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refill.org.uk
#refill
AV E
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ABLE HE
SOCIAL MEDIA
STARTER GUIDE
Helping your Refill Scheme
reach a wider audience.
CONTENTS
The Basics Hashtags
Native content
Choosing a social media platform
Facebook
Naming your accounts
Instagram
Optimising your profile
Twitter
Writing your bio
Video
Managing Social
Building your Community
Planning content
Engaging
Sharing content
Tips for keeping active
Content Jab, jab, jab, right hook
Staying on brand Your scheme in the limelight
Topics Resources
General posts
Social Media has been an important part
of the success for many Refill Schemes.

As a Refill Scheme, you’ll be part of representing the

wider Refill brand and spirit. If you’re looking at creating
a presence online with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
or any other platforms, it’s important to review and
understand this guide first. We hope it provides you
with some helpful ideas to get you started.

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The Basics
Choosing a social media platform

There are lots of options when it comes to Social

Networking Sites. We primarily use Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter.

So which one should you pick?

Start by thinking about your local community, which
platform are your Refill network and community using?
This is a good clue as to where your audience will be.
Also think about which platforms you are most active
and comfortable on.

Remember, you’re also part of a growing campaign that

goes beyond the area of one town or region. We are active
across all these main channels and would love to see you
on at least one of them.

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Choosing a social media platform

Content based on platforms

Facebook: Great for building a conversation with and
engaging your community. Promote your scheme launch
by using Facebook events and start a conversation by
responding to comments and messages.
Facebook is predominately used by an older audience of 35+.

Instagram: This platform is growing in popularity amongst

schemes. Instagram is driven by beautiful images and
video. Using hashtags your scheme can be discovered by a
new audience.
Instagram is mainly used by 18-35 year olds.

Twitter: Great for connecting media, a wider audience and

local community. With a limited character count per tweet,
it’s a great platform to deliver short, snappy messages
and news. You should also aim to use photos and videos
on Twitter.
Twitter is more general but is the smallest userbase of the 3 sites.

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Naming your accounts

When starting an account on any platform you’ll need a

username and display name. Refill Schemes should always
follow this structure when naming accounts.

Display name → Refill [city/town]

Username → Refill [city/region/town]

*Your display name should include a space in between

‘refill’ and your town name ‘Refill Town’, whereas your
username can be all one word ‘RefillTown.

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Optimising your profile

Before sharing your page, these finishing touches will help

you look great and fit in with the Refill Community.

Download the Profile materials here (including the

correct profile picture logo). Cover photos on Twitter
and Facebook can be used to localise your scheme. For
example, use a striking image of an iconic refill station or
an image of your team/community in action.

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Writing your bio

Your bio is a short and simple sentence with a clear call to İ Discuss with your Regional Coordinator
action that is consistent with the main Refill brand. about partners you may need to include in
your bio (eg which local water company is
•• Find water on the go. supporting your specific scheme).
•• Prevent Plastic Pollution.
•• Download the @RefillHQ app.
•• Share your refills #RefillRevolution
•• A @CitytoSea_ campaign.

You’re welcome to put your own local spin on it by

adding the hashtag #RefillYOURTOWN or using local
slang/references. Bios do have limited character count so
you may need to get creative. Keep it consistent by using
all key bullet points above.

Refill handles: @RefillHQ (or @Refill for twitter)

and @CitytoSea_

Your hashtag: (eg #RefillBristol).

Community hashtags: #RefillRevolution #ReadyToRefill

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Managing
Social
Managing social

At Refill we are so grateful for the time our

volunteers put into their local Refill schemes.
Here are some tips to help you make the most
of your time when you work on your scheme’s
social media.

Day to day
A little bit of time makes a big difference.

•• Check in for 10-15 mins each day to respond to any

messages or posts and engage with your audience.

•• Search your scheme name to see if someone has

posted about you.

•• Alternatively give yourself an hour or two each week

to engage your audience and schedule content.

•• Monitor your local hashtag and see if anyone has

posted about you so you can respond and engage.

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Planning content

It’s great to have a consistent flow of content.

Decide an achievable number of posts each week.

For example, 3 posts a week that span a variety of content
like new Refill Stations you’ve signed up, plastic facts and
stats and a CTA to switch to reusables or get the app.

Later in this guide we’ll share a number of tools to help

you plan.

