Inclusive social media content considers the varied needs of all audiences, including users with different first languages, cultural backgrounds, dietary requirements, or disabilities equivalent to sight loss.
When creating social media posts, videos, captions, or stories, you will need to consider the reading and listening experience of all audiences. This gives users a way of belonging and involvement inside your brand, despite their differences or needs.
Solvid lists recommendations on methods to reach all audiences and grow your brand with inclusive social media content.
Use Inclusive Language
Inclusive language isn’t nearly being politically correct; it’s about making everyone feel valued and heard. It’s like speaking in a way that welcomes everyone to the conversation.
To respect all audiences, you must avoid using:
- Sexist expressions equivalent to “boys might be boys”.
- Gender-biased language like “woman doctor” – they are only doctors.
- Generalisations or assumptions that would alienate or offend your audience. For example, please don’t assume all of your customers define themselves as one gender; as a substitute, try using gender-neutral pronouns.
- Cultural references, idioms, or phrases that will translate poorly in other languages or be misinterpreted by different audiences.
Kate Meyers Emery, senior digital communications manager at Candid, said: “An important tool for that is WittyWorks, a browser extension that alerts you to possible issues with the words you’re using. While you’ll still must keep your personal knowledge up to this point, the tool can show you how to rethink the way you’re using language.
“Things like Harvard’s Implicit Bias testing tools can be useful for understanding your personal bias and the way it might impact your writing.”
Consider The Readability
It’s essential to think about the readability of your content, including your words and font styles, sizes, and colors.
Here are some readability tricks to take into consideration:
- Studies show that fonts equivalent to Arial, Tahoma, and Verdana are more readable for those with dyslexia.
- In addition, fancy fonts usually are not clear enough for screen readers to read.
- Use abbreviations and acronyms rigorously, as these can confuse some readers.
- aLtErNaTiNg cApS reads as gibberish for screen readers.
- Screen readers cannot understand the context of using ALL CAPS.
- Don’t replace letters with asterisks (*) as they interrupt the flow for screen readers.
You can check the readability of your social media content with Hemmingway Editor or Readable. Aim for Grade 8 or lower to comply with WCAG standards.
Add Alt Text And Descriptions
At least 2.2 billion people across the globe have vision impairment, including blurred vision and color blindness.
All images should include a written description, generally known as Alternative Text (Alt Text). This allows assistive tools like screen readers to narrate the outline to those unable to see the image.
Here are some excellent suggestions for writing Alt Text:
- Describe what’s actually within the image. For example, ‘a golden retriever puppy drinking from a pink water bowl’ – not ‘image of a dog drinking’.
- Don’t include ‘image of’ or ‘photo of’ in Alt Text.
- Alt Text doesn’t need to be formal and may explain any humour or jokes conveyed within the image.
- If the image has text that’s central to its meaning, include it within the Alt Text.
- It takes longer to narrate Alt Text than to read it, so keep it concise for those using assistive tools.
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In addition to Alt Text, images and videos must also have detailed descriptions within the captions of social media posts. These should include the features and identities of the people within the visual, the patterns and colors of their clothing, and details of their surroundings.
Add Video Subtitles
By 2050, nearly 2.5 billion individuals are expected to have a point of hearing loss, making subtitles and captions a priority on social media videos.
Subtitles also enhance the viewing experience for users who don’t speak English as their first language or those watching in sound-off environments. In fact, 83% of US users watch content with pontificate.
Auto-captions can be found and straightforward so as to add on most social media and video hosting platforms, but make sure you check the text for correctness, spelling, and punctuation. Here are another things to envision:
- Make sure that captions usually are not covered. For example, the side panels on TikTok, the username and caption on the underside of Instagram Reels, or the message field on Instagram Stories.
- Ensure you’ve used a high-colour contrast for captions in order that they may be easily read over video visuals. You can use free tools like TPGI’s color contrast analyzer to envision your colors.
There are two forms of captions. Open captions are a part of the video, while your audience can turn closed captions on or off.
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Consider Your Hashtags
Instagram posts with at the very least one hashtag gain 12.6% more engagement than those without, highlighting the importance of hashtagging social media content.
However, there are some ways to maintain the hashtag inclusive for all audiences:
- Using the Pascal Case, capitalise the primary letter of each word in your hashtag in order that screen readers can read them properly. For example, #InclusiveSocialMedia, not #inclusivesocialmedia.
- You also can use Camel Case, which has similarities, except you don’t capitalize the primary word in your hashtag (e.g., #inclusiveSocialMedia). For some hashtag examples, think about using a combination of broad and specific terms relevant to your target market.
- Only add hashtags at the top of a post caption, as hashtags in the course of a sentence are disruptive when being read by the highest assistive tools.
- If you will need to use large groups of hashtags, add them as a social media comment slightly than at the top of your caption.
Limit The Use Of Emojis And Memes
Emojis and memes are an enormous a part of social media in 2024, but unfortunately, they aren’t inclusive to all audiences – especially those that are visually impaired.
Some emojis lose their context when interpreted through assistive tools like screen readers, which read the emoji’s name. For example, the favored emoji with three stars (✨) might be read as “sparkles”.
Memes, which are sometimes created as text overlays on images, may be even worse. Even if the meme includes alt text, it might be hard to explain the punchline through text alone.
Julia Métraux, disability and public health journalist at Mother Jones, said: “Memes that involve using all uppercase letters aren’t accessible to individuals who use screen readers, who’re blind or have low vision. It just spells the letters out like an acronym.”
Here are some tricks to make emojis and memes as inclusive as possible in the event you plan on using them in your social media content:
- When adding alt text to memes, be as descriptive as possible of the content and context, then explain the joke or humour.
- ASCII art memes, like this one from Domino’s, may be very confusing to know when narrated by assistive tools. If you must take part in the trend, share the ASCII art as a picture (slightly than writing it directly into the post) and describe it within the alt text.
i’m just gonna take ur opinions about pineapple
💭
＼(´･_･＼)
( )
く く and put them in the rubbish
( ´･_･`)
(＼ )＼
＞ ＞ 🗑️— Domino’s Pizza (@dominos) March 10, 2023
- Don’t add emojis to the start or middle of a sentence or caption, as that is disruptive when being read by assistive tools.
- Repeated emojis may be time-consuming when narrated by assistive tools, so try not to make use of greater than three in a row.
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Wrapping Up
Incorporating inclusive content into your social media strategy will help enhance your brand’s fame, connect you with a broader audience, and foster a way of community and belonging.
However, it’s pronounced when your intentions are superficial. So, being real along with your inclusive content is important, not only performative.
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