Use These Instagram Features and Tips to Ensure Your Content Is Accessible
Published on 21st of January 2025Contents
Every brand should be making efforts to ensure their Instagram account is accessible. An accessible account will show that you care about every single member of your audience. It will also boost engagement and nurture a feeling of community. Of course, it also expands your reach, as more people will be able to enjoy your content.
After all, 446 million people worldwide are deaf or hard of hearing, and at least 2.2 billion have at least some visual impairment. Think of all the people you can’t engage with if they can’t fully enjoy your content.
Instagram has already updated its feed to be more accessible, but that will only help your brand if you are already on someone’s feed. We’ve gathered the most important things you can do to ensure that all your Instagram content, from your bio to your Stories to your Posts, is accessible.
Always Add Subtitles
The simplest and most obvious tip to make your Instagram content accessible is to use captions anytime you post videos, including on Stories and Reels. Remember that providing captions ensures that your hard-of-hearing audience can get value from your content.
As a bonus, many who are not hard of hearing also prefer to read captions on video content. That is especially true for those who scroll Instagram in public.
Use Auto-Generated Captions
The easiest way to add subtitles or captions to your videos is using Instagram’s automated caption feature. You can activate this feature in just a few steps.
- 1. Head to your profile by clicking on your profile picture.
- 2. Click on the hamburger menu located in the top right corner.
- 3. Select “Settings.”
- 4. Select “Account.”
- 5. Select “Captions.”
- 6. Toggle the button and Instagram will automatically generate captions on your videos.
If you need to edit the auto-generated captions, you can easily do so with the Sticker feature. You simply select the text on the screen to adjust it.
Use Caption Stickers on Reels and Stories
These auto-generated captions extend to Reels and Stories in the form of stickers. When you record your story, go to the Sticker tray. You’ll find an option called “cc Captions.” You can even edit the captions before you publish the video.
Manually Overlay Text
If you prefer, you can also add captions manually by overlaying text on your Stories. Just click the text icon, “Aa.”
Set the Scene (and Background) in Videos
Captions help hard-of-hearing users enjoy your videos, but what about those with visual impairments? The best way to do this is to state some visual details in the video. For example, start by describing where you are and any important items you have in the background. Don’t forget to mention other people in the video with you.
This is important in every type of Instagram video, especially Stories and Reels. That’s because screen readers really struggle to describe this type of content.
Always Add Alt Text to Posts
Because Instagram is such a visual platform, it can be challenging for those with vision impairments to navigate and enjoy. But you can make this easier for your followers by including alternative or alt text on all your posts. This is especially important if your post’s caption doesn’t describe the image at all.
If you aren’t familiar with it, alt describes the appearance of images or videos in a page. Instagram will sometimes generate very basic alt text with image recognition software. However, that text is not only basic, but it is also unreliable. Adding your own alt text will give your followers a better experience and let you be more descriptive.
How to Add Alt Text
Adding alt text to a photo takes just a few seconds (or minutes, depending on the text length) when you initially upload the image.
- 1. Upload and edit your image as normal.
- 2. Click “Next.”
- 3. Choose “Advanced Settings.”
- 4. Look under “Accessibility” and click on “Write Alt Text.”
- 5. Write your chosen alt text and select “Done.”
Include Descriptive Details in Captions
In addition to alt text, consider adding descriptive details in your captions. This can help visually impaired followers with screen readers as well as hearing-impaired users who are reading captions.
For example, improve the experience for visually impaired users by adding more visual descriptions than you have in your alt text. For users with hearing impairments, consider adding notes about the tone used when speaking or the music used and how it affects the overall feeling of the video.
How to Tell What to Add
The best way to figure out what you need to add to your caption is to try to experience it without hearing or vision. Close your eyes and listen to it and see what elements you missed. Then, turn off the sound and watch it and do the same.
Capitalize Every Word in a Hashtag
When you choose which hashtags to use on your Instagram posts, think about capitalization and screen readers. Without capitalization, screen readers think that it is just a single word. Simply capitalizing the first letter of each word in your hashtag ensures that screen readers correctly convey your caption.
Limit Your Emoji Use
You may love emojis, but they are a major challenge for screen readers. One or two emojis here and there is fine, but screen readers read every single emoji’s name. This is a problem if you include a full string of emojis to create a phrase or sentence.
It’s also an issue if you do several rows of the same emoji to indicate the intensity of an emotion, such as multiple hearts. So, find a balance and use emojis sparingly. However, this doesn’t mean you have to eliminate them completely.
Conclusion
Given the number of Instagram users who are hard of hearing or visually impaired, it’s important to make sure that everyone can enjoy your Instagram content. Things like captions and alt text go a long way to making your content accessible. With the above tips, you should create a better experience for all of your followers.