5 social media tips for connecting with the disability community
According to the World Bank, one billion people (15% of the world’s population) experience some form of disability. On top of that, the ageing population and medical advancements could mean that this market will continue to grow. While some marketers understand how to create accessible content, many don't, I know I was oblivious for most of my career. So here are some simple techniques you can start implementing today to make content more accessible and expand your market offering.
Alt Text
The alternate, or ALT text, is especially helpful for people with vision difficulties. It describes what the image is about. For someone with low vision, they often use screen reader software. The software will scan the page and read out captions, text, articles. However, it obviously can't read an image. So it is your job to add ALT text and describe the image for them. This makes content more accessible and is also extremely helpful in terms of SEO.
Meaningful links
Writing text like “click here” or “read more” isn't good for accessibility. You need to describe what the URL is about. For example 'click the link to learn about signing up to the Mable platform". It is also good to shorten your links so the screen reader doesn't read the entire link to the person.
Use grey coloured text instead of harsh black and white
For someone with dyslexia - seeing harsh contrasting colours like black and white can cause the words on the page to swirl and blur. A simple technique to help people would be using grey coloured text and if possible light grey background. It is also good to avoid justified text and keep it left-justified.
Colour blind friendly content
For people that are colour blind, messaging that relies on colour is impossible for them to consume. Using the bold function or patterns can help overcome this.
For someone who is colour blind - there is no distinction between the different columns. Putting a pattern or making one column bolder will allow someone to effectively read it.
Of course, it is difficult to always make content accessible and sometimes it will slip your mind. But wherever possible, start implementing these small techniques and watch your audience expand. Special thanks to Suzi DeBattista from Mable who helped show me many of these techniques!