8 Tips for Creating Accessible Social Media

May 15 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a time to foster discussions around digital accessibility and inclusion, and to encourage people to talk, think, and learn about accessibility. In honor of the occasion, we’re turning our attention to social media and looking at eight ways to make sure your social media is using accessible and inclusive technology.

Smooth Navigation for a Great First Impression

But first, let’s look at social media more broadly. Your company’s social media presence is often the first place a customer or client will encounter your business. In this digital age, it is imperative to have a strong online presence, and more people than ever use social media rather than websites to look up information. 

To appeal to the biggest audience, it’s important for your online presence to be accessible by all and use inclusive design. If a person with disabilities has a hard time navigating your online presence, you might lose out on a potential client or customer. 

Guidelines for Accessibility

Most accessibility features used in websites and on social media already come built in by developers. But it is up to your company to enable some of these items, like captions, text contrast and color, size, and keyboard navigation. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were written to help ensure accessibility and have been through many variations (here is the current version). 

As the Americans with Disabilities Act writes in their Guidance on Web Accessibility:

“Inaccessible web content means that people with disabilities are denied equal access to information. An inaccessible website can exclude people just as much as steps at an entrance to a physical location. …People with disabilities navigate the web in a variety of ways."

For instance, people who are blind may use screen readers or need alternative text (alt-text) that help blind people “read” images or hear what images are on the screen. People who are deaf may use closed captioning. 

Social Media Best Practices

Here are eight ways to make your social media content more accessible and inclusive. And remember: Improving the accessibility of your social media isn’t just good practice – it’s a reflection of respect, and it may broaden your audience. 

1. Use Alt Text or Image IDs

Use the alt text feature to describe the images in your content. This enables screen readers to describe the images in the pictures to those who are blind. Describe what’s in the image – and avoid saying “image of” or “picture of.” Be concise, but don’t be afraid to use humor or descriptive language. 

When alt text isn't an option, include an Image ID [Image ID: description]. The Image ID (Image Identifier) is a unique source of code that is assigned to the image and acts as a digital fingerprint.

2. Provide Transcripts in the Comments

For audio or video posts, add a transcript in the first comment, or link to one in your bio. If you have the ability to pin a comment in your social media, pin the transcript. 

3. Add Captions to Videos

Captions allow deaf and hard-of-hearing users – and anyone with their sound off – to consume your video. Eighty percent of Instagram users don't have the sound on when they watch videos – further proof of the importance of captions!

4. Be Thoughtful with Emojis

Use emojis sparingly, and strategically place them so that screen readers don’t read them disruptively, like they do when they're in the middle of a sentence. 

5. Optimize for Screen Readers

Capitalize the first letter of each word so screen readers can parse them properly. 

6. Write Clear, Simple Text

Avoid overly complex language or long blocks of text without breaks. Avoid using alternating capital letters or all caps, as well as any symbols that are in a word (e.g., an asterisk).

7. Use High-Contrast Visuals

Ensure your text and backgrounds have enough contrast to be readable for people with low vision. Search the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines here to find web content accessibility color guidelines. For instance, when placing text on a background, they suggest a contrast of 4:5:1.

8. Use Clean Fonts for Graphics

Clean fonts in a large size will make your graphics accessible to a greater audience. So yes, that means no hard-to-read fonts like Comic Sans or Papyrus! 

And here’s a bonus tip: Small changes equal a bigger, more inclusive community!

P.S.: Our Website Journey

Here at Relay Resources, we began the process of transitioning our website (along with a brand refresh) in early 2024 to ensure our company was as technologically accessible as possible. Still, if you see anything we’re missing, let us know! Also, if you see another organization that’s using social media in an inaccessible way, send them a friendly message to let them know – inclusive design is still a relatively new idea that people and companies are adapting to.