In the last couple of years video content has started to dominate our feeds, seamlessly sharing TikTok videos to Instagram, Instagram Reels to Facebook, and YouTube videos popping up across all platforms.
How can we harness the native accessibility features of these platforms, plus edit and publish our videos in a way that is inclusive to all?
The good news is that accessible videos not only cater to diverse audiences, but also increase the likelihood of engagement with all audiences. With over 85% of videos on Meta platforms watched on mute, it’s a no-brainer to provide correct captions to increase your engagement. Once again, making things accessible makes them better for everyone!
TikTok
TikTok is known for its rapid rise in short-form video, and has released a number of features to enhance accessibility:
- photosensitive epilepsy toggle/warning
- ability to add voiceover and captions (auto and manual)
- text-to-speech (we all know the computerised “TikTok voice”!)
- custom colour combinations
Currently, there is no alternative text or transcript option with TT videos, so any content that is visually presented to viewers should also be understood from audio alone. This might mean adding audio descriptions to your videos via a recorded voiceover.
Instagram Reels & Stories
Meta has heavily relied on alt text for visual content, and provides this as an option. But hiding it in “advanced settings” seems quick misplaced — I would argue that it is a pretty basic and essential element for making inclusive video content. Placing a crucial accessibility feature in advanced settings might inadvertently obscure its importance.
A trend I’ve noticed lately is image descriptions popping up within the caption text of Insta posts, positioned below the primary caption.
Given that Instagram captions can often be extensive (sometimes whole life stories!), this format means assistive technology users must first listen to the length caption (including any hashtags) before accessing the image description. Personally I think this approach is less favourable than providing text descriptions via alt text.
One step further for Meta in this area would be to implement AI-generated alternative text for videos and photo content. Users would then only need to review the descriptions, rather than also creating them, making the process more streamlined.
Striking the balance between compliance and creativity
In conclusion, video content that embraces inclusivity and accessibility features not only engage audiences more effectively, but also stand a better chance of going viral. It broadens your viewer base, creating opportunities for wider reach and impact.
While the social platforms provide a lot of features to use, a lot of the onus still falls on creators to understand how to effectively employ these tools. Striking a balance between inclusivity and creativity doesn’t mean sacrificing one or the other.
