Social media websites and services are evolving rapidly. The changes sometimes include positive accessibility improvements. However, sometimes the changes result in new accessibility challenges. If your UW department is using social media as a way of promoting programs and services, or of communicating with participants, it is important to:
- use the social network as one of multiple channels through which information is disseminated, so users who are unable to access the social network can still access the content; and
- take steps to ensure the content you are posting to the social network is accessible.
See below for specific instructions on how to ensure accessibility of content uploaded to various social sites. The focus of these resources is on the two most common accessibility needs for content authors: Adding alt text to images and adding captions to videos.
- Edit the alternative text for a photo
- Adding captions to a video on your Profile
- Add captions to a video on your Page
- How to make images accessible for people
- How to add captions and subtitles to Twitter Videos (3PlayMedia)
Note: According to 3PlayMedia, “There are several ways to attach SRT files to your Twitter videos – through an API, Twitter Media Studio or Twitter Ads.” Unfortunately there does not appear to be a way to add captions to videos through the more commonly used Twitter interface. For the latter, solutions include:
- Upload an open captioned video
- Link to an accessible video that’s hosted elsewhere
- How to edit alternative text for a photo on Instagram
- How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Instagram Videos (3PlayMedia)
Note: Adding alt text to images on LinkedIn is supported and intuitive, built into the workflow when adding an image.