ICAW Social Media Toolkit
ICAW 2023 “Plug & Play” Marketing and Social Media Plan
With the start of International Compost Awareness Week coming up, we want to help you with your social media plans as a way to engage as many people as possible through an integrated social media/digital marketing campaign. The ICAW Committee and other volunteers have prepared a simple “plug and play” campaign that you can easily copy and paste into your Facebook and Instagram feeds, share through emails, or print to distribute at planned events and activities. In addition, on the Compost Research & Education Foundation website there is a whole section on ICAW, offering many different ways to get involved beyond social media. The ICAW homepage has ideas for events, proclamations and more.
If you have any questions about this social media plan or about ICAW 2023 overall, contact Beth Simone, bethsimone@compostfoundation.org
Please make sure to use the three ICAW hashtags with all your posts and use the tags too!
Hashtags: #ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
Facebook: @InternationalCompostAwarenessWeek, @compostresearchandeducationfoundation
Instagram: @icawusa
Here is a schedule of posts starting on April 7th and ending May 13th. You can use them as is or modify them for your specific ICAW plans.
Starting in April:
There’s just a a month until the start of International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) 2023 – the best time of year to share the many benefits of composting our food scraps and using compost to build healthy soils. Start making your plans to get the word out about ICAW this May 7 - 13. Check out activities, events, and resources on the CREF website: https://compostfoundation.org/ICAW/ICAW-Home
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
What does this year’s International Compost Awareness Week theme mean – For Healthier Soil, Healthier Food…Compost! It highlights the important role compost can play in turning nutrient-starved dirt into rich, healthy soil where our fruits and vegetables can grow and thrive. How does compost help? By recycling organic material into compost we create healthy soils that produce healthier food and in many cases higher yields. It also reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides, improves water quality and conserves water, as well as stores carbon in soil - helping to reduce climate change.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
This year’s Earth Day theme is Invest in Our Planet. Compost is doing its part by helping decrease climate change through carbon sequestration and decreasing methane by keeping food and yard waste out of our landfills. We can all do our part this Earth Day by encouraging more compost use and recycling organics when we can!
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
International Compost Awareness Week starts in just a little over a week! Check out the ICAW events page to find an event in your area or to get ideas of what you can do in your community. When you have your plans, take a minute and share them on the page so people can know what is happening near you and around the country.
https://compostfoundation.org/icaw-get-involved-events
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 7 - What is healthy soil?
Join us in celebrating International Compost Awareness Week today through May 13th! This year's theme is “For Healthier Soil, Healthier Food…Compost!” Compost plays an important role in contributing to creating healthy soil. Spend this week getting the message out about the many benefits of composting our food scraps and yard waste and then using the compost we create on our gardens and farms. Together we can all create healthier soil and healthier food.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 8 - Dirt is Not Soil
Did you know dirt and soil are not the same? Dirt is lifeless and made up of sand, silt and clay. Soil on the other hand is alive! The five main components of soil are minerals (sand, silt and clay), organic matter, air, water and microorganisms. Healthy soil has a complex soil food web and is teeming with microorganisms – up to 1 billion per teaspoons! As soil becomes depleted, adding compost can help return organic matter and nutrients back to the soil.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 9 - Compost is not soil; it is an amendment
When looking at compost, most people will call it dirt or soil, however it is neither! Compost is a category of its own. Compost is a soil amendment meaning that it is something added to soil. We add compost to soil to regenerate it by helping to return organic matter and nutrients back to the soil.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 10 - How does healthy soil help our vegetables thrive?
Healthy soil is filled with microbes, which help to break down organic matter, releasing nutrients that plants need. Microbes are living organisms and like humans, in order to stay alive and grow, they need air and water and different types of food. When your soil has everything it needs, plants receive the nutrients and moisture they need to live and grow.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 11 - A little goes a long way
Don’t have a big garden. You can still benefit from using compost by putting a little in your vegetable or flower pots. Growing your own food is empowering! Balcony or patio gardens are a great way to connect with your food. Usually for a small pot, you just need to add a few tablespoons of compost. And remember, nutrient-dense vegetables are grown in nutrient-dense soil amended with compost!
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 12 - How much do you need
Looking to improve the soil in your garden? Look no further than compost. Not sure how much to use? For vegetable or flower gardens applying one to three inches mixed into existing soil should be all you need.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
May 13 - Spread it wide
Farms across the country are benefiting from using compost on their farmlands. Compost improves soil water holding capacity, decreases the need for synthetic fertilizers, provides the healthy soil conditions to increase yields and regenerates soil biology to grow more nutrient-dense crops.
#ICAW2023, #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood, #compost
Here are some videos you may want to use with additional posts during ICAW.
2023 ICAW Video Contest Winner
CREF Trustee Chair, Ginny Black, on backyard composting
How to Use Different Types of Compost, Scott's Miracle Gro
Separating Organics Waste
Kiss the Ground The Compost Story
Joe Lamp'l videos on composting
Backyard Composting - simple steps
Using Compost in Vegetable Gardens
Three Steps to Easy Home Composting