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June 14, 2021 Content Chat Recap: How To Create Accessible Content For Your Audience

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When creating content for your audience, do you consider the range of potential barriers they face in consuming and understanding that content? Members of your community likely experience visual, auditory, or other circumstances that can make it difficult—if not impossible—to engage with your brand. But, there are a few simple best practices to ensure that your community can get the full value of your content.

In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by Melissa Eggleston (@Melissa_Egg), founder and UX designer at Birdcall, to explain how to create accessible content for your audience. Read the full chat below, where we discuss the common accessibility issues we see with brand sites and other content, how to get started in improving your content accessibility, and our go-to resources for help.

Q1: What is accessible content?

Accessible content can be consumed by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities.

“Accessible” can be swapped with inclusive, which is a more broad term.

Many professionals overlook the accessibility of their content during its creation, which is a major disadvantage for your brand (we explain why in Q3).

Q2: What are some typical accessibility issues you see with brand websites and other content?

Alt-text on photos and captions on videos are a great starting place to address accessibility.

Just remember that most AI-generated captions will have errors. Review these before publishing.

Write in language that your audience uses, and avoid jargon.

Ensure that your content is readable. Review your choice of font, text size, and use of color.

Q3: What risks does a brand face if it does not create accessible content for its community?

In a worst-case scenario, inaccessible content could lead to a lawsuit or a hit to your brand reputation.

Without accessible content, your brand is alienating community members that would otherwise engage with your content.

Q4: How can marketers audit their content to understand if it has an accessibility problem?

Use WAVE (web accessibility evaluation tool) to test a page for accessibility.

WebAIM (web accessibility in mind) can check the contrast of your text and background.

Hemingway can audit the readability of your content.

Familiarize yourself with WCAG standards.

And the Web Accessibility Initiative is another go-to resource.

Look out for any web accessibility workshops or courses that you can attend. Erika and Melissa both recommend Nielsen Norman Group as one possibility.

Q5: Where should marketers get started to improve the accessibility of their content?

To start, Melissa recommends that you read the four principles of accessibility.

Provide a clear explanation of what your links will take the reader to (instead of “read here” or “click here”).

Ask a marketing friend (but not a colleague) to review your team’s content for unconscious bias.

And review the structure of your content. Break up large sections of text, use headers and bullet points, and add captions or alt-text.

Q6: How can marketers work accessibility into their content creation process?

Add time to your content creation cycles to include captions, alt text, and additional revision cycles to adjust the reading level.

Have 1-3 people in your target audience read all content before it is published. Ask them about any items that are unclear or other challenges they faced with the content.

Q7: How can teams stay up to date on the latest accessibility concerns and best practices? What accessibility resources and tools do you recommend?

Melissa recommends Jack McElaney’s email newsletters.

Include accessibility protocols in your brand style guide.

As mentioned before, become familiar with the WCAG guidelines, and attend webinars or other trainings to strengthen your understanding of accessibility concerns.

Consider adopting tools like accessiBe and Grammarly, in addition to those shared in Q4.

Q8: Do you have some examples of accessible websites and content marketers can use for inspiration?

Q9: What audio-related accessibility issues should content marketers be aware of?

More than 90% of people watch mobile video without audio. Include captions on all audio content.

Erika recommends Shure microphones.

And Melissa recommends reading Conversational Design by Erika Hall.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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