Social Media

Accessible Social Media Guide for University Accounts

Social media is a vital extension of the university's website and, as such, must be accessible to everyone in our community. By law, our digital content must adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the best way to meet this standard is by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA.

This guide provides best practices to ensure our social media content is inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities.

General Best Practices

Don't Rely on Color Alone: Do not use color as the only way to convey information. For example, if you post a pie chart, use labels and patterns in addition to a color-coded key.
Use Inclusive Language: Avoid ableist language that could be offensive or exclusionary (e.g., using "lame" or "crazy" to describe something negatively).
Provide Clear Contact Information: Ensure your account's bio or profile clearly lists how users can contact your department for information or accommodations.

Text and Formatting

The foundation of an accessible post is readable text. Avoid fancy fonts or characters that screen readers cannot interpret or others may have a hard time reading.

Use Standard Fonts: Ensure text has a color contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Use a free online contrast checker like WebAIM's Color Contrast Tool to verify.
Special Characters: Do not copy and paste special fonts from external websites. Screen readers often cannot decipher these characters.
Emojis: Limit emojis. Place them at the end of posts so they don’t interrupt screen readers. Don’t use emojis to replace words.
Hashtags: Use PascalCase (e.g., #RiceUniversity) for multi-word hashtags.
Links: Use descriptive link text (avoid “click here”). If using a shortener like Bitly, explain where the link goes.

Images, GIFs, and Graphics

Visuals must have text alternatives so people who cannot see them can still understand the content.

Alternative Text (Alt Text): Alt text is a brief description of an image read aloud by a screen reader.
- Good alt text is concise and descriptive. Example: “Students work together on a laptop in Fondren Library.”
- Decorative images (like borders) can have empty alt text.
- If unsure whether an image is decorative, add alt text.
Text in Images: Avoid embedding important text inside an image. If you must, repeat it in the post’s text.
Complex Images: For charts or infographics, provide a detailed description in the post or first comment.

Video and Audio

Video content requires alternatives for both visual and audio information.

Captions: All videos must have accurate, synchronized captions.
- Auto-generated captions must be edited for accuracy.
- Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accept .srt caption files.
- YouTube and Facebook allow editing captions directly on-platform.
- More on the importance of captions and accessibility.
Audio Descriptions: Provide narration of key visuals or at least a transcript with descriptions.
Flashing Content: Avoid videos or GIFs that flash more than 3 times per second.

By adopting these practices, we demonstrate Rice's commitment to inclusion and ensure our message truly reaches everyone.

Details and How-To by Platform

Facebook

Accessible Posts

Don’t overuse hashtags or emoticons. Use PascalCase for hashtags.
Use solid backgrounds for text posts — avoid gradients or busy images.
Don’t use Stories as the only publishing method. Always share to the feed.

Adding Alt Text

Facebook auto-generates alt text, but it is often vague. Add or edit it yourself.

More about Facebook’s alt text info

Describing Images from Other Sources

If sharing an image from someone else that lacks alt text, add a description in your post or comments.

Color Contrast and Text Visibility

Ensure text and background colors have strong contrast.
If overlaying text on an image, use a box or shading behind text.

Videos on Facebook

You can share videos via links, Facebook Live, or direct upload. Captions must be added either in the platform or via an .srt file.

More Facebook Resources

Adding captions to videos [official guide]

Instagram

Captions

Instagram Stories and Reels support a captions sticker, but feed videos rely on auto-captions or external apps.

Adding Alt Text

Replace auto-generated alt text with meaningful descriptions.

Instagram Stories

Use high contrast text and large fonts.
Provide links to transcripts if possible.
Highlight important text with bright colors.

Twitter/X

Add alt text at the time of posting — it cannot be added later.
Use PascalCase hashtags. Don’t overuse them.
Caption Twitter videos when possible.

More Twitter/X Resources

When uploading a photo, use the “Add Alt Text” option.
You can upload caption files (.srt) for video accessibility.