Inclusive Content Matters

Ten tips to make your social media accessible and inclusive

 

I recently attended Charity Digital’s inaugural Digital Inclusion Summit, a day filled with online talks and webinars designed to equip charity sector professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to bridge the digital divide. Working for a communications and marketing recruitment agency specialising in the charity sector. At Ashby Jenkins Recruitment we are passionate about creating a more inclusive sector, always aiming to share tips and best practice with our charity clients. One of the sessions I found most insightful was hosted by Prue Watson, Senior Social Media Manager at RNIB. Prue emphasised the importance of optimising content for screen readers, ensuring it is accessible and inclusive for blind and partially sighted individuals who often rely on these devices.

 

Here are the top 10 tips she shared that could help make your content inclusive:

 

1. Use Alt Text

Alt text provides a brief description of an image, conveying its main message. Match the tone of your alt text with the content it describes and include any text within the image. Platforms like Twitter offer alt text reminders, prompting you to include descriptions for your images and GIFs.

2. Hashtags and emojis

Limit hashtags and emojis to one or two per post. Use camel case for hashtags, capitalising the first letter of each word (e.g. #InclusiveContentMatters). Check the meaning of emojis on Emojipedia before use to avoid misinterpretations.

3. Add subtitles to videos

Tools like Headliner and CapCut can help create and edit videos with subtitles. Always verify the accuracy of auto-generated subtitles before posting.

4. Choose readable fonts

Avoid using fancy or hard to read fonts. Refrain from using bold or italicized words unless necessary, as some screen readers may skip these or announce “bold” or “italic” before reading them. Also, avoid using all-caps, as screen readers may read out each letter individually, making the text unintelligible.

5. Make links accessible

Use URL shorteners like Bitly to reduce character length. You can also customise your URLs and use terms that are relevant to your content.

6. Consider using white text on black backgrounds

This colour scheme is easier for blind and partially sighted individuals to read.

7. Avoid repetition

Repeated words or sentences can be annoying when read aloud by screen readers, so use them sparingly, even for emphasis.

8. Optimise TikTok content

Most TikTok content is not accessible to people with sight loss since screen readers cannot access overlaid text. Use the speech-to-text function and voiceovers to make videos audio-led.

9. Aim for progress, not perfection

If your content is not currently accessible and inclusive, view it as an opportunity to learn and improve. Seek advice from those with more expertise.

10. Be an ally

Even if you are not responsible for putting out content you can make a difference by being an ally and demanding change on behalf of others. We must all play our part.

If you would like to learn more about how you can make your marketing and communications accessible and inclusive, consider signing up for the RNIB’s Inclusive Communications Masterclass.


About the Author

Olivia is a Marketing and Communications Recruiter at Ashby Jenkins Recruitment, a charity sector specialist marketing recruitment agency. If you would like to get in contact with her regarding making your recruitment processes more inclusive, please email [email protected] or call her on 02030 062787.

You can also visit our website for a range of other blog post on topics affecting the charity sector.