Accessible Posting on Social Media – How to Do It Right

A life without Internet? Unthinkable today. Honestly: we would probably have to make some concessions - because mobile availability is not only becoming more and more self-evident, but is also expected in many areas. Accordingly, the online offers and apps are tailored to our needs.

This is nothing new and a groundbreaking development that makes more and more participation and networking possible. However, if we enable such participation, we must also deal with the question: Can the content that we put online ourselves, and that is rummaging around in the online world, be consumed by all users? In this post, our guest author Nadine Triebel answers this and other questions about barrier-free posting on social media!

1. What does accessibility on the Internet mean?

Accessibility on the Internet: All information for everyone!

Accessibility on the Internet means making online content freely available to all users. That is: Creation of equal web offers for all, who use the Internet and its offers. All information should therefore be made usable  for all.Inclusion of people with disabilities

"No one may be disadvantaged because of their disability" - this is already firmly anchored in our Basic Law (Article 3, Section 3).

People with disabilities or people in old age are an integral part of our society. Barriers are a part of their life, which can lead to daily challenges in their everyday life. Depending on the degree of disability, for example, they may have reduced vision and/or hearing.

Accessibility on the Internet exists when these restrictions, for example in seeing, hearing, or processing information, do not affect the use of digital offers.

Note: There are guidelines for the accessibility of online content that the W3C, (World Wide Web Consortium) has written down in the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). In addition, since 2002, § 3 of the German Disability Equality Act (BGG) has stipulated that web offers must be designed to be barrier-free.2. What is meant by "Barrier-free posting"?

Social media: Recognize potential, enable participation!

The social channels and their feeds are highly visual. Images and especially videos make up an increasingly larger share of content. In addition, the channels have generally become an essential source of news and exchange.

At the beginning of the year, 4.62 billion users worldwide were counted on social media (source: Statista, as of January 2022). This means that more than half of the world's total population use social media. This naturally also includes people who are impaired.

Barrier-free posting means on the one hand becoming aware of the responsibility we have as creators towards these people and on the other hand including these "other" basic conditions in our media planning. This means preparing our social media content in such a way that it does not present a hurdle for people with a disability.

Why post barrier-free?

Let me illustrate this with an example:

Scenario A:

Imagine you are deaf and are confronted with content that is exclusively auditory: For example, you are watching a video on YouTube that does not contain subtitles.Scenario B:

Imagine you have a visual impairment and are confronted with content on Instagram that is exclusively visual - but is not described. You can only perceive the pictures blurry.Fortunately, the major channels have already thought about this: Most channels provide features to make posts as barrier-free as possible.

Good to know here:

People with disabilities often use so-called "Screenreaders", which output text information by voice output via the mobile phone/over the screen. These are relatively easy to set up on the smartphone.3. What should generally be considered when posting barrier-free?

The Barrier-free Posting initiative is here to help and provides lots of material and advice on their channels on how you can post barrier-free. We have prepared a small excerpt for you here as a checklist.

Your checklist for posting barrier-free:

Add a picture description:

• Explain in short sentences what can be seen in the picture and use the existing features, for example Alternative Text. This is captured by a screen reader and read out when activated.Explain difficult words:
• Make sure that you explain technical terms or abbreviations.Write short sentences:
• Brevity is the soul of wit. And not only for people with disabilities.Subtitling your videos:
• Not only people with disabilities benefit from this. You also adapt the content to the increased mobile needs of social media users.Use simple language:
• Explain your content so that a layman would understand it. Give it a sensible structure and avoid complex sentences.Start each word in a hashtag with a capital letter:
• Capitalize every letter if your hashtag consists of several words: #EmpoweredByInclusion. The screen reader recognizes that it is two different words and reads them out accordingly.4. Post barrier-free on Social Media - how it works on Social Media

Facebook and Instagram: For site administrators

The pre-planning of contributions is based on the same system for Facebook and Instagram, the reason is that Instagram has belonged to Facebook, today Meta as the umbrella corporation, since 2012. Site admins can plan their posts in the

Meta Business Suite or in the Creator Studio. However, the ability to leave an alternative text is currently only available in Creator Studio.This is how it works in Creator Studio - Image (Desktop view):

Create a new post in the top left.

1. Upload an image.
2. Click on the pencil.
3. Then navigate to
4. Accessibility – Alternative text.Explain in short sentences what can be seen in the picture.
5. This is how it works in Creator Studio - Video (Desktop view):

Create a new post in the top left and upload your video.

1. A mask for further editing of the subtitles automatically appears.
2. Facebook now also offers the function of automatic subtitles.
3. Click on "Subtitles and translated subtitles".
4. Now you can decide whether you want to add subtitles automatically, if you want to check them beforehand, upload a subtitle file (srt. format) or add subtitles yourself.
5. Important to know:

The Creator Studio app, which can be downloaded for free in the Play Store/App Store, currently does not have this option.

