How to Make Your Communications Accessible with Louise Gibson

Are your channels locking out millions of people? In this episode of PR in the Real World, Louise Gibson of Sheffield City Council shares simple, zero-cost adjustments that make everyday PR campaigns work twice as hard.Louise Gibson has spent two decades managing public sector digital channels. Drawing from her lived experience growing up in a deaf household, Louise shifts the focus from basic compliance to operational equity. She explains why relying on legacy social media strategies fails today, as platforms like Facebook shift from personal hubs to transactional spaces.The conversation targets hidden digital friction points. Louise highlights how trends like scattering emojis or skipping alt text disrupt screen-readers and alienate neurodiverse audiences. Using her "progress, not perfection" framework, she maps out how busy teams can systematically build accessible habits.From an operational perspective, this episode covers:Evolution of Social Feeds: Adjusting public messaging to match shifting user platform behaviours.The Problem with Emojis: Why scattered icons break copy tracking for screen-readers and how to place them properly.Mastering Contextual Alt Text: Focusing image descriptions on intent and emotion rather than just metadata.The 66-Day Habit Loop: Layering in accessibility habits over 9-to-10-week increments to build lasting muscle memory.Biased Language: Identifying and removing exclusive or stigmatising terminology from corporate copy.Inclusive Recruitment: Supplying interview questions in advance to reduce neurodiverse performance blocks.Louise shares a fostering recruitment campaign case study that doubled targets and lowered agency costs by putting real families first and engaging directly in local supermarkets. She also reflects on her recent inclusion in the Women in PR 40 over 40 list.This milestone discussion is required listening for:Social Media Managers: Tasked with digital accessibility, content creation, and moderation.Public Sector Comms Directors: Navigating local government mandates under the Equality Act.DE&I Directors & HR Partners: Re-evaluating recruitment standards and inclusive language training.PR Agency Account Managers: Optimising asset deliverability, campaign reach and market saturation. Links & referencesImproving accessibility in social media communications: https://lgcomms.org.uk/news-opinion/blog/improving-accessibility-in-social-media-communications/Sheffield City Council - main site: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/Sheffield City Council - Newsroom: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/newsSheffield City Council - Social Media House Rules (Linktree): https://linktr.ee/sheffieldcitycouncilDisabled By Society - Jamie Shields: https://disabledbysociety.com/RNIB - How to make your social media accessible (+ checklist): https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/assistive-aids-and-technology/tv-audio-and-gaming/guide-to-accessible-social-media/How screen readers handle emoji-heavy text (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XJBIUH_o4wWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 - official W3C guidance: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/Simon Sinek - Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/CIPR - Chartered Institute of Public Relations: https://cipr.co.uk/LGA - Comms Hub: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/comms-hub-communications-supportWomen in PR - 40 over 40 Power List (2025): https://www.womeninpr.org.uk/women-in-pr-reveals-40-over-40-power-list/Andrew Bruce Smith - AI in PR: https://escherman.com/andrew-bruce-smith/CAN Digital - public-sector campaign: https://can-digital.net/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.