Social Media and Digital Graphics for Public Agencies

What this covers

This service produces social media posts and stories, short videos, account header images, website banners, email newsletter headers, and lobby screen slides for recreation centers, libraries, and service areas. Most of the work is a set of templates sized for each placement, so staff can produce a closure notice or registration reminder without starting from scratch. It is most relevant to communications and public information offices, along with parks and recreation, libraries, public works, and any department that runs its own account.

The graphic is often the least accessible part of a post. An image with the date, time, and registration details built into it does not reliably give that information to a screen reader user unless the same information is in the post text or alternative text. Posts also have to match the registration system, follow brand standards, keep up with changing platform specifications, and may become public records.

How we do it

Start from the channels and the calendar. We list every account, banner slot, email platform, and lobby screen, plus fixed dates such as registration openings and public meetings, and build the template set and schedule around them.
Size templates per placement and record the specification. Each template has safe areas that keep text clear of profile images, buttons, and mobile crops, and lobby slides are readable at a distance. During the engagement, we record the specification each template was built to and check the set at intervals agreed with the agency.
Lock the brand, open the content. Templates are built in the tool staff already use, with logo, colors, type, and layout locked where the tool allows. Staff produce routine posts by changing only the headline, details, and photo, while the locked brand elements stay fixed.
Put the essentials in the post text as well as the image. Every post graphic comes with post copy giving the date, time, location, cost, and how to register, so the details survive if the image is cropped, blocked, or not reliably read by assistive technology.
Write alternative text and caption video during production. Alternative text describes what the image communicates, not every visible detail. Captions are reviewed for accuracy rather than left to automatic captioning, with open captions where a platform does not accept caption files.
Take facts from the source system. Program names, activity numbers, fees, and dates are checked against the registration system, calendar, or activity guide before release.
Match the season's campaign. Graphics reuse the imagery and headlines of the current activity guide and print pieces.
Build translated versions on the same template. Templates leave room for longer text and other scripts, translated text goes into the image and the post copy, and a translator the agency approves reviews it.

What you receive

Editable templates for each channel, with brand elements locked as far as each tool allows.
Final graphics and source files for each campaign, organized for the agency's records.
Post copy and alternative text for every graphic where the placement supports them, and caption files for every video, or open captions where a platform does not accept caption files.
A short staff guide covering which template fits which placement, what can be edited, and how to write alternative text.
A specification log recording what each template was built to and when it was last checked.
A license record for the fonts, stock images, and music used, with any restrictions.

Considerations for public agencies

Accessibility law. Under the ADA Title II web rule, which adopts WCAG 2.1 Level AA, social media posts made before the agency's compliance date are exempt and later posts are covered. The duty to provide effective communication applies regardless of the exceptions. The digital editions and accessible PDFs page covers the rule and its compliance dates.
Public records and retention. Posts, comments, and messages on agency accounts can be public records subject to retention and disclosure, depending on state law. The social media policy and archiving method determine what is captured. Keeping final graphics, copy, and approvals alongside the archive lets the agency match each archived post to its source files and sign-off. Confirm requirements with the records officer or counsel.
Ownership and licensing. The contract should assign copyright in the templates, source files, and final graphics to the agency, and templates on hosted design platforms should be kept in an account the agency controls. Fonts, stock images, and music stay under their own licenses, whose terms vary. The license record delivered with each campaign shows what staff may reuse. Photos of identifiable people, especially children in programs, should clear the agency's photo release practice.
Language access. Confirm which posts need translation, and into which languages, with the language access coordinator or counsel; the obligations that may apply are outlined on the publication layout and typesetting page.
Approvals and fixed dates. The social media policy usually names who may post and who approves; schedules should leave time for approval before fixed dates.

Starting an engagement

An engagement starts with a review of the agency's accounts, recent posts, brand standards, social media and records policies, tools, and calendar of registration dates and campaigns. HQT then proposes the template set, the accessibility and approval steps, and a production schedule tied to those dates.

Frequently asked questions

Do our older social media posts have to be fixed to meet the ADA Title II rule?

The rule exempts social media posts made before the agency's compliance date, so older posts generally do not need to be brought up to the technical standard. Posts made after that date are covered. The duty to provide effective communication still applies, so if someone needs information from an older post, the agency should provide it in an accessible form. Confirm the compliance date for your entity size on ada.gov.

Why repeat the event details in the post text when they are already on the graphic?

Text inside an image is not reliably available to screen reader users unless it is repeated in alternative text or the post. Images can also be cropped, blocked by email clients, or fail to load. Putting the date, time, place, and how to register in the post text makes the details available to everyone and lets residents copy a link or phone number.

Can our staff edit the templates without breaking our brand standards?

Largely, depending on the tool. The templates are built in the tool your staff already use, with the logo, colors, type, and layout locked as far as that tool allows. Where a tool cannot lock an element, the staff guide marks what must not be changed. Only the headline, details, and photo are meant to be edited.

Are our social media posts public records?

They can be. Depending on state law, posts, comments, and messages on agency accounts may be subject to retention schedules and disclosure requests. Check your retention schedule and social media policy with your records officer or counsel, and confirm that your archiving method captures what is required.

What happens when a platform changes its image sizes?

During the engagement, HQT records the specification each template was built to and checks the set at intervals agreed with the agency. When a check finds that a platform has changed its dimensions or how it crops images, the affected templates are updated and staff are told which files to replace. After the engagement, the specification log lets staff do the same check themselves.

Social Media and Digital Graphics