What’s New: Social Media Accessibility and Inclusive Design

“Despite its many benefits, social media can be a source of frustration for users with disabilities or unique needs. Inaccessible social media content can prevent these users from engaging with the world of social. They may be shut out of conversations or unable to access critical information.” This insight is featured in an article titled Social Media Accessibilty: Inclusive Design Tips for 2023 by Laura Wong posted on Hootsuite

Wong highlights why accessibility is important on social media, the barriers users with a disability may face on social media  and selected best practices for designing inclusive media content for all users. Seven specific strategies that are identified  for consideration by social media  professionals include:

• Alt Text: Add descriptive captions and alternative text(alt text) to enable people to visualize images.

• Video Captions: Incorporate captions and subtitles to videos enhancing the viewing experience.

• Accessible Text: Write text for a wide range of social media audiences.

• Visuals: Create accessible visuals by checking colour contrast, combine it with symbols, patterns, or labels.

• Memes and Emojis: Memes and emojis can convey something different than it’s literal meaning.

• Platform: Stay current on accessibility features of social media platforms

• Feedback: Encourage feedback and learn from it. 

For each  of the seven strategies there are specific and practical tips that social media professionals can implement. This blog is worth the investment of time to read it. 

To view this article, click here.