The people who run London Underground TFL have quietly done a really interesting thing with video.

As pandemic restrictions ease, more people will be looking to do things in the capital city which at times has been deserted in lockdown.

Their social media video reflects this, with upbeat music and information on what people can now do on information boards themselves.

So, ‘swimming’ is displayed as a tube sign, ‘playing 5-a-side’ is on a platform info board and ‘Going Out-Out’ is displayed as a neon station sign.

You can see it here:

It’s witty, vibrant and lively with fast cuts, smiling faces from as diverse a background as London has.

Shorter cuts for social media

Even more interesting, the clip is chopped up fo social media with shorter edits.

This one is six seconds…

And so is the Facebook edit. It’s six seconds. It almost works as a long GIF.

This flies in the face of perceived wisdom that sees Facebook encourage you to post three minute video ideally or 60-scond video as a second prize. It would be fascinating to see the insights for this. Glancing at them, there’s just three shares and 70-odd likes. That’s not the best performing video content TFL has.

The people lesson

At it’s heart, this is about PEOPLE. People connect to people. People can go to stand-up shows, five-a-side shows and to the museum. It’s about THEIR experiences. The buses and tubes that TFL run are just the enablers.

The typeface lesson

There’s been masses written about the typefaces used by people like the British Rail typography. It’s unfussy and its purpose is to convey information swiftly and clearly. We have a lot of trust invested in this typeface. It tells us where to go and when. It keeps people moving and the city vibrant. By using these typefaces TFL are tapping into that.

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Original source – The Dan Slee Blog » LOCAL SOCIAL: Is it time for a Local localgovcamp?

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