C . L . E . A . R . content
As with content generally , information presented as part of a social media approach should aim to be C . L . E . A . R .; Current , Local , Evidenced , Attractive , Relevant :
CURRENT - Social media is about the ‘ here and now ’. The pace is fast and the content is constantly changing . So while it is important that all road safety content is ‘ current ’, that can be a particular challenge when it comes to social media . Responses to today ’ s news have to happen today . Activities that you were engaged in today need to be covered today . Whilst this can be quite demanding , it also means that we can make the most of opportunities that are presented in the news and get our messages out there when they are as relevant and as useful as they can possibly be .
LOCAL - Keeping information you share local , or at least locally relevant , means followers will be more likely to relate to it . Messages about people and places that differ from your audience will be easier for them to resist and deflect than ones that are about familiar places and the people that use them . Information about events and incidents that local people need to know about ( such as road closures ) are a useful way of drawing the audience back again and again and helps to build a dependence on your account as the place to go for trusted information . challenged ! ‘ Evidence ’ can also come from experience , so messages from ‘ credible sources ’ have impact
ATTRACTIVE - Images and ( short ) videos are most likely to be engaged with , liked and shared ¹. Make sure that they are in a mobile-friendly format and always put captions or subtitles on videos as up to 85 % of people will ‘ listen ’ in silence ². Live videos or ‘ takeovers ’ that show ‘ a day in the life of …’ are increasingly popular and may be useful when you want to introduce a new ‘ expert ’ or approach . Personalisation is also a good way of attracting attention 3 .
RELEVANT - Social media platforms that are frequented by young people should show images of young people , use news stories that are likely of interest to young people and provide discussion that is more likely to be interesting to , and engaged with , by young people . Keeping things current and local will also make it more relevant to those it is intended for . Remember that the audience will scan and judge social media content rapidly , deciding in split seconds whether it interests them or not .
If you have a social media account of your own , ask yourself what makes you ignore some posts and click on , or expand , others ?
EVIDENCED - As we ’ ve said elsewhere , it is important to first understand the demographic or social group that you are seeking to reach before you launch yourself into the world of social media . It is also important to base your messages around evidence , statistics and research , though you may want to think carefully about if and when and how you state your source so as to keep things engaging . If you state a statistic , just make sure that you know where it came from in case you get
¹ Hubspot ( nd ). 45 visual content marketing statistics you should know in 2018 . Available from : https :// blog . hubspot . com / marketing / visual-contentmarketing-strategy ² UScreen ( nd ). 7 reasons your videos need subtitles . Available from : https :// www . uscreen . tv / blog / 7-reasons-videos-need-subtitles-infographic /
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Hallsworth , M . and Halpern , D ., 2014 . EAST Four simple ways to apply behavioural insights . Available at https :// www . behaviouralinsights . co . uk / wpcontent / uploads / 2015 / 07 / BIT-Publication-EAST _ FA _ WEB . pdf
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