{"id":1148,"date":"2016-02-15T17:38:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T01:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/cmns\/?p=1148"},"modified":"2016-02-17T20:47:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T04:47:21","slug":"use-accessibility-tips-reach-14-more-canadians-on-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/cmns\/2016\/02\/15\/use-accessibility-tips-reach-14-more-canadians-on-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Use accessibility tips: Reach 14% more Canadians on social media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest post by Korina Gratton\"Accessibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether your goal is to market or inform, neglecting to include part of the population is a terrible idea. Yet, by using social media as the platform that you market and inform through you are failing to reach up to 14% of Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2012). These Canadians have disabilities (visual, hearing, mobility) and may use alternative devices (including screen readers) to navigate online. \u00a0Social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube were not initially designed to include people with disabilities. Although they have improved their services, using the accessibility tips outlined below will allow you to reach all parts of the population. Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, and environments for people with disabilities. \u00a0Although there are many ways to provide accessibility, I\u2019ve provided the easiest tips for the most popular social media platforms.<\/p>\n

When you consider disabilities you\u2019ll need to remember that disability is a larger definition than a person being blind or using a wheelchair.\u00a0 The Ontario Human Rights Commission<\/a> provides a full disability definition <\/a>but a disability can include physical disability (blindness, lack of coordination, epilepsy, deafness, reliance on a guide animal, wheelchair or mobility device), mental impairment or developmental disability, learning disability or mental disorder. \u00a0These disabilities can be caused by birth defect, bodily injury, illness or age.<\/p>\n

\"colors-high-contrast\"Overall Tips<\/b><\/p>\n

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  1. Colour choices matter as 5% of the world\u2019s population have colour blindness (Colour blind awareness, 2015). High contrast choices are also easier to read than low contrast. St\u00e9phanie Walter<\/a> explains Accessible and contrasted colour palettes<\/a> in her blog.<\/li>\n
  2. When using hyperlinks, link the text that explains where you are going \/ what you are clicking on. Click here is not descriptive<\/li>\n
  3. Font types and size is important. CNIB describes print accessibility<\/a>in better detail but sans serif fonts with recognizable upper and lowercase like Verdana and Arial are good choices. Choose font sizes between 12-18 and make use of white space.<\/li>\n
  4. Put the person first with inclusive language (wheelchair user not confined to a wheelchair). UFV\u2019s Accessibility Advisory Committee<\/a> includes an inclusive language list in their annual report<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  5. Add captions (also known as alt-text) to your photos and closed captions (subtitles) to your videos. Instructions are provided or linked below under each platform. Don\u2019t know what to write for alt-text, check out the Definitive guide to the alt-text field<\/a> by Catharine McNally<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Facebook<\/b><\/a>Tips<\/b><\/p>\n

    Provide alternative contact information in the About<\/b> field<\/p>\n

    Add captions to your photos \u2013 I\u2019ve created a video with instructions<\/a><\/p>\n

    Videos\/AudioTips<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Provide a transcript<\/p>\n

    Provide a link to an accessible version of audio\/video<\/p>\n

    Youtube<\/a> videos have a few options for captions but you must link to the video instead of adding it directly to Facebook<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Facebook\u2019s accessibility page<\/a> has additional tips and they appreciate feedback if you notice a place that they could improve. Facebook\u2019s mobile site<\/a> is also considered more accessible then the main site.<\/p>\n

    Twitter<\/b><\/a>Tips<\/b><\/p>\n

    Provide alternative contact information in the About<\/b> field<\/p>\n

    Add prefixes to tweets with audio-visual content<\/p>\n