Social Media for Public Messaging

If you're a government leader, elected official, political candidate, or any sort of public figure, the social media content you (or your digital comms team) post should absolutely be accessible so that people with disabilities aren't excluded from the conversation.

In modern society, social media plays a huge role in public communications and messaging. It's used to connect with constituents, share important news, and keep citizens informed and safe during emergency situations. Now, more than ever, it's vital that communications meant for the public consumption are as accessible as possible.

The Impact of Accessibility

When it comes to accessibility, many people want to know what makes it important for social media and what it means to be inclusive online. There are several distinct reasons why you should be creating accessible social media content.

• Compassion for Others
• Disability Affects Everyone
• Health and Safety
• Marketing and Engagement
• Legality and Compliance

For a more in-depth look at the impact of accessibility, visit the Accessbility 101 section.

Accessible Best Practices for Social Media

Add Alt Text to Images

Any image posted on social media—whether it's a recent photo from a fundraising event, an infographic detailing economic growth, or a statement that includes three paragraphs of text—must have alt text added to it. This is textual information that provides a descriptive summary of an image’s key visual details for people who use assistive devices and programs.

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Pinterest, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky all allow users to manually write custom alt text in some capacity. Alt text can also be added to Facebook and Instagram posts through Meta Business Suite.

Format Hashtags Properly

While hashtags have become less popular online in recent years, many social media users still add them to their posts. If you use a multi-word hashtag in your content, make sure it can be read by assistive technology like a screen reader. This can be achieved by putting a hashtag in Camel Case or Pascal Case. Pascal Case can also be referred to as Title Case.

• A hashtag in Camel Case #looksLikeThis, with the first word in all lowercase and then the first letter of each subsequent word capitalized.
• A hashtag in Pascal Case or Title Case #LooksLikeThis, with the first letter in each word of the hashtag capitalized.

Either formatting will make a hashtag accessible. Lowercase and uppercase letters help a screen reader identify separate words, allowing it to pronounce the hashtag correctly. This is one of the easiest accessibility best practices to follow.

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• Put compound hashtags in #camelCase or #PascalCase.
• Keep the formatting of posts and tweets simple.
• Use emoji in moderation and put them at the end of posts.
• Write alt text for photos and other visuals.
• Add closed or open captions to all video content.
• Create audio or written descriptions for all video content.
• Use inclusive language and avoid ableist words in copy.
• Don’t copy and paste "fancy fonts" from external sites.
• Avoid using or sharing content with ASCII art in it.

Be sure to check out the Accessible Social Checklist or the Accessible Social Guidebook for other great resources to help you get better at creating accessible social media content.