Accessible resources for people with disabilities and Deaf people 

Tip Sheet 

October 2018 

Tips for Using 
Accessible Social Media 

Social media is a global communication and 
marketing tool. How can you ensure that 
your social media content is accessible to 
people with disabilities and Deaf people? 
Here are some tips for making your posts 
and other content more accessible across 
popular social media platforms, including 
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 



General Tips across all Social 
Media 

. Include your organizationÕs contact 
information (phone number, address, 
email, other social media) in your bio 
section of all social media sites. 
. Avoid using acronyms in posts and bios. 
. Use plain, active language. Social media 
posts are meant to be casual and direct. 
. Include #hashtags and @mentions at the 
end of tweets and posts. 
. Capitalize the first letter of compound 
words in hashtags (for example: 
#VeraInstituteOfJustice) Ð this is called 
camel case. 


. Add image descriptions and captions for 
all images you upload. Read below for 
details. 
. Include closed captions and transcripts 
with all videos. 
. Provide links back to original (accessible) 
media in your posts. Link back to 
transcripts in your postsÕ captions and 
comments as well. 
. Screen readers can read emojis. Here is a 
video example of how VoiceOver reads 
and identifies emojis on iOS. 
. Be strategic about where emojis are 
located in your posts. Avoid interspersing 
emojis between words, which awkwardly 
breaks up phrase. Here you can find 
video examples of problematic emoji 
placement and incorrect all lower case 
text. 
. Consider sharing links to apps that 
improve social media accessibility in your 
profile or bio (for Twitter, one example is 
Easy Chirp). 
. Draft tweets or posts in advance and test 
them using screen reader software before 
posting to social media (VoiceOver for 
iOS and Talkback for Android). 
. Consider that mobile versions of social 
media apps are often more accessible 
than web versions. 



. Share information about accessibility 
features of social media sites (like this tip 
sheet) with your organizations! 




Facebook 

Facebook Basics: 

. Put all @mentions and hashtags at the 
end of your posts. 
. Facebook automatically adds alternative 
text for images, but it isnÕt very precise. 
You can expand and edit the alternative 
text: 
1.Click Photo/Video at the top of yourNews Feed.
2.Select the photo you want to add.
3.Click Edit Photo, then click Alt Text.
4.The automatically generated text will be shown on the left side of your photo. Click Override generated alt text to edit it.
5.Write your alt text in the box. To change back to the automatically generated text, click Clear.
6.To save your alt text, click Save in the bottom right.
7.To change alt text in a photo that is already posted, click on the image,
click on ÒoptionsÓ under the photo and click Òchange alt text.Ó
. Enable facial recognition on your account. 
When facial recognition setting is 
enabled, screen readers can read the 
names of people who appear in a photo. 
To respect privacy, it is best to ask 
before tagging people in your photos 
. Add descriptive text to the images you 
post. On Facebook, descriptive text is like 
the image caption. 
. Rather than uploading a video to share 
on Facebook, post the video to YouTube 
first. Then, link to the YouTube video from 
your Facebook post. It is generally easier 
to include captions on YouTube videos 
than Facebook videos. 


Facebook Tips: 

. Facebook has its own accessibility page 
for reference. 
. Follow @accessibility on Facebook to 
stay updated on Facebook accessibility 
features. 




Facebook Issues: 

. Facebook changes it layouts frequently, 
so its accessibility changes. Users must 
regularly check back on FacebookÕs 
accessibility page (@accessibility) for 
updates. 




Twitter 

Twitter Basics: 

. Twitter automatically shortens hyperlink 
URLS to fit the Tweet character limit. 
. When you include a hyperlink in your 
Tweet that leads to a photo, video, or 
audio clip, add prefixes that indicate this. 
For example: [PHOTO]: hyperlink to photo 
[VIDEO]: hyperlink to video; [AUDIO]: 
hyperlink to audio. 
. Put all @mentions and hashtags at the 
end of your tweets. 


Adding photos or other media in Tweets: 

. When posting GIFS or videos, describe 
the content in your Tweet directly. 



. Turn on TwitterÕs alternative text feature 
to add alt text to photos: 
1. Navigate to Settings > Display and 
sound > Accessibility > and turn on 
Compose image descriptions. 
2. When you post a picture, youÕll see an 
option to ÒAdd a description for the 
visually impaired.Ó 
3. Click on the Tweet compose button 
4. Attach your photo(s). 
5. Open the thumbnail preview dialog 
by clicking on the thumbnail photo. 
6. Type your description of the image 
and click the Apply button. To edit the 
description, re-open the thumbnail 
preview dialog prior to posting the 
Tweet. 


