As divers we are immensely privileged to be able to interact with the underwater world in such a unique way. However, it also means we are often the first to notice changes to the underwater environment, naturally this leads to wanting to protect the ocean. As PADI members you’re in an incredible position to organise conservation activities to do something about the problems facing your local and global underwater world.
But how can you make sure your conservation activities are hitting the right audience and spreading your message in an authentic way?
We’ll be covering all this and more in our marketing webinar: How to Effectively Communicate Your Conservation Activities live on 29th July at 5pm BST.
Avoid greenwashing
Greenwashing is when a company uses marketing to seem greener than they really are. This blog post has a great breakdown of greenwashing its history and the negative impact it can have on a brand. Though quite a new term consumers are increasingly aware and critical of companies who take part in greenwashing. When talking about your conservation activities remember to be clear about why you’re taking part and how your business is actively trying to make the world a better place. Don’t be tempted to exaggerate or make false claims – it’s better to acknowledge the business isn’t perfect but you’re taking steps to become greener.
Make use of the PADI conservation support
As a PADI member you have some incredible tools at your disposal to help you with all stages of your conservation activities; from the PADI AWARE framework to protect the ocean, the Blueprint for Ocean Action, to the newly launched Conservation Activities Locator. We also offer marketing support (check out our latest Diver Acquisition marketing toolkit, where we highlight conservation as a key motivator for learning to dive) and our Torchbearer program to keep members and divers alike involved with conservation. Make sure to sign up for our webinar on the 29th July to get all the latest details about how PADI and PADI AWARE can support your conservation activities.
Know your audience
As with any marketing it’s vital that you understand who you are communicating to. You might have the most amazing activity planned, but without understanding who or where your audience are you could find it hard to gain any traction. Understanding your audience will help you to decide things like; what kind of language you should use, which platforms you should focus on, and when you should start your marketing. We cover some advice on how to get started with audience research in our How to Build a Marketing Strategy for Dive Shops webinar.
Make use of evocative media
The media you use will be dictated in part by the audience you are targeting but you need to make sure it’s able to clearly convey your message, highlight why you are undertaking conservation activities, and inspire your audience to take part.
Using media such as video is great here as you can easily show non-divers the situation under the water (which they may never have seen before) and overlay this with spoken or written words that explain your commitment and plans, and even include music!
Partner with reputable organisations
You may have heard the saying ‘we don’t need one person doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly’. The same goes for conservation, we will need everyone to play their part if we are going to make lasting positive change. So, see if there are any local organisations to you who are already focussing on conservation and find out how you can work together. Can you support each other by sharing resources or introducing your activities to their audiences and vice versa?
Partnering trusted local organisations can help to improve the perception of your activities, as well as further supporting the overall conservation of the oceans – a win-win!
These are just a few ideas of how you can effectively communicate your conservation activities – we hope they help!
Our webinar on the 29th July at 5pm BST will dive into this topic in more detail, including information from special guest Jack Fishman, Community Conservation Officer from PADI AWARE. If you have had any successes with conservation activities, want to learn more or ask us a question then sign up now and we’ll see you soon!
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Conservation, Marketing & Social Media, conservation, marketingPADI Pros