Five ways to make your social media content more accessible

Making your content accessible will also improve overall performance, and increase its optimisation for search engines.

Here are five ways to do that:

1. Add alt text to images

Alt text is a written description of an image, which can be read by screen readers and allows a person to paint a mental picture the image.

When writing alt text, consider how you’d describe the image if you were chatting to someone on the phone.

2. Include captions on videos

Captions are a must on any video published on social media.

Firstly for accessibility, but also because video content is often watched without sound and the captions bring it to life.

Most channels have auto captions now, so turn them on when you upload a video. Alternatively, you can design the captions into the video or use a video editing app to add them.

3. Be mindful of emojis

Screen readers read the names of emojis so 👏 will be read as “clapping hands”.

Imagine that when there are six emojis in a row, alongside text – it would be a confusing nightmare!

While emojis can convey emotion and make content visually appealing, always be mindful of how a screen reader will read the content.

4. Avoid custom fonts

While custom fonts may seem like a good idea, they’re not. Take this as an example: 𝔢𝔵𝔞𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢

They’re characters you wouldn’t find on a regular keyboard and are unable to be effectively read by a screen reader.

Keep it simple and stick to standard keyboard characters.

5. Write hashtags in CamelCase or PascalCase

Cap up the first letter of each word you use in a hashtag.

#LikeThis and not #likethis

Doing that will allow screen reader technology to pick up the different words in the hashtag, and they look more visually appealing in general.

These five changes are subtle additions to your content creation and publication process, but all will have a big impact on accessibility.

Make an enquiry with me to understand more ways to make your content accessible and inclusive.