Council fun and empathy is content of the week

Jan 21, 2021

We admire cool stuff from brands of all sorts. We’ve noticed: local government has been nailing it lately!

So content of the week goes to THREE different local authorities doing COVID comms.

But it’s not your ordinary safe stuff, this week, we can look at some fun and engaging social media – just because it’s a serious subject, doesn’t mean it has to be solemn.

Facebook post from Lincolnshire Resilience Forum on 13 January. Text reads: · Meet Tom, Dick and Harriet 👋 Tom and Harriet represent those people in Lincolnshire who care about protecting their family, friends, and others from #Covid. Photos shows three cartoon characters a Square shape, a covid shape and a triangle. The text on this image reads; We'd like to introduce you to Tom, Dick, and Harriet. Dick doesn't care and Ignores advice. Don't act like a Dick.

Nicely played, Lincolnshire Resilience Forum.

We are all bombarded with content, so we get good at filtering public health messages out.

Sometimes you have to cut through a sea of well-meant but straight forward messaging with something cheeky.

As someone who is particularly vulnerable to this stupid bloody disease, I am right behind this message .

Don’t be a dee eye see kay!

Like with the ‘don’t be a tosser‘ litter and fly tipping messages, the novelty of the cheekiness captures attention and gets noticed.

It’s also funny! If you want to use more humour in your communications, book on The ‘Comms-edy’ Masterclass: How be be a funny brand on social media.

Talking of being funny…

Comedy legend Boycie AKA John Challis, sends Cheltenham a ‘triffic’ Covid-19 reminder: ‘’As vaccines are rolled out, let’s continue to play our part – you know it makes sense.’’ Grinning face #Cheltenham #StaySafe #HandsFaceSpace #Wenotme #StayHomeSaveLives

Our lovely-jubbly friends and Comms Creatives students, Cheltenham Council, have done a cushdy job, as usual!

Boycie from Only Fools And Horses is such a beloved character that he has charmed the people of Cheltenham with his important message.

And finally…

Facebook post - text reads: Surrey Heath, 11 January · We get it. We know everyone is fed up at the moment. Fed up of being told to Stay Home when you're desperate to go out. Fed up of not seeing your family when you really want to give them a hug. Fed up of only being able to catch up with your friends on video calls. Fed up of juggling work, homeschooling and just general life at the moment. We get it. We're human too. But we know that Surrey has one of the highest Covid-19 rates in the country at the moment - and it's still going up. We can also see the huge pressure our local NHS are under, at Frimley Park Hospital and beyond, doing their best to cope with the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases being admitted every day. And we cannot ignore the reality of the temporary mortuary set up in Leatherhead to deal with the sharp increase in Covid-19 deaths, as local hospital capacity has been exceeded. These people are not just statistics - they are mothers, sons, grandparents, family members and friends, each one mourned for and missed by those who loved them. We also know that every person who doesn't follow the lockdown guidance risks spreading the virus - perhaps unknowingly - in turn adding to the pressure on the NHS. And that anyone who catches Covid-19 could end up in hospital themselves - or, worst case scenario, in the mortuary. This is real. This is the reason we are asking everyone, however fed up you are with the lockdown, to please play your part to help #KeepSurreyHeathSafe. For yourself, your loved ones, the vulnerable, and our community as a whole. Stay Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives. Thank You. 💙

I’ve just blogged about this with the wonderful Joanne Atkinson, PR Officer at Surrey Heath Borough Council, who has shared the story behind the post.

This is all about empathy with an audience.

If you can show people you get what they like, and can think and understand their struggles, your social media will outperform everyone else’s.

If you want to become an effortlessly creative social media expert, we have social media training workshops, inspiration and cool tools… all inside our Social Media Academy for comms professionals.

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Hel Reynolds

Hel Reynolds

Author of this post

Hel is social media trainer and boss of Comms Creatives. She has been working in comms since 2005, and has been brushing up her expertise in social media for brands since the good old days of MySpace. She also draws the Comms Cartoons, and is usually attached to a mug of coffee.

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