Postings on private Facebook and Instagram accounts

Facebook – Image posts in feed (desktop use):

Create a post.

1. Upload the picture.
2. Click on "Edit".
3. Add under "Alternative Text" what can be seen in the picture.
4. Facebook – Image posts in feed (mobile use)

The function

1. Alternative Text, only appears after the picture has been uploaded.Then click on the three dots in the top right.
2. At the very bottom displays the "Edit alternative text" function.
3. Facebook – Video posts in feed (mobile use)

There is not currently a mobile function for creating captions for video posts in the app. However, videos_uploaded_mobily can be subtitled_after uploading in the desktop view.

This is how it works in the desktop view:

After mobile upload, click on the three dots at the top right

1. Click on "Edit post".
2. Hold the mouse over the video, then click "Edit".
3. Subtitle - Add image texts (srt. file).
4. Instagram – Image posts in feed (mobile use)

You can also do content planning on Instagram in the

Creator Studio if posts are to be planned in advance. Otherwise, the app is predominantly used mobile - here you can use the feature Alternative Text before posting - but after that it is still possible to add the alternative text.Here's how:

Upload the picture in the feed.

1. Click through to the mask where you write the caption.
   
2. Click on "Advanced settings".
3. Click on
4. Accessibility – Enter alternative text.Instagram – Video posts in feed (mobile use)Instagram has just introduced the automatic subtitle function for videos in the feed.

Here's how:

Upload your video in the feed as usual.

Navigate to the mask where you also write the accompanying text. 

1. Click on "Advanced Settings" down below.
2. Check whether the "Show Subtitles" button is activated.
3. This should be set automatically.
4. Note:
5. The automatic subtitle function for videos in the story is to follow soon. Currently, you can add subtitles manually through the insertion of text. Plan some time for this, but focus on the key points.

YouTubeYouTube also has its own function for creating automatic subtitles.

Here's how:

Upload your video.

Then navigate to the YouTube Studio.

1. Then you go to
2. "Subtitles"
3. and select the video you want to edit.The mask "Video Subtitles" opens.YouTube has created an automatic subtitle, which you can now review and/or edit. Click "Duplicate and Edit".
4. Errors often creep into the automatic translation - best check the text, adjust it and set the correct timing.
5. Finally, check if your subtitle is displayed correctly. Click on your video and activate the subtitle.
6. Important:
7. If the video already contains a subtitle that you have already embedded in the raw file, you can simply delete the automatically added subtitle from YouTube.

LinkedIn – Picture PostsAs soon as you have uploaded an image on LinkedIn, the function automatically pops up.

Here's how

Upload your image.

Click on Alt-Text.
⁠

1. Add your alternative text.
2. LinkedIn – Video Posts
3. Upload your video.

Subtitles can only be added on LinkedIn through a srt. file.

1. Upload it and the subtitle appears.
2. Twitter – Picture: Posts
3. Here's how:

Upload your image.

Click on "Edit".

1. Navigate to "Alt" and enter your alternative text.
2. Twitter – Video
3. Upload your video.

Click on "Upload Caption File"

1. Add a srt. file.
2. In addition, these functions are also partially available on other social media management platforms like
3. or

. In addition, it is advisable to use subtitles when editing videos.HootsuiteWith Adobe Premiere ProSprout Social subtitles can be added relatively easily. There you can also individualize the font and the text background.5. These tools will help you to post barrier-freeMore software for

you can find on

OMR ReviewsSocial Media Suites and compare. In total, we have listed over 30 social media tools there that can help you post barrier-free. So drop by and compare the tools with the help of authentic and verified user reviews.⁠6. ConclusionAs we can see: Posting barrier-free is not as difficult as it sounds - and anyone can participate, even you! If we want to visibly do something to strengthen and promote diversity, we should all take a look at ourselves and start with ourselves. These small additions do not hurt and only take a few minutes - and the effect is worth it. Because everyone who goes along at this point shows: Promoting diversity is not a lip service, we also implement it in our actions. Barrier-free access on social media also means making a statement.

Hootsuite

Swat.io

SocialHub

Fanpage Karma

AgoraPulse

Sprout Social

⁠6. Fazit

Wie wir sehen: Barrierefrei zu posten ist nicht so schwer, wie es klingt – und jeder kann mitmachen, auch Ihr! Wenn wir sichtbar etwas dafür tun wollen Diversität zu stärken und zu fördern, sollten wir uns alle an der eigenen Nase fassen und bei uns selbst beginnen. Diese kleinen Zusätze schaden nicht und nehmen nur wenige Minuten Zeit in Anspruch – und der Effekt lohnt sich. Denn alle, die an dieser Stelle mitgehen zeigen: Diversität zu fördern ist kein Lippenbekenntnis, wir setzen das auch in unseren Taten um. Barrierefreiheit auf Social Media bedeutet damit auch ein Zeichen zu setzen.