Accessibility

Social Media

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Here are quick tips for creating accessible social media posts. See below for more ideas and details.
    • Any self-descriptive or short links are published without the use of a link-shortener. If you do use a link shortener, you need to describe what the link does in the post e.g. “RegSign up here: 0ny.cc/XYZ”
    • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all have the ability to edit alternative text on video, photos and graphics.
    • Take the time to put in more descriptive language about the image/video. Remember to describe what is happening in the image rather than simply listing what is in the image.
    • Your goal is to provide the visually impaired with the same or similar experience as someone who is sighted.
    • Avoid classifying someone's race in the alt text or any commentary - keep it neutral and fact-based.
    • Avoid writing “image of” or “picture of” because it is redundant for screen readers that already announce images
    • Note that alternative text is only available to screen reader users. If there is visible text in your image that is small, low-contrast or low-resolution (cannot be enlarged), low-vision users who do not use a screen reader may not be able to read it.
    • For posts that have images,include concise, informative alt text that captures the purpose the image is meant to convey If your image conveys humor, your alt text should explain all relevant actions, emotions, facial expressions, and the source (TV show, film, meme) for the humor to effectively translate. 
    • For video content, you should provide captions of the audio for the benefit of those without hearing, who are hard-of-hearing, and who are non-native speakers.
    • Captions can be either closed captions (where a user can turn them on and off) or open captions (where the text is embedded into the video and cannot be turned on or off).
    • For videos on Snapchat, Instagram stories, YouTube, Facebook and others, it is recommended to burn in captions.
    • Make sure to use a san serif font at 12 points or larger to make reading easier for viewers.
    • On platforms that allow for alternative text descriptions on GIFs, you should provide them in the same manner as for still images.
    • Note that this alternative text is only available to screen reader users. Many users who do not use screen readers may have trouble reading images of text in a GIF that are low-resolution, low-contrast, distorted or only shown briefly.
    • In either case, make sure the post can be understood through its non-graphical text alone, even if this means the text seems visually redundant to the image.
    • Ensure videos with audio have clearly spoken words and limited background noise.
    • Hashtags are written in PascalCase (a.k.a StudyCase), #LikeThis, not #likethis. You can also use camelCase hashtags #likeThis, not #likethis.
    • Hashtags are ideally placed at the end of the post, not in the middle as that interrupts the flow of screen readers.
    • There are no large blocks of hashtags. If “hashtag cloud’ must be used, place them in the first comment instead of in the primary content area
    • Tags are relevant and contextual. Don’t tag accounts solely based on special requests or to reach a larger audience.
    • If the tag doesn’t clearly indicate the account it links to, it is ideal to name the person or organization directly and then place the tag in parentheses after that, or simply place the tags at the end of the post.
    • Limited and relevant emojis are used — no more than 3 in the entire post.
    • No color or symbol is solely relied upon to convey meaning — don’t use emojis in place of text.
    • Emojis are placed at the beginning or the end of posts. Emojis in the middle of posts disrupt the flow of screen readers and confuse the meaning of sentences.
    • Emojis are not used as bullet points.
    • Emojis do not repeat multiple times.
    • All emoji descriptions are checked on emojipedia.org before use.
    • Emojis displayed on a screen will be described by a screen reader. The  emoji, for example, will be read aloud as "clapping hands."
    • Please be considerate of screen reader users by using emojis judiciously and by placing spaces between them.
    • When creating emoticons with text, consider the experience for screen reader users. In this example, this visual experience of "shruggie" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ will be read aloud by a screen reader as: "Macron, backslash, underline, katakana, underline, slash, macron."
    • Check your images, your bio section, thumbnail images and graphics, and your Instagram and Snapchat stories to make sure there is a high contrast of colors to ensure legibility, including for those who have color blindness.
    • Use a color contrast analyzer tool, such as a Chrome plug-in. It can help you determine if your content complies with accessibility standards.
    • Avoid using acronyms in your posts just to make them shorter. If you need to, be sure to explain what the acronym stands for.
    • Use plain language in your posts. Less is more, so use words your readers would use when doing a web search for similar information

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