ECODIT teamed up with USAID to launch a multi-platform media blitz in honor of World Water Day 2019 on March 22. This innovative campaign brought information about USAID’s water programming to social media users worldwide, thanks to 25 country-level USAID Missions participating in online outreach across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. 

The campaign was engineered by the ECODIT-implemented USAID Water Communications and Knowledge Management (CKM) Project, which creates outreach materials and facilitates learning on behalf of the USAID Water Office. The Water CKM Project created a communications and social media toolkit highlighting USAID water-themed content and messaging, which included pictograms, photos, podcasts, videos, articles, and case studies. This toolkit was then distributed to USAID Missions, Bureaus, and Offices to facilitate their social media outreach in support of World Water Day. Thanks to robust posting and sharing from not only USAID but also implementing partners, development professionals, and other U.S. government agencies, social media content affiliated with this campaign reached maximum potential audiences of more than four million Facebook users and more than six million Twitter users, surpassing 2018 levels by 39 percent on Facebook and 450 percent on Twitter. Meanwhile, on @USAIDWater, the Water Office’s official Twitter account and primary social media channel, content affiliated with World Water Day received more than 165 retweets and 340 likes, while the account gained 150 new followers, bringing its total follower count to more than 7,230.

In addition to the social media campaign, the project produced special editions of USAID’s Global Waters Stories magazine and Water Currents newsletter, a special World Water Day photo essay, and a World Water Day-edition Global Waters Radio podcast. This content collectively reached audiences in more than 25 countries.

“World Water Day 2019 was a great opportunity to bring attention to the critical work USAID is doing around the globe to lay the foundation for a healthier and more water-secure future,” said Mary Renwick, Water CKM Project Chief of Party. “ECODIT is proud of its strong partnership with USAID and our joint work to increase awareness of USAID water programs and facilitate learning through innovative communications and knowledge management approaches.”

For 25 years, ECODIT has worked with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the globe. To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.