Join us to #ReclaimSocial for good on February 7

Join us to celebrate the fifth anniversary of #ReclaimSocial on February 7 at a time when it’s needed more than ever to make social media more inspiring.

#ReclaimSocial started as an awareness campaign back in 2018 and we’re now a year-round movement exploring all the different ways we can come together to make social media more positive.

Fast forward to 2022 and there’s still a big need to improve our social media experience. Fake news, trolling, hate speech, the spread of misinformation have significantly affected our use of social media platforms. It’s time to come together and change this.

Useful resources about #ReclaimSocial

If you’re new to #ReclaimSocial, here are a few resources to check out:

• Countering digital hate and misinformation with Imran Ahmed (CCDH)
• Guide to Best Practice in Ethical Digital Marketing & Comms Practices by Charities Against Hate
• Tech, activism, and self-care during COVID-19 with Seyi Akiwowo (Glitch)
• Don’t feed the trolls – a guide to dealing with online hate on social media by CCDH
• How Action for Happiness are using social media for good with Mark Williamson
• The power of Giving Tuesday with Asha Curran
• How WWF UK are using social media with Nicola Gee
• How to embed #ReclaimSocial into your daily activities - Blog for CharityComms
• 6 steps to improve your social media and mental health - Blog for The Big Issue

How to join #ReclaimSocial 2022

#ReclaimSocial takes place on the 7th of February so it’s the perfect time to start planning your content.

Joining an awareness day can help you celebrate your work, reach a new audience, thank your supporters, or even collaborate with other organisations. You can also find inspiration on Lightful’s social media platform with the free Storybuilder template about #ReclaimSocial.

Think of all the different ways you’re using social media for good, either personally or professionally, and encourage others to do so. We all need more positive stories on our feeds, let’s make it happen!

Content ideas

Looking for content inspiration?

Here’s how you can join #ReclaimSocial on the day:

• Share inspiring stories of impact
• Talk about your latest campaign
• Share how you’re using social media for good
• Thank your supporters/volunteers / team
• Nominate your heroes of positivity who improve your social media experience
• Encourage others to join the day

You can share one or multiple posts, based on the number of stories and ideas that you want to share!

Celebrate your 5 heroes of positivity

Who’s making your social media feeds more interesting? We’d love to create a list full of inspirational people to follow. Whether it’s an organisation, an influencer, or simply your best friend, nominate those who inject positivity to your feeds.

• Mention five people who inspire you or simply make your feed more positive
• Encourage your followers to nominate their own heroes of positivity
• Help others create a more positive feed by including the hashtag #ReclaimSocial to positive stories you’re coming across

Social media assets to use

You can access more than 50 social media assets (images, videos, GIFs) that you can use as part of #ReclaimSocial.

Feel free to use them however you want as part of the campaign.

Download all social media images here.

Social media toolkit

We have created a social media toolkit to help you plan your content for #ReclaimSocial.

It includes:

• An overview of #ReclaimSocial
• Stats
• Tips on how to reclaim social for good
• Content ideas
• Draft social media posts
• Links to social media assets
• Examples of posts

You can find the #ReclaimSocial social media toolkit here.

Making your content accessible to everyone

The content we’re sharing on social media should be accessible to everyone.

Remember, to make your content accessible:

• Don’t rely only on the visual assets to talk about your story
• Use alt-text when sharing an image
• Use captions on videos

The Big Hack, developed by Scope, offers many useful resources to help you make your content more accessible:

• Is your social media campaign accessible to everybody?
• How to do accessible social media - AbilityNet
• Five ways to make your social media more accessible - Sense
• Making your social media accessible - RNIB
• How to make your Twitter feed more accessible
• Twitter’s guide How to make images accessible for people
• How to make your Facebook business page more accessible
• How to make your Instagram account more accessible
• How special characters and symbols affect screen reader accessibility
• Disabled UK bloggers you should follow
• BBC ‘In Touch’ podcast - how easy to navigate is social media when you're blind or partially sighted?

Events to join before #ReclaimSocial

Right before #ReclaimSocial, we’re joining a series of Twitter Chats to talk to interesting people who support #ReclaimSocial and what it stands for.

Join our Twitter chats

• @CharityHour invites @ReclaimSocial on their weekly #CharityHour chat on Wednesday 2nd of February, 8pm GMT
• @ReclaimSocial invites social media expert @MattNavarra on a Twitter chat to discuss the different ways we can reclaim social for good in 2022. Join the conversation on Thursday 3rd of February, 12pm GMT
• @ReclaimSocial invites @givingtuesday on a Twitter chat to talk about their use of social media while building a movement of generosity. Join the conversation on Friday 4th of February, 4pm GMT

Examples of posts around #ReclaimSocial

Looking for inspiration on what to post on the day? Here are some great examples.

We can do it!

Social media can be very negative. But we should still remember its positive side of bringing people together.

Let’s change the face of social media – for good!

Join #ReclaimSocial on February 7 and help make everyone’s feed more inspiring!