Likes, shares, and views are important to any brand’s digital presence, but if accessibility is missing from your social media strategy, your brand is limiting its reach and excluding a large subset of the population. 

According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world’s population (roughly 1 billion people) experience some form of a disability, with rates of people with disabilities increasing since the onset of COVID-19.  A 2018 survey of Facebook users in 50 countries found that more than 30% of people report difficulty with at least one of the following: seeing, hearing, speaking, organizing thoughts, walking, or grasping with their hands. I also happen to fall into this category.  

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had difficulty hearing in my left ear. I often ask people to repeat themselves during conversation, activate subtitles when the option is available, and answer the phone exclusively with my right ear. While my impaired hearing isn’t severe—and I’ve been able to move through the world as an able-bodied person—I deeply appreciate accessible best practices and the ways in which they allow me to fully engage with content and be present. 

Now more than ever, Digital marketers should consider inclusive social media content as a “need-to-have” in their strategy instead of a “nice-to-have”. As the number of people on social media worldwide continues to grow, it’s not only good business to create accessible social media content, but it’s the just and equitable thing to do. At Mission Partners, we collaborate with our clients to craft just and equitable communications strategies for mission-driven impact. One of the many ways these values show up in our client work is by underscoring the importance of accessibility best practices in social media. 

If you’re crafting a compelling social media strategy or have interest in adopting more inclusive social media approaches, here are three accessibility best practices you can begin incorporating into your social media strategy today. 

1. Use plain language  

At Mission Partners, adopting plain language is one of the core tenets that informs our work and weaves into everything we do. Plain language—also called plain writing—is defined as messaging your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it. Crafting clear, simple messaging is a key practice in furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion, and builds trust with your community. Here are some pointers on drafting plain language:   

• Avoid jargon, acronyms, abbreviations, and special characters  
• Use short conversational words and phrases 
• Use present tense and active voice 
• Define your audience: use language they will feel comfortable with 
• Be concise: omit any information your audience doesn’t need in order to understand 
• Make it readable: keep things easy to scan by using accessible typography, descriptive headers, and spaces between information 

2. Apply asset-based framing  

At Mission Partners, we apply asset-based framing in all our communications, which is language that defines people by their assets and strengths and not their deficits or challenges. Asset-based framing is crucial to crafting accessible content and combating ableism. While ableist words like “crazy,” “lame,” or “spastic” are ingrained in our everyday vocabulary, they are harmful to people with disabilities. Scan your content for any potential ableist language that might show up (remember, you’re human and you’ll make mistakes!) and use alternative words outlined in this article by Very Well Mind.  

3. Make text accessible 

For assistive tools to capture the content your audience needs to know, here are several tips to make text more accessible: 

• Use CamelCase hashtags when possible. CamelCase is the practice of capitalizing the first letters of words in multiple word hashtags. Utilizing CamelCase in social media allows screen reader technology to distinguish words in a hashtag, increases legibility, and makes the hashtag overall easier to read for everyone. For reference: #notcamelcase -> #CamelCase. 
• Add brief alternative (alt) text to images and gifs. This allows low vision or blind users to understand the purpose of the images.  
• When adding alternative text, describe only how the image relates to the content. What is its purpose? Why is the image there? 
• Make sure the alternative text is brief. Try keeping it under two sentences or 8 to 120 characters or less. This helps prevent listening fatigue for people using screen readers. 
• Do not use words or phrases such as “Image of…”, “Photo of…” in the alternative text (screen readers announce images automatically). 
• Add open or closed captions to all videos. Ensure audio files also have captions so that assistive tools can capture the content.  
• Use emojis sparingly. Since screen readers are set up to automatically read emojis aloud, it takes more time and may fatigue the user; avoid using too many emojis back-to-back. 
• Place all references at the end of the text in any post. This process makes it easier for anyone with a visual processing disorder to read the content. 

As more people turn to social media for their primary source of news and entertainment, digital marketers have a responsibility to craft social media content that is accessible to all. Creating accessible content reaffirms that people with disabilities matter and are just as deserving of equitable and inclusive access to content as their peers. 

It may feel overwhelming to integrate accessible best practices into your digital strategy at first, so start small. Investing the time and energy towards creating more accessible content will lead to greater impact and opportunities to meaningfully engage with your audience. So I challenge you to consider this: what step can you take today to create more accessible social media content to connect with your community?