Social content for Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice came to me with a brief to help create content for their social media channels. With the past year being turbulent and more and more people needing help and advice, it was important that they are reaching people and their audience knowing there are people that can help.

There were two focuses, the first being about money and debt problems and the second about general help and advice. The first thing I did was listen to the client Hayley to what she needed and who they were targeting. From this I then worked on the best wording for each piece of work. I gave Hayley lots of options in different tones and ways of saying things.

I felt a static image wasn’t the best approach as lots of copy jammed in a space isn’t something anyone wants to read. I wanted to create something which broke the message down into bite size parts and with the movement it attracts the eye on social media. Citizens Advice have great brand guidelines that are detailed and in some ways quite locked down. For any large organisation this needs to be the case otherwise you end up with your brand being really inconsistent. Understanding and working to their guidelines was essential and something I am used to do doing over the years of working in design, even with strict parameters it doesn’t mean you can’t create something great, it’s just about understand what can flex and what can’t.

From the different copy lines I sent across to Hayley she picked six to work up into final designs. Each one I looked at how to break the copy into different parts and how I could bring the message to life in a simple and clear way. Each one was an animated gif which you can create simple movements.

The first three concentrated on money worries, the second three are more generalised help messages. The tone of voice throughout is helpful and positive, with simple language anyone can understand clearly.

The first one is about not sleeping at night due to money worries. So using a simple flicker of stars to represent the night sky. This gif will be targeting to adverts that will show in the night time hours when someone who couldn’t sleep would see it.

The second one is about not brushing debt under the carpet and instead, dealing it with it. Again using a simple movement of the brush it attracts the eye and helps reinforce the message.

The third one is about how talking about money can be hard. Using a speech bubble helps to represent that.

The fourth one is about them being able to help whoever you are and whatever the problem. The words came in bit by bit so they are really clear to follow.

The fifth one is a play on the words ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ but instead is a problem shared is a problem solved. Again the movement creates interest.

The sixth one is using words of understanding and making the audience realise it’s not just them having problem. Since the beginning of covid some people for the first time in their lives have had problems with money and housing and don’t always know there are places to go and get help.

Hayley was really happy with the outcome from the project and really feels they will help raise awareness of how they can help and also encourage people to reach out for help.

‘We contacted Julie when our charity needed to design new content to promote our service and reach a wider audience online. Julie was great to work with, she really listened and took the time to understand our brand, our audience and our aims. The work she produced for us exceeded expectations, and I particularly appreciated how flexible she was, and her creative ideas. We'd love to work with Julie again for future projects!’ Hayley Wright, Comms and Engagement Lead - Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford for CitizensAdvice.

Social media can be such a powerful tool to reach your audience. If you have an idea in mind for a social campaign but don’t know where to begin with creative or you are struggling with a problem you think a social media campaign could help solve. We can work together to find a creative and engaging solution.