 

Twitter Tips: 

. Follow @PleaseCaption on Twitter if you 
want reminders about captioning photos. 
. Follow @TwitterA11y on Twitter to stay 
updated on Twitter accessibility features. 
. Recommend Easy-Chirp to users as a 
web-accessible Twitter tool in your 
Twitter bio. The Easy Chirp layout is more 
consistent, it has easier keyboard 
navigation, and provides better support 
for screen readers. 


 

Twitter Issues: 

. You cannot add image descriptions to 
GIFs or videos. This is why it is important 
to include image descriptions in the tweet. 


 

Instagram 

Instagram Basics: 

. Always add image captions in the post 
description area Ð there is no alternative 
text for Instagram images. 
. Put all @mentions and hashtags at the 
end of your posts. 
. Capitalize the first letter of compound 
words in hashtags 
(#VeraInstituteOfJustice) (camel case). 


 

Instagram Videos: 

. Use the post description area to provide 
a video transcript if your video is not 
captioned. 


Instagram Tips: 

. You can be explicit about the accessibility 
of your post by including the hashtag 
#accessibility in your image description: 
#accessibility [Image description: 
detailed description of the image.] 
. When using a photo collage or photo 
slideshow, describe images in an order, 
and be explicit about the order. For 
example, in a collage: #accessibility 
[Image description (L-R): 1. Image 
description 2. Image description 3. Image 
description]. 
. In Instagram stories, donÕt include text in 
your uploaded images. Only use in-app 
text. 


Instagram Issues: 

. There is not an option for adding closed 
captioning to videos in Instagram. 



. Instagram app uses low color contrast. 
This can impact its usability for people 
who have low vision. 


 

YouTube 

YouTube Basics: 

. Always enable closed captions on 
YouTube videos. You can edit them if they 
are inaccurate. 
. Provide a description of your videos in 
the space provided beneath the video. 
. Consider including American Sign 
language (ASL) and other sign language 
interpretation in YouTube videos. This 
could involve filming sign language 
interpreter as they interpret your video 
content, and embedding this smaller 
video of the sign language interpreter in 
the video stream. You would want to be 
sure that the video can be viewed full 
screen. Visit the World Wide Web 
Consortium W3C website for more 
information about the web accessibility 
criteria for this editing technique. 


 

YouTube Tips: 

. Edit YouTubeÕs automatic captions and 
subtitles when necessary: 
1. Go to your Video Manager. 
2. Next to the video you want to edit 
captions for, click Edit > Subtitles and 
CC. 
3. Click on the caption track you want to 
edit. 
4. Click inside any line in the caption 
track panel and edit the text. 
5. Click Save changes. 


 

. Learn more about how to add your own 
captions and subtitles to YouTube videos. 
. YouTube uses either an HTML 5 player or 
Flash player. The HTML player is fully 
accessible, but the Flash player is not 
accessible. 
. Recommend alternative viewing portals 
for Flash users such as Access YouTube 
and Accessible YouTube 
. Share this Guide on How to use YouTube 
with Screen Readers with your 
organizations. 


YouTube Issues: 

. There are few keyboard controls for the 
YouTube video player. 
- Keyboard controls help users who are 
blind and have low vision navigate a 
webpage. Clicking a mouse or 
trackpad requires visual focus. People 
who are blind may use screen readers 
or other assistive technology that 
provide audio cues for keyboard 
controls. 
- Keyboard controls also help users with 
physical disabilities, such as limited 
dexterity, who may use modified 
keyboards instead of a mouse or 
trackpad. Visit the WebAIM site for 
more information about accessible 
keyboard navigation. 



. YouTube doesnÕt automatically add audio 
descriptions Ð you must add them. 
. YouTubeÕs machine-generated captions 
are often inaccurate. 


 


Additional Resources 

. Accessible U Ð University of Minnesota 
. Accessibility Hub Ð QueenÕs University 
. Facebook: 
. Digital Accessibility Ð Case Western 
Reserve University 
. Twitter: 
. Picture Descriptions Ð Twitter 
. Tweet Accessibility Ð Adrian Roselli 
. Instagram: 
. Online Communications Ð Case Western 
Reserve University 
. YouTube: 
. Google Support Ð YouTube Accessibility 


 

For more information: 

This document was produced by the Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety under Award # 
2016-XV-GX-K015, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of 
Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the 
contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

 

This tip sheet was created for National Resource Center (NRC) partners and consultants. Please do not distribute 
widely without permission. For more information, specific questions, clarification, or more explanation, please 
contact Katie Allen from the NRC by email at Kallen@vera.org or by phone/text at 646-877-1030.