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Los Angeles County COVID-19
Digital Communications Guide
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Table of Contents
Introduction 3
How To Use This Guide 3
Best Practices 3
COVID-19 Terms: Do’s and Don’ts 4
Key Messaging 5
Draft Social Media Toolkit 6
Hashtags 6
Resources 6
Style Guide 8
Addenda 9
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Introduction
A team of digital experts from Los Angeles County's Joint Information Center has
created this guide to help cities, partners, and key stakeholders navigate digital
communications in response to COVID-19 and the County's Safer at Home order.
How To Use This Guide
This guide will be your easy to use resource about how to speak to your communities
about COVID-19 and Safer at Home.
You will find included:
● Recommended messaging on how to talk about COVID-19 in the County of Los
Angeles.
● Easy to share social media content and graphics about COVID-19 and available
County resources.
● Steps on how to share our daily briefings on their social media channels to keep
your community informed.
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind before you start:
1. The content featured in the guide is considered to be “evergreen content,” meaning
it’s not time-sensitive and can and should, be published on your channels at any
time that works with your department’s or municipality’s social media strategy.
2. The content for each social media platform is very similar to maintain consistency.
Your social media team can use the posts for each channel at your own discretion.
Best Practices
Use key messages to speak to your communities – Every community in Los Angeles
County is different, which means that messaging should be tailored to resonate with
your community.
Be aware of how you communicate sensitive topics – This is a very stressful time for
many people and communities so be cognizant of how you are
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relaying information on social media, especially when it comes to cases, testing, surges,
etc. When in doubt, use language from trusted Los Angeles County sources including
incident reports, Los Angeles Department of Public Health, or covid19.lacounty.gov.
Check your sources to avoid spreading misinformation! – Only post information that has
been vetted by trusted sources including Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Department of
Public Health (LA DPH), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the Centers
of Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO). Avoiding sharing
information pulled directly from media sources.
Make sure you’re always up to date –
● Follow @CountyofLA and @LAPublicHealth on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
to get real time updates on all things COVID-19
● Sign up to receive text or email updates from LA County on all things COVID-19
● Tune every weekday at 12:30pm for a countywide COVID-19 briefing via
Facebook Live, Twitter and YouTube.
COVID-19 Terms: Do’s and Don’ts
Do Use:
*Social Distancing – Social distancing means staying home, avoiding crowds and staying
at least 6 feet away from others whenever possible. By practicing social distancing, we
reduce person-to-person contact in a given community, with a goal to stop or slow down
the spread of a contagious disease. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
recommends maintaining six feet of social distancing. (Source: LA County DPH)
* See Addenda
Safer at Home – This is the Order issued by the County of Los Angeles on March 19, 2020.
It should be used when advising people to stay at home to keep themselves and others
safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. (Source: LA County DPH)
Self-Isolation – separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not
sick. (Source: CDC)
People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) – This is the recommended way to refer to
those experiencing homelessness.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards
that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. During COVID-19, PPE includes but is
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not limited to gloves, face shields, impermeable coveralls, eye goggles, shoe
covers/booties (disposable), N95 masks or equivalent, surgical/isolation gowns, surgical
masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. (Source: OSHA)
Don’t Use:
Shelter in place – means finding a safe location indoors and staying there until you are
given an “all clear” or told to evacuate. (Source: Yale)
Surge/Surge (surge capacity and surge plan) – medical surge describes the ability to
provide adequate medical evaluation and care during events that exceed the limits of the
normal medical infrastructure of an affected community. Surge is a word that should only
be used when referring to Los Angeles’ hospital system and LA County Department of
Health Services (DHS) surge capacity and planning. It should not be used to indicate an
increase in cases or testing. (Source: PHE)
Key Messaging
#SaferAtHome
Staying home saves lives.
● Staying home and limiting your exposure to others is the only way to stop the
spread of COVID-19.
● Together, we can save lives, flatten the curve, and overcome this unprecedented
moment. It all starts by simply staying home.
This is a stressful time – take time to care for yourself.
● Save time for activities you enjoy.
● Keep your body active.
● Stay connected with your support system.
It’s okay to ask for help.
● This is a stressful, uncertain time for many people, and you are not alone.
● Reach out to those around you for help or use the resources available.
○ For more information on available resources, visit covid19.lacounty.gov.
Safer at Home means...
