It can be easy to forget that, as the business owner, you have control over how accessible your content is. When it comes to managing social media for your business, it can feel like a lot to juggle. You’re likely busy dreaming up new content ideas, scheduling posts, and connecting with your audience members. But have you thought about how easy that content is to access?
Nearly three-quarters of Americans use social media, and one in four have a disability that limits their ability to access content.
Why Is It Important?
Making your content accessible to everyone means being inclusive and making changes to ensure that everyone can enjoy it. This makes you a better person and a better marketer.
Making your content accessible means that everyone can access it. Without accessible social media practices, you’re excluding audience members who are unable to hear, see, or read your work.
If you want to make sure your social media is accessible, you should use inclusive practices regularly.
We have the tips and best practices that will help you!
Ways to Prioritize Social Media Accessibility
Now that you know the importance of social media accessibility, how can you create inclusive posts and strategies?
Use Plain Language
It is important to keep your posts clear and concise so that your audience can understand your content quickly. This practice is known as plain language. If you are already managing your business’s social media marketing accounts, you know how important it is to write short, direct copy to appeal to your audience. Plain language also helps people with cognitive disabilities understand your message.
Writing in plain language involves:
- Short and sweet sentences
- Active voice with uncomplicated words audience members are familiar with
- Leaving out details that complicate sentences
- Avoiding jargon and slang
- Avoiding technical terms if possible
Now is not the time to be flowery and verbose like Shakespeare. Be clear and to the point like Hemingway, using the Hemingway App to help you.
Use Person-First Language Instead of Ableist Language
Do not label people or groups by their disabilities, difficulties, or looks. Respect people and use language that includes everyone. If you say something derogatory about someone’s identity–even if you don’t mean to–you may turn your audience away.
The person-first language looks like this:
- “A person with a disability”
- “A person with special needs”
- “A person who is deaf”
When mentioning someone in your organization or someone you have interviewed, ask them how they wish to be identified.
Use Inclusive Terms and Phrases
Many people with disabilities find that slang terms and phrases can be hurtful and perpetuate negative stereotypes.
20% of all U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, as reported by the National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI). To avoid words that could potentially stigmatize people who suffer from mental health conditions or addictions, try to be mindful with your language.
- Instead of saying “that’s crazy,” say “that’s wacky!” or “that’s shocking!”
- Instead of saying “I’m so addicted,” say “I’m so into this!”
- Don’t refer to something or someone as “OCD,” “bipolar,” “hysterical,” or “psycho.”
Make simple word choices that highlight inclusivity:
- Use gender-neutral pronouns.
- “We support” instead of “We stand with…”
- Avoid “able-bodied” as it implied that people with disabilities are broken.
It’s never funny to joke about wanting to die.
If you aren’t sure what word to use, always choose a more precise word without bias. Before you publish anything, have someone else check it for language that could make people feel excluded.
Offer Accessible Social Media Descriptions
Alt text is the written context that describes the visual elements of an image, which is important for people with vision impairment or other disabilities. If a webpage fails to load an image, the alt text will specify what is missing.
All social media platforms offer a section for alt-text on images and GIFs. If the social media platform you’re using doesn’t specify a section for alt-text, include a descriptive caption at the end of your body copy.
Provide accessible social media image descriptions using these tips:
- Don’t start with “image of” or “photograph shows.” Screen readers announce that before reading the image description.
- Mention colors if it’s relevant to the photograph.
- Keep it short, and use correct spelling and grammar.
- Convey humor transparently so that everyone’s in on the joke.
- Transcribe text in the photos. If the image has important text (like a meme), include the text in the description.
- Write in plain language. Be descriptive but don’t insert your own opinions into it.
In order to describe an image correctly, one needs to consider the message the image is trying to convey and be specific when writing the alt text. WebAIM provides a guide that goes into detail about how to properly write alt text.
For example, a tweet from The Weather Channel includes an image with no description included. A helpful description of the image for this forecast would be to mention the temperatures across the United States that are warming up for spring, with 80-degree temperatures in Phoenix, Nashville, Dallas, and New Orleans. An unhelpful description of the image would be something like “Picture of an American weather forecast.”
Capitalize the First Letter of Each Word in Hashtags
Hashtags are a popular way to reach your audience and express yourself. The capitalization of each word in a hashtag is important for accessibility and helps every member of your audience read it correctly. This technique is commonly known as Camel Case and is sometimes referred to as Title Case or Pascal Case.
If you don’t use capital letters in your hashtags, screen readers might think it’s just a bunch of random letters, or interpret the meaning of the hashtag entirely wrong. For example, #superbowl could be read as #SuperbOwl, which while owls might be great, it would be confusing if that’s what the hashtag actually meant.
In one famous hashtag fail, the Twitter hashtag #nowthatcherisdead started trending after British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s death. If it had been written in Camel Case, it would have read as #NowThatcherIsDead. Without it, Twitter users interpreted the hashtag as #NowThatCherIsDead, leading to a viral rumor that had people mistakenly grieving for a living icon.
