Faculty and Staff » Digital Accessibility » Social Media Accessibility
Do you share content on social media? If yes, become familiar with the platform's accessibility features. Remember, all digital accessibility basics apply, as social media is digital content. Each platform varies, so explore features accordingly.
When adding hashtags, avoid overusing them. Too many can be overwhelming. Be thoughtful when selecting which hashtags to include. A good rule of thumb is to limit hashtags to five or fewer.
Hashtags are not case sensitive, so all the following are the same:
Is one of the examples easier to read? #BearDen is easier for many visual readers.
Screen readers recognize that each uppercase letter marks the beginning of a new word and will read each word correctly. Capitalizing the first letter of a word with no space between is called CamelCase; i.e., BearDen. Using CamelCase for hashtags makes the hashtag easier for sighted readers to read and allows screen readers to read correctly.
Take the time to add descriptive language when posting images. The goal is to give the visually impaired a similar experience to that of someone who is sighted.
Here are guides for each of the common social media platforms.
Flyers are great to view, but they are essentially an image. Alternative text would be lengthy and may be difficult for a screen reader user to navigate. Whenever posting a flyer, include the information communicated in the flyer as text before or after the flyer.
Join TBR Director of Accessibility, Amie Nephew, as she provides training.
Perfect. OK. Well, good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for coming and discussing social media and digital accessibility. A lot of people did not realize that those intersected.
I'm really glad you're here to see the connection and the importance of it. As we go through today, please feel free to unmute and ask questions or throw them in the chat. If I don’t see the chat, just holler out and let me know—I'd appreciate that!
Let’s dive in. Today, we’re going to cover:
There will be time for questions at the end—but don’t wait. Ask whenever you need to!
You may have taken a basic digital accessibility training before, so I won’t dive deep into laws. But here’s what you need to know:
WCAG is based on four core principles:
Whether it’s on Microsoft, PDFs, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn—always add alt text to your images.
Example (Before): “Look at this amazing event” – with an image but no alt text.
Example (Improved): “President Taylor speaks at our Science of Happiness retreat. Read the recap here:”
Alt Text: “A woman in a pink dress speaks on a stage with a Science of Happiness banner in the background.”
Facebook: Click the three dots on the image, choose “Edit Alt Text,” and enter a description.
LinkedIn: After uploading an image, you’ll see a field to add alt text during the editing process.
Instagram: Currently, you must add accessibility details in the first comment.
Tip: YouTube is one of the most user-friendly platforms for captioning and transcription.
Before: “Check out our latest video #hiringpractices ”
After: “Watch our new video on hiring practices:
(Video includes captions and a transcript.)
#HiringPractices”
Visit the TBR Digital Accessibility Resources page for:
You can also reach out to me directly. I offer:
This presentation recording, the PowerPoint, and a quick reference guide will be posted on our resources page by next Friday. I’ll be at the beach next week—thank you all!
Questions? Comments? Specific post examples you want feedback on? I’m happy to help!
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