Quick Tips For Keeping Your Content Accessible

May 14

Is your content as accessible as you think it is? The sad reality is: maybe not.

Let’s be honest, we could all do more when it comes to accessibility.

Accessibility isn’t just about compliance; it’s about making your content inclusive and building trust. And from a marketing perspective? It’s a great way to drive engagement.

Why accessibility should be on your radar

When your content isn’t accessible, it’s not inclusive, meaning entire audiences are being left out.

👉 From a brand perspective, that’s missed engagement.

👉 From a human perspective, that’s a lack of inclusivity.

Small changes can make a big difference, and it’s so worth taking the extra steps to access the widest possible audience and make your followers feel seen.

So let’s walk through some quick ways to ensure your content is accessible.

1. Alt text is key

This is one that often slips through the net.

Alternative text (alt text) is a short description added to images on a webpage or social post. It describes what’s within an image and positions it in a wider context for those unable to see it.

Some visually impaired or blind people use screen readers to read out alt text, allowing them to understand what’s happening in an image. It’s absolutely crucial for accessibility and arguably the most important step for making your content inclusive.

Most major platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram will write alt text for you, but we’d suggest tailoring each piece of content to ensure it’s as accurate as possible.

Check out this article written by Harvard University - it’s a great guide for writing alt text.

💡 Bonus: if written well, alt text is great for SEO and boosting your site or platform’s online presence in search engines! It’s a win-win for everyone.

2. Always. Add. Captions.

People used to laugh at me for always having the subtitles on.

But nowadays, subtitles and captions are absolutely everywhere. It’s rare to see a video or show without them. In fact, four out of five TV viewers aged 18-25 use subtitles all or part of the time. It’s become the norm in recent years. It also makes scrolling on your phone so much easier. Sat on the train? Someone asleep next to you? Telly on in the background? You’re much more likely to watch videos without sound if there are captions attached.

Above all else, captions are extremely important for accessibility. They make your content accessible to those with audio processing issues, hearing impairment, and anyone whose first language isn’t English (I recall a story of my Italian dad paying £70 for the entire Game of Thrones boxset only to find the subtitles weren’t even available). It means more people can enjoy and engage with your stuff.

There’s more and more software out there to help you add captions to your videos. CapCut or captions.ai are great examples, just ensure spellings are correct and fonts are legible. And don’t forget to add them to your Instagram stories, too. This can easily be done with the captions feature. Once you’ve recorded your story, go to stickers and click add captions. It will transcribe them for you automatically!

3. Contrast and Colourways

Some people can’t see every colour, meaning that pretty Canva graphic you spent hours on may appear invisible to some.

And let's face it, no matter how good your eyesight is, yellow on a white background is never a good idea.

Using simple, contrasting colours and bold text that fulfils the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ensures that your content is accessible to all.

This isn’t just your graphics, it’s your branding, too. It’s not just about what looks nice; it’s about ensuring everybody can see and understand it.

You can check your colour palettes and combos through a contrast checker to ensure everybody can perceive your content.

We recommend using a graphic designer to assist you, as they’re typically trained in this area. cough, cough @Reich Perez cough, cough 😏

4. #MakeYourHashtagsReadable

Hashtags were first used on Twitter (RIP) back in 2007, and have since become the go-to way to reach audiences on social media platforms. Today, we see them on almost every social post.

But did you know that some people can’t read them?

Hashtags are often written in lowercase, which can pose several problems (don’t get us started on Susan Boyle’s album release circa 2012 - if you know, you know).

First of all, hashtags don’t include spaces, meaning those with screen readers have great difficulty distinguishing between words. If each word in a hashtag is in lowercase, a screen reader will interpret it as one word, and those who are blind or visually impaired will have difficulty understanding what’s written.

Secondly, those with disabilities such as dyslexia often have trouble interpreting hashtags, as they may be unable to recognise where one word ends and another begins.

The solution is simple: capitalise the first letter of each word in your hashtags! It’s a quick and easy way to ensure everyone can read them. If only someone had told Susan’s PR team to write it as #SusanAlbumParty…😔

Quick wins to start today

To round up, here’s a quick accessibility guide that you can get started with today:

Add captions to your video content - transcribing videos enables you to reach a larger audience (don’t forget Insta stories!)
Run your content through a contrast checker - this checks your colour combinations against WCAG guidelines
Capitalise your hashtags - capitalising the first letter of each word in your hashtags makes them easier to read
Consider writing alt text for your website and social posts - writing a clear description of an image helps visually impaired audiences access content

We hope you can see just how easy it is to embed accessibility into your content planning. It really doesn’t take much, but it can make a massive difference to your audience.

And remember: accessibility makes life easier for everyone, not just the people who need it. (Fun fact - electric toothbrushes were invented as an accessible aid for people with limited motor skills - think how many people use them now!)

Of course, this list isn’t the be-all and end-all of accessibility. There are so many ways that you can make your content accessible, and we’d really recommend doing your research and dedicating some time to doing an accessibility audit of your brand.

Got any accessibility tips to share? Let us know - we're always looking for ways to learn and grow!