Accessibility in Social Media

Overview

Since web users spend a significant amount of time on social media for news, improving their experience can be achieved through simple changes. Creating accessible social media content ensures your message is clear to everyone, helping you connect with a broader audience. This guide will help you create accessible posts by covering these topics:

Using Emojis

Emojis are a common way to make social media posts stand out and a “fun” demental part of digital expression. If used effectively, emojis can enhance the message for users of all abilities. If the emoji is decorative, consider removing it entirely. Consider the following best practices for using emojis.

Use 2 or 3 distinct emojis at the end of the main message.

For optimal use, add 2 to 3 emojis at the end of a post to prioritize the main message. Used this way, emojis support the idea rather than interrupt it. Placing emojis at the beginning or middle of a post can disrupt the reading flow for assistive technology users with visual impairments. The message could be lost entirely if too many emojis are used consecutively.

Avoid emojis in instructions, labels, headings, or critical content.

Bad example

“Excited to start a new 👨‍🎓📚 school year! Learn about our services and make new connections 🤝🔗 at tonight’s event. 🎉🍕 Pizza will be served!”

This is what a screen reader would read:

“Excited to start a new man student books school year! Learn about our services and make new connections handshake link at tonight’s event. Party popper pizza will be served!”

Good Example

“Excited to start a new school year! Learn about our services and make new connections at tonight’s event. Pizza will be served! 🤝🎉”

Do not use emojis to replace words.

Replacing words with emojis will also disrupt the reading flow of assistive technologies and may cause cognitive overload for some users. Overuse of emojis can interrupt the listening experience.

Bad Example

“⏳ is running out ‼️ Only 5️⃣ more days until our 🆕 event. ❌ wait - register ➡️ eventlink.com”

Not only would this confuse assistive technology users, but it could also be confusing to those whose devices or browsers do not support emojis. Without the emojis, the message would look like this:

“� is running out � Only � more days until our � event. � wait - register � eventlink.com”

In this instance, the post does not completely convey the main idea. Similar to the previous tip, it is best to use only a few emojis at the end of the message.

Good Example

“Time is running out! Only 5 more days until our new event. Don’t wait - register at eventlink.com ⏳”

Double-check the emoji name for clarity.

When assistive technologies (such as screen readers) encounter an emoji, they announce its Unicode name aloud. These names are standardized and maintained by the Unicode Consortium, not customized by the author.

Because emoji names are technical and literal, they may not match the tone or meaning you intend. If the announced name does not clearly align with your message, users may become confused or misunderstand the content.

Also, emojis can have different meanings depending on the context and the cultural background of the user. For example, this is represented by the folded hands emoji: 🙏. It could be interpreted as someone praying, begging, or saying thank you, but “folded hands” does not convey those ideas.

Knowing the description ensures a clear message and avoids confusion. Refer to the Unicode emoji chart or search on Emojipedia for a list of emojis and their names. This helps ensure that universal design principles are followed. As a result, everyone can participate in the conversation, regardless of their abilities or limitations.

Effective Hashtags

Using hashtags can help attract a broader audience to your social media channels. Effective marketing campaigns often incorporate a few relevant hashtags in posts to expand their reach to new followers. Consider these tips to make hashtags accessible. Placing hashtags at the end of a post or in a separate line also improves overall readability for everyone, especially for users with cognitive or language processing needs.

Capitalize the beginning of words.

If a hashtag has multiple words, capitalize the beginning of each word. This ensures that the meaning of the hashtag is clear to all users. Avoid long concatenated hashtags (e.g., #ThisIsHardToRead) — these are difficult for screen readers to parse

Good Examples

  • #MotivationMonday
  • #ThrowbackThursday
  • #ECCFoundationGala

Add hashtags at the end

Like emojis, hashtags can affect how assistive technology reads your content. Put hashtags at the end of your message, ideally on their own line. 

For example,

"Did you know the Spartan Drive campus opened for the first time in 1970? Back then, the only building on campus was Building B! #ThrowbackThursday #ECC75"

How to Add Alternative Text to Social Posts

Almost every post includes at least one image. Since images are key for sharing information on social media, it's essential to include alt text for all images. Alt text is descriptive text of visual graphics that is used when content is unavailable to a user. A screen reader typically reads alt text and can also be displayed if an image fails to load.

Here are some general tips for writing good alt text for social media:

  • Keep it short and straightforward. Try to use 100 characters or fewer.
  • If an image contains text, write all of it in the alt text or as part of the post itself.
  • Describe relevant actions, emotions, and expressions. If the image references another form of media, include the source.

Some examples of good alt text:

  • Sparks from a welding torch light up the masked head of a welder.
  • Two students excitedly pet a Labrador dog.
  • Michael Scott from The Office repeatedly yells, "No!"

Review the alternative text section of the accessibility page for a more detailed overview of proper alt text.

Check the following links for detailed instructions on adding alt text to images on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.

How to Create Video Captions on Different Social Media Platforms

Video posts are increasing in popularity as a way to increase engagement with others. Including closed captions in videos makes them accessible to individuals with hearing impairments. It also benefits those in noisy environments, like crowded trains.

To include closed captions, you need to create an SRT file for some platforms. This can be done automatically through a third-party service. It can also be created manually using any word processor, such as a text editor or word processor. The Indeed article, "How To Create SRT Subtitles in 8 Steps (Plus Tips)," offers a detailed step-by-step guide. It explains the process of manually creating an SRT file. 

Refer to the following links for specific instructions on how to add video captions on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (formerly known as X), and LinkedIn.