How to make social content accessible

For charities in the UK it is against the law to ‘discriminate against anyone because of a protected characteristic’. But alongside that, making your social content accessible is an all-round win. It will help get your message across to the widest possible audience – including millions of people with disabilities, those with English as an additional language, and people with learning difficulties.

 

There are lots of cost-effective and free ways to make your social content more accessible. Many charities have great information on how to do this, including RNIB, Sense, and AbilityNet. Here are some ideas to get you started.

 

 

Include image descriptions

 

Add ‘Alt Text’ to images. Just write what you see and keep it simple. Check to make sure your description explains the meaning of your image. For example, ‘a graph’ won’t mean much, but ‘a graph showing that 10% of the UK population are dyslexic’ will.

 

You can also include an image description in the main post, in case there are issues with different screen readers picking it up. 

 

Some platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, have an image description feature. However, it’s better to write your own descriptions than rely on the automatic ones.

 

 

Use camelcase for hashtags

 

Capitalise the first letter of each word of your hashtag. For example, #BlackLivesMatter or #MeToo. This will make easier for screen readers to process, and also makes it clearer to read for people with or without disabilities.

 

 

Be clear and concise

 

Writing clearly and concisely is obviously important when using social media platforms where space is precious. But using short sentences and jargon-free plain English is also important for screen reading software and can help users who have a learning difficulty or English as an additional language.

 

 

Use inclusive language

 

The English language is peppered with ableist language which is harmful and reinforces stereotypes – for example, ‘turning a blind eye’ or calling something ‘dumb’.

 

Avoid using any ableist or otherwise exclusive language. To do this, style guides such as the Progressive Style Guide put together by the SumofUs can be very helpful, particularly the lists of terms to use and terms to avoid.

 

Also use gender-neutral pronouns and terms. LinkedIn and Instagram now allow users to add pronouns, so when communicating with users you can easily use the pronoun they prefer.