Don’t forget to tag @RefillHQ in your posts and we’ll pick

these up and share wherever possible.

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Sharing content

Here at Refill HQ, we like to share the wonderful news

happening within the Refill community. We do this by:

1. Sharing scheme news in our Refill’s general

newsletter and the Refill Scheme’s newsletter.
2. Sharing your success on our social channels,
including launch events, milestones with station
sign-ups and any other big or small wins.

Make sure we know which social channels you create

before your launch by telling your Regional Coordinator.
We’ll add you to our close friends list on each platform
which means we won’t miss any of your updates.

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Content
Staying on brand

The language we use is as important as the way we

look so take on board our values and you’ll soon become a
fully-fledged champion of the Refill brand. Here’s a re-cap
on our brand values which you can find out more about in
our brand guidelines.

Positive
Positive is about focusing on the positive ways that people
can make a difference, and not always focusing on
negative stories around plastic pollution.

Playful
Playful is about reminding ourselves that although we’re
talking about a serious problem we’re talking about a
fun solution where everyone is a winner. We have fun
with our communication and a sprinkling of water puns
is encouraged – well, we do want you to make a splash!
Have fun with your language: “It’s never far to refill” “it’s
so easy to tap-up!”. It’s great to use emojis or gifs (tiny
animations) on social media.

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Staying on brand

Inclusive
Inclusivity is crucial to the success of any community
project and we want as many people as possible to reap
the benefits of the Refill scheme. We should all be mindful
that we could be excluding others without even realising
it and send out messaging in a variety of forms. We keep
our language simple, accessible and friendly so that as
many people as possible can understand the benefits of
the Refill scheme.

Simple
Simple. We don’t like to over complicate things - life is
complicated enough! Keep your content and messaging,
clear, concise and avoid any unnecessary jargon.

Link to website resources page

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Topics

It’s important to remember Refill is a campaign to prevent

plastic pollution, so try and keep on topic as much as
possible – educating and engaging your community on the
issue and share news and tips on your local community.
Download our key messaging and facts and stats
documents here for ideas on how to talk about the
campaign and the issue.
Here are some other ideas for content:
Announcements: News and updates about local scheme
events like action days for signing up new Refill Stations.

News about plastic pollution – globally and also local to

you and your community.
Facts and findings: The latest articles, research and
statistics, on plastic pollution or the impact of solutions
such as Refill.

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Topics

Quotes: It might be from a local Councillor or individual in

your community.

Opportunities: Include ‘call to actions’ that encourage

people to share something, attend an event, or join your
scheme as a volunteer.

We’ve also created a positioning doc which gives you an

overview of where City to Sea and Refill stand on several
additional environmental issues such as recycling and
plastic packaging. While we support you to join these
conversations and learn about these areas, we don’t
encourage you to cover all of these issues on your Refill
channels as they are complex and can be controversial.

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General posts

You can copy and paste these posts into your social feeds,
feel free to re-word them to suit your scheme.

#Refill[yourcity] is here and we’ve hit the ground running.

After launching earlier this week there are now 100 Refill
Stations available! Find your nearest tap, download the
app @Refill: refill.org.uk/get-the-refill-app/

Of the 13 billion plastic bottles used in the UK each year -

7.7 billion, or nearly 60% are plastic water bottles. Join the
#RefillRevolution and download the FREE @refilHQ app:
refill.org.uk/get-the-refill-app/

A big splash of a welcome to @retailer_name for signing up

today as a Refill Station. Are you #ReadyToRefill? They are!
Take your bottle down for a top up and register your refill
on the #RefillApp.

Just a third of people (36%) own and regularly use

a reusable water bottle. Let’s help the 64% get
#ReadyToRefill and join the #RefillRevolution today and
remind your friends to reuse.

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General posts

Fun posts
Using Gifs to add a fun and visual element
Emojis is another way to engage people in a fun way

Positive posts
Promote messages of new Refill Stations joining
the movement
Share people with like-minded and complementary goals

Inclusive posts
When you’re thinking about sharing messages inclusively,
it’s not just about what you say, it’s about how you say it.
You should be clear and concise, avoiding complicated
words or jargon that some individuals might not
understand (including acronyms).
When you use emojis, GIFs and images, you should ask
yourself whether you may be excluding others that are
different to you.

