We’re starting a new monthly series here at Girl Power Marketing, where we bring you exclusive interviews with some of the most remarkable individuals in the marketing world.
And with these conversations, we’re going to ensure that no matter where you work - whether it’s for a big fashion brand as part of a team, or as a one-person-band at a small business - you can find something that’s not only valuable and actionable, but will make you feel seen and heard.
And to kick things off, we’re honoured to introduce Helen Dutson, the social media content manager for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Helen is renowned for her expertise in creating engaging, truthful, and accessible content that not only encourages sharing but also inspires audiences to share their own experiences.
In this interview, Helen shares insights from her impressive career working with major brands like Specsavers, Tinder, and Bodyform. She also offers valuable advice on making your social content more accessible, ensuring everyone can enjoy the same online experience.
So, grab a cuppa, get comfy and join us as we talk all things accessibili-tea.
(Credit to Helen for that pun.)
Annie: I’m a huge fan of your work at RNIB, and it’s been a large aspect of creating more accessible content myself. For those who don’t know you, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Helen: Aww, hello! Thanks for having me. It’s so nice to hear our work has inspired you on your accessibility journey <3
I’m Helen, I’m a Wiganer, aspiring novelist, and recovering emo. I live at the foot of the Pennines near Rochdale with my husband and unruly Bulgarian rescue dog, Lola. Big fan of a hill.
I’m also writing my first book at the moment, which is a sort of modern gothic horror about an early 2010s YouTuber who can see dead people, investigating a case in a spooky valley in West Yorkshire. I’m enjoying the creative process (four years and counting, lol).
For my sins, I’ve also worked in social media, comms, and PR for more than a decade. Luckily, though, I’m still young, cool, and relevant.
I recently moved from a social media agency, Tangerine, to the RNIB.
Annie: You have incredible experience delivering strategies and campaigns with brands like Specsavers, Tinder, Bodyform, and more. What’s one thing you learned over those years that’s made you the social and content connoisseur that you are today?
Helen: Ah blimey. I mean, I’ve learned so much.
As a word enthusiast, I’d probably have to say the importance of tone of voice. I’m kind of biased, but I do believe if your brand doesn’t have a good tone of voice, it doesn’t get noticed – especially on social media.
Part of that is having something that sets your brand apart – an angle you can play on. I’ve noticed a trend over the past few years of a race to mediocrity, in the sense that everyone is trying to adopt this same, nebulous, “sassy internet” tone of voice. Ryanair lite, so to speak. But really, it’s the brands that can put their own, distinctive spin on the news agenda which stand out.
The perfect example for me is one of my clients from Tangerine: Specsavers. They worked so hard on their brand tone of voice over such a long time (decades!) that they cemented their strapline into the psyche of the British public. That meant working with them on reactive social media was an absolute dream because the audience already knew what we were going to say and loved it when we said it. And equally, when we subverted it as well.
Tone of voice has to run through everything, and that extends to accessibility features, too. The best alt text is always pitch-perfect in terms of matching up with both the brand tone of voice, and the general vibe of the image being described.
In summary: words are good.
Annie: Accessible content is crucial to making sure that everyone can have the same experience online. How can brands ensure that they’re creating accessible content?
Helen: The first (and biggest) challenge is wanting to create accessible content in the first place - enough to actually do something about it.
We all talk about accessibility, but a vanishingly small number of social teams put their money where their mouth is. And I get it - the fast pace and sheer volume of content is certainly stacked against us.
I really think it’s important to reframe how we think about accessibility, from “a nice little favour we’re doing for disabled people” to “making sure this content can be enjoyed by everyone, in a huge variety of scenarios and contexts.”
I like to put it this way: I am not blind or partially sighted. However, when I’m cooking, I like to put videos on - and because I’m concentrating on not severing my fingers with a chef’s knife, I’m not looking at the screen. So, if your messaging isn’t coming through on the audio, I’ll scroll on. And so will blind people.
Equally, I’m not someone who’s deaf or has hearing loss, but sometimes I’ll need to consume content with the sound off because I’m on a train and I’m not an inconsiderate arsehole lol. So, if the video doesn’t have subtitles, I can’t watch it. Nor can deaf people.
So, if creators and brands aren’t making their videos come to life both audibly and visually, they are cutting out huge sections of their potential audience. Not only are they completely excluding literally millions of disabled people, but they’re failing to consider all the ways and places their content might be consumed.
Which does seem silly to me, when you think about how hard you work on your content. Yes, you may be on V12 Final FINAL, but it’s in your interest to take the time to make it accessible, so that you can get higher returns, engagement rates, view through rates, and the rest. And be recognised as an ally to disabled people, while you’re at it.
I do appreciate it’s a learning curve, so remember the RNIB is here to help. I’m more than happy for people to DM me, any time.
Annie: What are the biggest offences you see brands make online?
Helen: I mean, it just has to be not using alt text!
My colleague Holly uses a screen reader. When it encounters a picture that doesn’t have alt text, it simply says the word: “Image.” She often says she’d like to count how many times she hears it say “Image” in a single day – but the reality is, she’d quickly lose count.
Imagine that. Imagine being on Twitter (refuse to call it X, sorry) and everyone is going wild about a particular story (the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience comes to mind, for some reason). And you literally have no idea what anyone’s on about, because instead of seeing pictures of The Unknown slithering out from behind a mirror, all you hear is “Image.” Over and over again.
Hardly anybody uses alt text. So, when you do, people notice. They appreciate it. They share and celebrate it. It’s a lovely feeling. And it makes your memes and images accessible to all, which is nice innit?
Annie: Are there any brands who are fantastic at ensuring their content is accessible to everyone?
Helen: Our top picks at RNIB are NASA, We Rate Dogs, Specsavers, Bailey’s and Innocent. All of them nail their alt text, perfectly matched to their brand tone of voice. We Rate Dogs has an easy job, because they are describing dogs, but nevertheless their alt text is a masterclass, and something to be studied.
However, I do have to big up RNIB in this respect. We truly do try to be the most accessible social media presence possible. And even we’re not getting it 100% right all the time. Case in point: recently a deafblind follower asked if we could start adding transcripts to our video post copy, so they could navigate our content using braille. So now, that’s what we do.
This is why we like to say that the pursuit of accessibility is about progress, not perfection. If you aim for perfect accessibility, you’ll likely never achieve it. But a little bit of alt text is better than the word “image”, so giving it a go is the main thing.
So my message is: add alt text to the next image you upload. Who knows, you might enjoy it?
And scene.
That's a wrap for our first interview edition of The Social Tea! A massive thank you to Helen Dutson for taking the time to share her wisdom and experience with us.
The key takeaway from our conversation is the importance of making a genuine commitment to accessibility. As Helen aptly put it: "The first (and biggest) challenge is wanting to create accessible content in the first place - enough to actually do something about it."
Helen's emphasis on progress over perfection resonates deeply with us. Because we’re not sat here writing this as the epitome of perfect and accessible content.
We’ve made mistakes - like not including alt text - but we’ve listened and put it into action. Does this mean we'll never make mistakes? Of course not, but we need to be intentional about making sure everyone gets the same experience online.
TIP: If you overthink writing alt text, pop the image into ChatGPT and use that as a base. Obviously, the tool can be wrong so it's really important you look over it and make sure it's accurate / makes sense.
The RNIB, and beyond, offer excellent resources - which we'll list below - to guide you in making your social content and websites more accessible. So, make it a priority this week to explore these resources and start making a difference.
Resources to help make your social media content more accessible:
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