Camel Case also known as Medial Capitalization, is the practice of capitalizing the first letter of each word in a compound word or phrase. In addition to helping people who use screen readers, Camel Case also makes it harder for people to misread your hashtag. For example, it is easier to read #TheBostonMarathon rather than #theBostonmarathon or #thebostonmarathon.
Easy Ways to Make Your Social Media More Inclusive
For many of us, social media is a fun and easy way to stay connected with friends and family. We log into our favorite platforms multiple times a day, and it’s often the first thing we check when we wake up and the last thing we see before we go to bed.
Not everyone experiences the internet in the same way. For many people around the world, one or more of their five senses is impaired, which affects their experience online.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.3 billion people have some form of vision impairment, and 253 million people experience severe vision impairment or total blindness. That means that a large portion of the global population has to use text-to-speech programs or screen readers to be able to navigate the digital world.
There are around 466 million people who are deaf or have hearing impairments. If websites are not designed to be accessible, then these individuals will have a difficult time using them.
There are some features and best practices which you can use to make sure that your social media is accessible to everyone.
Talk Emoji to Me
Since they were created in 1999, emojis have become a big part of the digital landscape, especially on social media. You see them in mainstream marketing, in email services like Gmail, and in composing windows across social platforms.
A recent study conducted by the social media analytics company Quintly showed that almost half of the posts on Instagram during the first half of 2019 used emojis in captions. Their findings also showed that more emojis usually resulted in higher engagement. However, if you want your social content to be popular and inclusive, keep this in mind: When someone uses a screen reader or text-to-speech program to read an emoji, they only hear the assigned description for that character.
If you’re used to typing consecutive emojis, changing the color of customizable icons, or using emojis in the middle of posts or Tweets, you’re slowing down the experience for the visually impaired.
Although it may be fun and cute to use emojis as captions on your vacation photos on Instagram, it is not accessible to those who use screen readers. All they hear is a string of emojis which makes it difficult to understand.
To keep your emoji usage accessible, be sure to:
- Use emojis in moderation. If you are going to use emojis, limit yourself to two or three so you don’t bring down the readability of your content.
- Place emojis at the end of social posts. The more important information should be consumed by the user first. Interjecting emojis in the middle of sentences or paragraphs could mix up the messaging once it’s read aloud by a screen reader.
- Avoid using emojis in your social profile name.
- Resist changing the color on customizable emojis. Every unique icon gets descriptor information. That includes skin tones. If you can’t stand the Simpsons look, try to make your customized emoji the only one in your post.
If you’re unsure of what a particular emoji means, you can check out emojipedia.org. The website provides descriptions for every emoji, including those with custom colors, for multiple platforms and devices. This is also the best way to stay updated on new emoji releases, like the long-awaited accessibility icons.
We Love a Good Hashtag Moment
Adding hashtags to your social media posts is a great way to make them more inclusive. It only takes a little bit of effort to use hashtags that are accessible to everyone.
When creating hashtags, it is best to use camel case, which is when each word in the hashtag is capitalized. This makes the hashtag easier to read, both for people with vision impairment and for everyone else.
Paint a Vivid Picture With Your Words
This expression means that an image conveys a lot of information. This is only true if the image is accessible to people who are blind or have low vision and use a screen reader. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer ways to add alternative text to images so that a screen reader can describe the image.
Facebook automatically assigns alt text to uploaded pictures, although the descriptions are normally vague. However, you can easily replace the assigned alt text with your own.
- Choose the uploaded picture you want to add alt text to
- Click “Options” in the lower right area of the image
- Hit “Change Alt Text” next to the magnifying glass
- Add your alt text to the picture
- Describe the image in vivid detail
To add alt text to an image on Facebook: 1. Select the image you want to add alt text to. 2. Click “Options” in the lower right corner of the image. 3. Select “Change Alt Text” next to the magnifying glass. 4. Enter your alt text in the text box that appears.
The Instagram app also has a function where users can write alternative text for their posts. This is located at the bottom of the final screen, under the “Advanced Settings” section, before the post is shared.
The “Advanced Settings” option when uploading a new picture on Instagram will allow you to add alt text to describe the photo for people who are unable to see it.
To add alternate text on LinkedIn, simply click “Add Alt Text” in the top right corner of the picture. To add a description on Twitter, click “Add Description” near the bottom left of the compose window.
If you are looking to make your social media more accessible, it is better to link to web pages or digital forms rather than posting flyers or text-heavy graphics. This is because adding alt text to these items would be very complicated and overwhelming for users who rely on screen-readers.
You can make your events more accessible and easier for people to RSVP to by creating a Facebook event or an Eventbrite listing that you can link to. Facebook and Eventbrite will also send reminders to registered guests.