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General posts

Announcements: News and updates about local events

like action days for signing up new Refill Stations. (Like
this, this, and this)

Facts and findings: The latest articles, research and

statistics, on plastic pollution or the impact of solutions
such as Refill. We provide you with Refill stats and facts.
(Like this and this)

Opportunities: Include ‘call to actions’ that encourage

people to share something, attend an event, or join your
scheme as a volunteer. (Like this and this)

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# Hashtags

Hashtags are a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign

(#), used on social media websites and applications,
especially Twitter, to identify messages on a specific topic.
This is a great way to capture multiple tweets, posts and
messages across various accounts in one place.

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#Refill[YourCity]

#
We encourage you to add a hashtag specific to your
scheme. For example, #RefillLondon / #RefillColchester.
This way you can track conversations related to your Refill
Scheme. This hashtag should also be included in your
social media bio.

You can use hashtags to create a buzz around your

scheme, they’re also useful to track how many people are
talking about you and who they are.

As well as using your scheme specific hashtag, we

encourage you to join the community conversation by
using our brand specific hashtags.
#RefillRevolution - Often paired with call to action posts
‘Join the #RefillRevolution’
#ReadyToRefill – For user generated content, people
sharing photos of their refills.
#RefillApp – Anything Refill app related including tips
and features.

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#Refill[YourCity]

#
Twitter: No more than 2 hashtags per post
Instagram: The more the merrier, as many as 25 per
post. Check our page for ideas.

General hashtags to include in Instagram posts (but

make sure you don’t copy and paste them in the
same order every time as Instagram’s algorithms may
mark this as spam.
#RefillRevolution #RiseOfTheReusables
#NoExcuseForSingleUse #PlasticPollution
#PlasticFree #Reuse #RefillApp #FindYourFill
#EcoConscious #Sustainable #ZeroWaste
#BeatPlasticPollution #PlasticFreeLiving
#SayNoToSingleUse #TapWater #Water
#DrinkingWater #BreakFreeFromPlastic
#PlasticPollutes

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Native content

Every social media platform is built to favour different

types of content. Sometimes it can be very specific while
other platforms are broader. When posting, make the
post ‘native’ to the platform.

Instagram: Beautiful images and videos that are vertical

(1080x864) or square (1080x1080). Avoid having more
than 20% of an image covered with text and try to
incorporate photos where possible. If in doubt, check out
our instagram feed for ideas.

Twitter: Short posts composed of up to 280 characters,

although fewer characters often perform better.
If sharing photos or videos, be sure to upload them within
twitter and if asked, always replace the bookmark with an
uploaded image. Add emojis by pressing the smiley face in
the bottom right of your composition window.
Facebook: Unlike Twitter, you can share long posts on
Facebook as well as using a lot of in-built features like
creating a poll, event, adding milestones and much more.

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Facebook

We use Facebook to promote scheme launch events and

can share these via the Refill Facebook page. Videos also
go down well on Facebook.

1. Create an event for your scheme’s launch and share

this with Refill (you can message our Facebook page
with a link and we will add your event to the Refill
HQ page).
2. Using Facebook’s scheduler, create 3 tweets
leading up to your event. They might include
a statistic about plastic, a quote from a local
supporter of your scheme, or a call to action to
download the Refill app.

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Instagram

We’re seeing more schemes adopt Instagram and would

encourage you to join. As we mentioned earlier, beautiful
videos and photos work best on Instagram.

1. Film a vertical video on your phone for an

Instagram Story and save it as a Highlight -
introducing who you are, where you are (location of
your scheme), and why you’re starting a scheme in
your area.
2. Using your phone take an image of the first
sticker going in the window, just like this one.
Share it on your Instagram feed including @RefillHQ,
#ReadyToRefill and #RefillRevolution in the caption.

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Twitter

Twitter is a great way to connect with media and press.

With limited characters per tweet it’s a great platform to
deliver short, snappy messages and news.

1. Post your first tweet and pin it to the top of your

profile page like this one. For this tweet you should
find your best photo and it should be landscape
(taken with your phone on its side). If you are having
a hard time getting an image you can choose one
from the Refill HQ library.

2. Follow any local businesses that are already

signed up as a Refill Station and ask them to share
an image of someone refilling at their business.
You can then share a tweet letting people know how
they can refill here.

