Most people do not consciously think about accessibility. If you want to go to the movies, you get in your car and drive to a theater. You buy popcorn, sit in your assigned seat, and wait for the entertainment to start. When hungry, you order takeout or make something in your kitchen. You take ingredients from the cabinet and fridge, turn the stove on, and cook a meal. You do not think about these things beyond deciding which movie to see and what you want to eat.
For those limited by disability, it is not that easy. A person in a wheelchair would have to determine if their local theater is accessible. Is there space in the popcorn line for their wheelchair? Is there a designated space in the theater itself? Someone paralyzed from the neck down cannot cook for themselves. They have different ways and means of getting things done. They may get someone to help them or get food delivered.
The same scenario applies to social media, albeit in a different context. Whereas you would log into your profile and scroll through your feed, a visually impaired person cannot necessarily do that. They can only consume videos by listening to them. They can only listen if the videos have audio. Conversely, hearing-impaired people can only watch videos with captions to understand the story or message. Without captions, they wouldn’t be able to grasp the entirety of the video.
Those with learning or intellectual challenges may need information presented differently. Mobility impairments mean there is a need for voice commands and other technology.
It is all about accessibility. Accessibility refers to products, services, environments, and systems designed so that people with different forms of disability can use and enjoy them. Accessibility removes barriers and allows everyone to get the same information and have the same interaction, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities. The same goes for situational or temporary disabilities.
Around 15% of the world’s population lives with a form of disability. This equals more than 1 billion people. These disabilities typically include visual, auditory, neurological, physical, and cognitive disorders. In the U.S., this equals 5.9% hearing impaired and 4.6% visually impaired people. Those living with these disabilities experience them in varying degrees, from mild to severe. This means that their way of doing things differs according to the severity of their disability.
On social media, accessible content is critical to ensure that these 1 billion people can participate in online interactions. Videos, carousels, and static posts must include sound, text, captions, voice command options, and more. Including these components will allow everyone to access the required information instead of being automatically excluded.
Just consider the following statistics. There are 40 million legally blind people in the world. Around 466 million people have disabling hearing loss. Millions more experience physical disability, while even more suffer from dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, and other cognitive or neurological disabilities.
Now, imagine the difference accessible content would make to all these lives. Looking at these numbers, you can see that accessibility cannot just be another box to tick while creating content. Accessibility must equal an inclusive process for everyone, especially on platforms like Instagram.
At this point, it sounds like creating accessible content is complicated, right? Adding alt text, captions, audio, and sounds is probably time-consuming, and finding the right balance may seem impossible. It is not. If you decide to make your Instagram content more accessible, several apps and tools can help make the process easier. For example, you can use a content generator to add alt text for images. You can use an AI tool to help you create music and sounds for videos. There are subtitle generators and closed caption generators you can use.
When you execute accessibility the right way, you can reach a massive audience. Why? Because accessibility not only appeals to those with disabilities but to everyone. Many people watch videos with the sound off (so they do not disturb others). Closed captions are excellent for these situations. Others may prefer listening to a story instead of watching it. Audio is fantastic for this. So, whether people need or want accessibility, your content should comply.
Social media platforms recognize the importance of accessible content, so they offer a range of features that allow content creators to add captions, music, text, and more.
So, now that you know why accessible content is important, how do you start transforming your Instagram posts? The trick is to take a holistic approach to accessible content. For example, how can you improve accessibility while creating an Instagram post? This is possible by taking an in-depth look at the photos and graphics you use. How would you explain them to someone who cannot see? What type of audible wording or description would best help a visually impaired person understand the message of your post? What about hearing-impaired Instagram users? How can you use text to highlight your message? How can you make this text more readable and easier to understand?
This is where things get technical. Ideally, you want to add concise captions where needed. All captions should describe what happens in an image or video. You also want to add alt text. Alt text should always be highly descriptive. Instead of saying, “Sunset in Florida,” you can say, “The sun sets over Florida’s Hollywood beach on a winter’s day in 2024.” This type of description reads well and is good for audio, too. The goal of captions, alt text, and audio is to capture the mood of an image or video. You want everyone to experience the emotions or nostalgia of your content.
You can use hashtags for accessible content, but make sure you don’t cram them in the caption or alt text if they do not fit. Consider adding hashtags as audio or text in a separate comment. Capitalize each individual word within a hashtag. Otherwise, screen readers will read them aloud as one nonsensical word or phrase.
Try not to use emojis for your posts. Screen readers cannot process them well. Try to use color contrast for text to make it easy to read. Color contrasts also work well for images and graphics.
When you add closed captions to Instagram videos, you should use clear fonts like Arial for easy reading. Straightforward fonts are also easier for screen readers to comprehend. It may be tempting to use stylized fonts to make videos look pretty, but this cuts down drastically on the accessibility factor. Easy-to-read fonts are preferable for those who struggle with ADHD, but they also appeal broadly.
Instagram makes it easy to add captions using a Captions Sticker. This is a great way to get started if you have not created captions before. Even better, Instagram also offers a Translation feature to help everyone read and understand your captions.
Now that you know the hows and whys of accessible Instagram content, how do you get started? How do you make accessible content visible enough so everyone can find it and follow your account?
The easiest way to establish a starter audience on Instagram is to buy Instagram likes and followers from a reputable platform like Stormlikes or Blastup. These two platforms each specialize in providing genuine engagement on Instagram. With Stormlikes, you can choose between several likes packages including ones for automatic Instagram likes. It takes only a minute to subscribe, and you pay for the likes package you choose only when you upload a post to Instagram.
Blastup, on the other hand, offers likes, followers, and views. Moreover, Blastup has recently introduced not only automatic likes but also automatic views. You can get great discounts on each package and customize your purchase to fit your needs.
When you put extra effort into your Instagram content to make it accessible, it deserves to be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible. Blastup and Stormlikes allow you to build an instant audience and draw organic traffic. These platforms also offer country and gender targeting and can do this because their likes and views come from real Instagrammers.
With the help of Blastup and Stormlikes, you can make your accessible content visible to a massive audience, including those who need accessible content the most. So, why wait? Sign up on the platform of your choice and enjoy all the benefits it provides while making a real difference with your Instagram content.
Members of the editorial and news staff of the Daily Caller were not involved in the creation of this content.
