselves ahead in innovation, tapping into new markets and product opportunities. So, it's not just about being kind to the planet; it's also about being a smart business!

Why businesses should care

Beyond the moral side of the story, there are tangible business benefits to adopting environmental practices:

• Brand loyalty:  Modern consumers, especially younger demographics, turn to brands with green credentials. Businesses can foster deeper connections with audiences by positioning themselves as an eco-conscious brand.
• Innovation and growth:  Sustainable practices often lead to innovation. New challenges lend themselves to creative solutions to open up new market segments or enhance current offerings.
• Regulatory advantages:  As governments and NGOs intensify their focus on global sustainability, businesses ahead of the curve may benefit from incentives and avoid potential regulatory risks.

Brands showcasing sustainable practices enjoy better engagement rates. Additionally, these brands often find themselves at the forefront of innovation, tapping into emerging markets and solidifying their presence in existing ones.

Wrapping Up

In a world where our online actions cast real shadows on our planet, it's essential to recognize the implications and act responsibly. Social media is a double-edged sword—it can drive growth, build communities, and, sadly, increase our carbon footprint simultaneously. However, by adopting sustainable strategies, businesses can strike the right balance. It's not about quitting social media and using only traditional media; it's about evolving with it sustainably.

With all its genius and capabilities, the digital world comes with a responsibility. As brands and marketers, our choices can change and improve the narrative. Understanding the environmental and social impact of our digital decisions and adjusting our strategies can create a more sustainable future and eco-friendly digital presence. After all, the best brand stories are those that not only resonate with the audience but also positively impact the world we all share. The future of social media can be both dynamic and sustainable; it's a narrative waiting to be written.