Case Study : My Red Thumb continued ...
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Website and Social media
The My Red Thumb website and social media presence are integral to communicating the road safety message . Part of the KEC discussion was around ways that could be developed and maintained to best effect . This included the value of C . L . E . A . R . information ( page 78 ), the importance of updating imagery , ensuring social media posts are relevant and up-to-date , and ensuring that they are provided via the most appropriate platforms ( see p90 ).
Active social media accounts refresh pretty much constantly , giving the opportunity to keep imagery and messaging up-to-date , but websites can become out of date , sometimes without us noticing . This can give the impression that a campaign has ended , but it is possible to ‘ future proof ’ a website by only including information that stays the same from year to year . A link to a Twitter feed that appears as a scrolling bar on a home page is one way of keeping it up to date that requires minimal effort and keeps the page ‘ alive ’. We suggested that the focus on handheld mobile phone use in some areas of the content should shift to a focus on mobile phone use more generally , to ensure that individuals do not consider it a safer alternative to handheld use . This is entirely consistent with the examples that are already given of personal consequences that can result from all forms of phone use , such as death and serious injury , and not just the legal repercussions .
One section of the website very usefully contains information about the ‘ ways to stop someone ’ using a mobile phone while driving , empowering individuals by providing them with strategies for challenging the unsafe behaviour of others . We suggested that this could include a broader range of strategies , such as technological ones ( see p144 ) so that a selection of methods for different circumstances is offered . The pledge element is central to the campaign , and may be why people visit the site , particularly in the run up to My Red Thumb Day . For this reason it should be central to the website ( and searching for it should yield useful results ). If visitors have to search for what they want , this introduces ‘ friction ’ into what they are doing and means they are more likely to give up 1 .
1
Hallsworth , M . and Halpern , D ., 2014 . EAST Four simple ways to apply behavioural insights . Behavioural Insights Team . Available at https :// www . behaviouralinsights . co . uk / wp-content / uploads / 2015 / 07 / BIT-Publication-EAST _ FA _ WEB . pdf