Department Profile: Terracycle PR and Social Media Team

Thanks to TerraCycle,more than 20 million people in 20 countries have diverted billions of units of waste from landfills. The participation of all of these people worldwide helps make TerraCycle’s goal of eliminating the idea of waste possible.  The public relations and social media team at TerraCycle plays an important role in achieving this large number of participants. In 2011 alone, the team was able to produce four billion media impressions.  Since TerraCycle does not pay for advertisements to promote itself, the company relies on the public relations and social media departments in the U.S. and each of their global offices for all of its marketing.

The PR team knows everything there is to know about the company’s products, upcoming events, Brigades, the office and more. These TerraCycle team members use their knowledge of the company to spread the word about TerraCycle’s goals, programs and products while helping people understand why they are important. One recent event the U.S. public relations team was responsible for was the Chip in for Change press conference that was held in Hamilton, New Jersey just last month.  The press conference announced that Hamilton Township would serve as the pilot for TerraCycle’s “Chip in for Change” program, which aims to bring the number of chip bags collected from less than 1 percent, up to 10 percent.  If successful, the program will be launched nationwide.

Another way to increase public knowledge and appreciation of TerraCycle is by reaching out to newspapers and pitching story ideas to journalists. Thanks to the PR team, there were 5,280 articles written about TerraCycle in newspapers, blogs and magazines throughout the world in 2011.

A very active part of TerraCycle’s public relations is its social media. TerraCycle connects with people through Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest,Instagram, YouTube and blogs, all of which contributed to the 25,000+ blog and social media mentions about the company in 2011. The TerraCycle Facebook page keeps people updated on what’s new with TerraCycle and allows people to contribute their opinions and feedback to the links, photos, and other things posted to the Facebook page. This interactive relationship helps the social media team understand what followers are interested in so we can provide them with the information they’re looking for. TerraCycle also has its own website that has an average of 551,156 visitors per month!

The PR and social media teams are both huge contributors to the success and overall awareness of TerraCycle. Not to mention their hard work is equivalent to a whopping $150 million in advertising value for TerraCycle partners, products and programs. Thanks to the team’s efforts, more people know about TerraCycle and participate in Brigades, ultimately helping TerraCycle achieve its goal of eliminating the idea of waste completely.