5 things to do to write accessible social media posts
Small changes can make a big difference in creating a more accessible world.
I’ve been thinking about the little things I do on social media to make my posts more accessible, like capitalising the words in hashtags and writing in plain language, but I know that’s not very much and I can definitely do more.
So here’s 5 easy things we can do to make our social media posts more accessible:
Use clear and simple language
Using simple language makes your content accessible to all, like people with learning disabilities or people whose first language isn’t your language.
Try to avoid using complex language, jargon, or acronyms. If it’s unavoidable due to the nature of what you’re saying, try to explain what it means in simple language afterwards.
Capitalise hashtags
This is probably the quickest and easiest change on the list, and it makes a huge difference. Capitalising each word in a hashtag makes it far easier for everyone to read, but it’s essential for anyone using a screen reader.
When you don’t capitalise the individual words, the screen reader treats the hashtag as one word and reads out nonsense. So, instead of using #accessibilityawareness, you should use #AccessibilityAwareness.
Use descriptive Alt Tags
Alt tags are short descriptions of images that appear in place of the actual image when it can’t be displayed. They’re also read out by screen readers to describe the image. No alt tag = no way of knowing what the image is.
So, when you’re posting an image take a couple of minutes to write a descriptive alt tag. You could include things like the content of the image or what emotion it conveys. By providing a detailed description, you allow everyone to fully engage with your content, regardless of their abilities.
Alt tag: A white man stands with a black and white cat perched on his right shoulder. The ground is snowy and there are yellow trees in the background.
Image description: A young white man stands with his body facing towards the camera but with his head turned to the right looking up at a black and white cat that’s perched on his shoulder. He’s wearing a brown plaid shirt, black backpack, and knit hat. The ground is snowy and there are sparse white tree trunks yellow trees in the background.
Write detailed image descriptions
As well as entering alt tags on the image, you could include an image description in the body of your post. You can go into a lot more detail here because you’re not restricted by the alt tag character limit.
It can be quite fun to look at the image and think about what it’s showing and how it makes you feel, and then writing about it. You might not be used to it at first but it’ll get easier the more you do it.
For example - take a look at the alt tag and image description for the image above.
Use closed captions for video content
Ensuring your videos have closed captions means anyone d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing is able to consume and engage with your content.
Many platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have built-in closed caption generators now. They can sometimes get words wrong, but you can edit them or write your own. Using closed captions is such quick and easy way to flip your content from being completely inaccessible to the d/Deaf community, to inclusive of them.
So there you have it, 5 pretty quick things you can do to make your content accessible. They’ll probably become second-nature after a little while and will make a huge difference in how inclusive your content is.
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I’m Jade and I write down to earth copy and content for charities and social justice groups, and vegan or sustainable businesses.
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