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Video

Over the last few years, video has become more and •• Vertical formats – People are seeing a lot of the
more popular and continues to grow as a preferred content being made on their phones through apps like
medium. 4x as many consumers would prefer to watch a Instagram. Filming video in vertical formats (with your
video about a product than they would read about it. phone upright) is preferred by most people and will
Here are a few tips... also perform better.
•• Audio is king - People are less worried about If you’re doing longer form videos (as opposed to posting
super high quality videos, but if you’re speaking to on the go at events etc), you can shoot in horizontal or
camera and nobody can hear over the wind, it can really landscape (phone on the side) however it’s still worth
ruin a video. If it’s too windy outside, find shelter creating multiple versions that are in vertical formats.
indoors. Alternatively, you can also pick up cheap
microphones that plug in to phones and get much
better quality audio. •• There are a bunch of mobile apps to help you edit and
format, you can also upload straight to social media
•• Text and graphics - Overlay text and even graphics from your phone.
so people can still follow along even if their audio is ⟶ Apps: iMovie, Over, FiLMiC Pro, Unfold, Boomerang,
off, this is also a great way to make sure your video is Hyperlapse, Videoshop, Quik, Legend and there are
accessible. Here is an example of a video. Here is an many more.
example of a video.

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Building your
community
Building your community

With social media we can build a community in a new way.

As well as connecting and building relationships in person,
we can now offer value through social media.

Who are they? As all Refill schemes are location

specific, you should be focussing on people in your
immediate area.

Think about a typical person in your town or city.

Asking questions like what stage of life are they at
(e.g. new families, students, retired)? What are their
interests? What’s important to them? Maybe it’s a
whole mix of people.

Identifying who they are will help you engage them.

Remember you’re also part of a growing community all

over the country and the world. As well as being aware
of your immediate community, it’s good to engage with
neighbouring schemes and the wider Refill campaign.

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Engaging

How? Think about local heroes and celebrities in your

community that can help amplify and get the message
of refill out to a wider audience. Whether it’s a local
councillor, radio DJ, or even an actor from your city.

Find influencers who you believe in the mission of

switching to reusables, and approach them with a clear
ask (like a photo opportunity at a Refill Station or a short
video in support of your work).

If you’re not sure how to reach out to someone, social

media is a great platform as you can use features like
messenger (Facebook), Direct message (Instagram and
Twitter), or by tagging ‘@’ the person you’re trying to
reach.

It’s also great to engage with the wider Refill community.

You can do this by tagging in @RefillHQ and using our
branded hashtags #RefillRevolution, #ReadyToRefill,
#RefillApp as well as scheme ones like #Refill[Scheme] etc.

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Tips for keeping active

•• Schedule a weeks’ worth of posts in minutes using a

tool like Buffer.

•• Retweet other accounts to show people who are

talking about your scheme or related topics.

•• Engage with your audience by responding to their

comments and messages, this will encourage growth
and let people know you’re actively using your profile.
Also, the more active you are, the easier it is for people
to find you by searching.

•• Refer back to this guide whenever you need a

refresher or ask your Regional Coordinator for ideas.

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 Jab, jab, jab, right hook

20%
right hooks
Ok we know, it sounds like nonsense at first, but the
concept of jabs and right hooks is very straightforward
and is our final tip for using social media well.

A jab is a gift you offer your audience with no strings

80%
attached. Something your followers would value,
appreciate and find interesting. It might start with a ‘Did
you know…’ or it could be an interesting statistic about
jabs bottled water.

A right hook is something you ask of your audience. It

will include a call to action like a request for volunteers
or and ask to attend an event.

It’s best practice to do 80% jabs and 20% right hooks.

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Your scheme in the limelight

We want to celebrate the best scheme activity across

social, by celebrating popular posts with high engagement
(engagement is the number of likes, comments, shares etc
combined).

If you are proud of how well something has done on

social, let us know about it by either passing it onto
your Regional Coordinator or sharing directly through
Direct Messages on social media.

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 Resources
Buffer
Unsplash
Canva
Emojipedia
Bitly
Grammarly
Instagram Help Centre
Facebook Help Centre
Twitter Help Centre

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 Thank you and good luck!

We’re extremely pleased that you’ve taken the time to review

this guide and we hope it will be a useful tool
for your Refill Scheme.
If you have any tips or feedback you’d like to share with us,
please let us know as we’d love to hear them.
This document is live and will continuously update over time.

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