accessible social media

Social media platforms are a vital source of information for students, faculty and staff. Follow the steps below to make your social media more accessible and inclusive for all users. 

Add alt-text to images that you upload

Alt-text (alternative text) is a written description of an image. For screen reader users, alt-text is essential. This written description is read out loud every time the assistive technology comes across an image. Follow the steps below to add alt-text to images posted to social media platforms.

  • Instagram
    • When posting an image to Instagram, at the step where a caption is requested, go to "ADVANCED SETTINGS" at the bottom of the screen.
    • Select "WRITE ALT-TEXT"
    • Insert the image's alt-text in the box and select "DONE"
    • Alt-text is capped at 100 characters, so it may be helpful to add a description of posted images in the caption of the post
  • X/Twitter
    • Click on the compose button or press "N" to use the keyboard shortcut
    • Attach a photo to the post
    • To insert descriptive text, select "+ALT" on mobile or "ADD DESCRIPTION" on desktop
    • Type a description of the image and select "DONE"
    • To edit the description, re-open the "ADD DESCRIPTION" or "+ALT" dialog prior to posting 
  • Facebook
    • Create a post and add images
    • Select "..." on mobile or "EDIT" on desktop to open a dropdown menu and then select "EDIT ALT TEXT" or "ALTERNATIVE TEXT"
    • The automatically-generated text will be shown on the left side of your photo. Click "OVERRIDE GENERATED ALT-TEXT" to edit
    • Write your alt-text in the text box and select "DONE" to save
  • LinkedIn
    • Select a photo to upload
    • Select "ALT" below the image
    • Type a description or alt-text for the image and select "DONE"

Capitalize the first letter in each word of a hashtag

Capitalizing the first letter of each word within a hashtag means that screen readers will pronounce them correctly. For example, use #˿ƵBearcats instead of #binghamtonbearcats.

Screen readers cannot distinguish separate words when they are in lowercase. Capitalizing the first letter of each word in your hashtag means that screen readers will read out each word separately and pronounce the hashtag correctly. 

Whenever possible, only use hashtags at the very end of the post.

Video accessibility guidelines

Use closed captions

Captions only display dialogue in a video, but closed captions with audio descriptions include all audio cues in a video, including background music and actions in between dialogue — this makes the video accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Closed captions don't automatically have audio descriptions of all audio cues, however. When creating the closed caption file, you’ll need to add audio descriptions (such as background music, or ambient sound such as murmuring in a coffee shop) as part of the closed caption file.

Include a transcript or summary of the video

All videos should be posted with a link to the video transcript or a summary of the video. This is so viewers with sensory or cognitive disabilities and people who use assistive technology can access the content of the video in text format.

Add closed captions to videos

In addition to images, video content is a big part of the social media experience. Users should add closed captions or subtitles to all videos they upload, including short-form content. There are a few ways to add captions to your video content.

Use a third-party tool or caption provider

The first is to create captions using a free or paid tool. These tools automatically generate a description from the audio, which you can then edit. Captions should appear on the exported video which you can then upload to Instagram. Kapwing, Clipomatic, InShot and Clips are all examples of tools that you can use to add captions to your videos.

Write your own captions

The other option is to create a SubRip (.SRT file) using Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac and add this to your video using video editing software. You will then need to transfer the video to your mobile device to upload it to social media.

How to add captions on different social media platforms

  • X/Twitter
    • Desktop only and SRT file
    • Upload a video to your post
    • Select "UPLOAD CAPTION FILE (.srt)" below the video
    • In the pop-up, select the "UPLOAD CAPTIONS" button, then choose the caption file from your computer
    • Select "DONE"
    • Under the video, the name of the language your captions are written in appears in place of the previous upload command
    • If you’re satisfied with your post text, video, and caption file, select "POST"
  • Instagram
    • Go through the steps for creating a new post/story/reel with a video
    • Select the smiley-face icon at the top
    • Select "CAPTIONS"
    • Auto-generated captions will appear on your video
    • Select the text to edit and fix any errors in captions
    • Adjust the caption position and size to fit the video appropriately (not covering crucial/important information)
    • Before posting, select "ADVANCED SETTINGS" and make sure "SHOW CAPTIONS" is toggled on
    • Share post/story/reel
  • Facebook
    • Select “PHOTO/VIDEO” in the compose box in your timeline
    • Select a video to upload
    • Select "CAPTIONS"
    • Select "EDIT CAPTIONS" after transcription is done
    • Select words that need to be edited and correct captions as needed
    • Add video title and post description and publish
  • LinkedIn
    • Create a post and add video
    • Select the "CC" (closed captions) button
    • Toggle on auto captions
    • Auto captions are currently only in English
    • Captions will appear after they are generated
    • Users can select to review captions on the Linked in website before they are posted to make appropriate edits before posting or post auto-generated captions.
    • Captions may not be immediately available to viewers depending

Emoji accessibility guidelines

Use emojis in moderation
Insert emojis at the end of a sentence or Tweet – using them throughout or in the middle of Tweet copy slows down reading for screen reader users and people with cognitive disabilities.

Don't repeat the same emoji over and over
It’s disruptive for assistive technology users to have to hear the same emoji repeatedly, especially because they won’t know if there’s useful information somewhere in between or at the end of the emojis.

Choose emojis that have good color contrast for default and dark modes
People with low vision may struggle to clearly see the emoji and understand its relevance if their device is set for dark mode.

Zoom

Zoom allows user to enable automated captioning. 

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  • Sign in to the ˿Ƶ Zoom web portal
  • In the navigation menu, click "SETTINGS"
  • Click the "MEETING" tab
  • Under "IN MEETING (ADVANCED)," click the "AUTOMATED CAPTIONS" toggle to enable or disable the feature
  • If a verification dialog displays, click "ENABLE" or "DISABLE" to verify the change. Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom administrator
  • (Optional) Click the "EDIT" option  to select which languages you want to be available for captioning.