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You CAN:
● Stay home
● Go outside for a walk, run, hike, walk with your dog by yourself or with your family.
● Go shopping at grocery stores, restaurants offering carry out, drive thru and
delivery service, pharmacies, and other essential businesses.
● Only leave your home to go to work if you work in healthcare or other essential
infrastructures.
● Keep six feet of space between you and others while doing any of the above.
You CAN NOT:
● Gather in groups of any size inside or outside.
● Leave your home to go to shopping malls and centers, playgrounds, gyms, bars,
nightclubs, movie theatres, drive-in theatres, and other non-essential businesses –
they are all closed.
Social Media Toolkit
LA County has a living social media toolkit that has sharable content and graphics. This toolkit
is managed by Countywide Communications Office digital team and is updated on a regular
basis. Content is provided in multiple languages to maximize resonance with your community.
Click HERE to access the social media toolkit.
Hashtags
#COVID19
Resources
County communication update:
1. covid19.lacounty.gov is the official county website for centralized information about
the current coronavirus emergency.
2. 2-1-1 LA County is the central source for providing information and referrals for all
health and human services in LA County. Our 2-1-1 phone line
#SaferAtHome
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is open 24 hours, 7 days a week, with trained Community Resource Advisors prepared
to offer help with any situation, any time. If you are calling from outside Los Angeles
County or cannot directly dial 2-1-1, call (800) 339-6993.
Other Resources:
Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:
● Los Angeles County: covid19.lacounty.gov
● Los Angeles County Department of Public Health:
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
● California Department of Public Health:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
● Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/index.html
● World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
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Lato Black / AaBcDdEeFfGg
Lato Bold / AaBcDdEeFfGgHh
Lato Regular / AaBcDdEeFfGg
Social Media Style Guide
Color
Color is pivotal in driving a compaign’s
recognition and identification. By using our colors
consistently, we can work to build maximum
equity.
Typeface
Our campaign font style adds meaning to our
messaging. Lato is a structured typeface with
approachable curves, that is serious yet warm. For
consistency we only use Black (titles), Bold (subtitles),
and Regular (body copy) weights. Lato is a Google font
and available at fonts.google.com
Icon Style
To achieve highly effective communication, our icon
style is simple and to the point. Select icons that are
minimal and cohesive in line weight (A.K.A. thickness)
Avoid using complex icons with too many
embellishments.
Frame
Our frame is graphic element that be used over
documents and photos to create a distinct border
around our materials. The frame wraps around images/
materials, symbolizing protection and our “safer at
home” message. The frame is constructed with two
rectangles; one normal and another with rounded
corners (see example on right).
#262626
# FF9505 #154988
#FFFFFF # 03125B
Primary
Accent
Download
Assets
Campaign Mark
Our mark is a simple and succinctly communicates our
“safer at home” message. Please only use the color
combinations provided.
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Addenda
To ensure consistent messaging, this addenda addresses developments in the Safer at Home
campaign and outlines any updates to digital messaging and content usage.
April 8, 2020
COVID-19 Terms: Do’s and Don’ts
Do Use:
Physical Distancing – Physical distancing is the preferred way to describe social distancing
because we are reducing physical contact to slow the spread, not social interactions through
digital platforms and devices.
Cloth Face Coverings – A cloth face covering is a material that covers the nose and mouth. It can
be secured to the head with ties or straps or simply wrapped around the lower face. It can be
made of a variety of materials, such as cotton, silk, or linen. A cloth face covering may be factory- made or sewn by hand or can be improvised from household items such as scarfs, T-shirts,
sweatshirts, or towels. (Source: LA County DPH)
Don’t Use:
Social Distancing – Social distancing means staying home, avoiding crowds and staying at least
6 feet away from others whenever possible. By practicing social distancing, we reduce person- to-person contact in a given community, with a goal to stop or slow down the spread of a
contagious disease. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recommends
maintaining six feet of social distancing. (Source: LA County DPH)
Masks – Masks imply surgical masks or N95 respirators that are intended for the healthcare
setting and health workers and are strongly discouraged for residents. Medical respirators and
surgical masks are worn for protection by healthcare staff and those workers who provide care
to a person who might have COVID-19 or other communicable diseases. (Source: LA County
DPH)
Draft Social Media Toolkit
Our social media toolkit includes posts to relay these messaging changes to your communities.
Access Cloth Face Covering Motion Graphic HERE