Social Media Accessibility
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What is Social Media Accessibility?
Social media accessibility is all about creating an inclusive experience for everyone in your online community. Inclusive social design accounts for diversity in user ability and allows an audience to engage in a variety of ways. This means considering how someone who uses a screen reader might encounter a post or how a person who is deaf or hard of hearing interacts with a video.
While social platforms are improving their features, accessibility is still often an afterthought. Making social media content accessible often requires extra steps when creating a post. However, there are some best practices that everyone can and should integrate into their workflows to create the best possible experience for their audience.
Accessible Copy
It’s important to make all text in your posts readable. This improves the experience for all users and is especially helpful for those who use a screen reader.
Here are some tips:
Avoid all caps. Caps make text difficult to read and can confuse screen readers.
Use “CamelCase” for hashtags. This is when you capitalize the first letter of every word in a tag. Ex. #TonyAwards
Use minimal hashtags and put them at the end of the post. Screen readers will read the text as written so if you put hashtags in the middle of sentences it will read “hashtag” out loud every time. Also, imagine having to hear thirty hashtags read to you. Try to limit yourself to only a few per post.
Don’t use fancy fonts (ex. 𝒻𝒶𝓃𝒸𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓃𝓉). Screen readers can’t read alternative fonts that are not native to the platform. They are also difficult to read in general.
Limit emoji use. Emojis are a great way to convey emotions to your audience but can be a nightmare for screen readers. Imagine seeing 🤓 as opposed to hearing “nerdy face with thick horn-rim glasses and buck teeth.” Opt for one or two emojis per post when it adds value to your message.
Shorten links. Links can be long, especially if you’re using UTM codes to track analytics. Use bitly or another tool to shorten links and clean up your copy. For Instagram, never put a link, even a shortened one, in the copy of your caption. Instead, direct readers to the link in your bio and share it there.
Alt Text
Social media relies heavily on visual content, often making it inaccessible. However, including al text or image descriptions ensures that all users can understand what you are trying to convey with your images.
Alt text is a short piece of text attached to an image that describes its content and function. This allows users with screen readers to experience the visual aspects of your post. If the picture is humorous, the alt text should convey the joke. If the image is meant to evoke an emotion, the alt text should convey that purpose. However, it should also be short and effective to optimize the experience for users with screen readers. Think of alt text as practical poetry: not too flowery yet still engaging.
Here are some tips:
Don’t say “picture of” or “image of.” It’s not necessary and many people who use screen readers report that they prefer it not be included.
Keep it concise. A screen reader will read every word out loud so make them all count.
Convey humor. Visuals are often used to add humor to a post so convey that in the alt text.
Communicate important text. If the visual includes essential textual information that is not already in the caption, be sure to include it.
Include colors. Colors can convey emotions or be an important part of the visual message. Be sure to mention them if they’re important for understanding.
Read it out loud. The text will be read out loud so make sure it sounds right.
Image Descriptions
Not all platforms allow alt text to be included or edited. In these cases, you can include an image description at the end of your caption. You can also add one in your copy in addition to alt text for optimal accessibility. Just indicate that it’s an image description in the copy. Image descriptions should follow the same guidelines as alt text.
Captions
All videos with spoken language should have captions. Data shows that many users watch videos on social media without sound on. Captions are also essential for users in the deaf community and those who are hard of hearing to engage with your video. Open captions are usually best, but a video should at least have closed captions at the very least.
If the videos you post on social media are hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or any other platform, either include your own SRT file or edit the auto-generated captions. A link to a written transcript is also helpful.
SRT Files
An SRT (SubRip Subtitle) file is a plain-text file that contains the information for subtitles, including the time codes of your text to ensure that the captions match the audio. You can create an SRT file in any text editor and then upload it with your video file.
YouTube will auto-generate captions and create a downloadable SRT file. If you don’t upload your own file, then you can edit the auto-generated captions to make sure that they are accurate. Then, you can download the SRT file directly from YouTube to use on other platforms.
Caption Tools
Rev: If you need captions and/or transcriptions, then Rev is a great resource. The online service provides audio and video transcriptions, English closed captions, and global subtitle translations.
MixCaptions: If you need to quickly add captions to a video on your phone, MixCaptions is a helpful app. You can upload an SRT file or add and edit auto-generated captions. It also allows you to customize the style of the text.