How to Make Social Media Posts Inclusive
Do you want to make your social media posts more inclusive, but are unsure what that really entails? Or maybe you already have an idea but want to know if there’s anything you’re missing? Then you’re in the right place! This quick guide will break down some simple tips on keeping your posts inclusive.
Let’s start with something that might seem more obvious: the visual aspects.
Stock photos
They’re great! They cover a huge variety of topics, activities, aesthetics and no matter your budget, there’s an option available to you. But are you using diverse photos that fully represent your target audience? Part of the problem with this is that not all stock photo websites provide diverse and inclusive photos. Here’s our blog dedicated to Inclusive Stock Photos where you can find inclusive options and learn more about the power of truly representative stock photos.
Illustration
This is another option that provides fun, eye-grabbing visuals while also giving an air of professionalism. But just like stock photos, inclusive options aren’t always a given. If you really want to grab the eyes of a broad range of customers rather than one specific persona, it might be worth having a look for some more inclusive options. And yes, don't worry, we also have a blog post all about Inclusive Illustrations.
Models and influencers
If you have a bigger budget and use models and/or influencers, then consider if there’s any bias in the types of people you hire. Looking for inclusive talent agencies is a great way to start. Zebedee is one of our personal favourites! Or if you don’t want to go through an agency then all it takes is some patience and looking around on social media for those individuals that are underrepresented in your area.
Is the language you’re using inclusive?
This one is a bit trickier because language is ever-changing alongside our society. This means what it is to be inclusive with your language will keep changing too.
Terms
One of the easiest ways to connect with your target audience is by using the terms they use, since that’s what they’ll be searching for. But it’s a good idea to check a couple of things first: whether it’s appropriate for you to use those terms, whether they’re outdated and if they have any negative or inappropriate connotations. A quick Twitter or google search should often clear this up.
Excluding language:
One of the more obvious examples is gendered language. Think about terms like ‘manpower’ and ‘businessman’ which exclude all non-male individuals. Terms like ‘ladies and gentlemen’ excludes all genders that aren’t either male or female. Calling period products ‘feminine hygiene products’ excludes trans men and others that don’t identify as women yet have periods.
Running your copy through gender decoder is one way to avoid using specifically gendered language. But there are many other ways language can single people out. Getting into the practice of being aware of different ways you might be doing so is the first step to making your language more inclusive.
The final key part of inclusive social media posts is your strategy.
This is part of a bigger topic but here are some quick things we recommend:
Alt text:
If you’re a marketer we’re sure you already know what alt text means. If not, then we’ll explain it real quick: it’s a description of a picture that helps screen-readers describe the images to visually impaired readers, as well as allowing search engines to better understand them. So, adding alt text to your social media posts is a quick and easy step to making them more accessible.
Captions:
Likewise, captions help individuals with a hearing impairment understand what’s being said in your videos. A lot of software and platforms will even auto-generate them for you, making it another easy step to making sure everyone can access your content.
CamelCase hashtags:
This means capitalising each word of your hashtag so that screen readers read them out as individual words rather than one long sound. So rather than #incluisvemarketing it would be #InclusiveMarketing.
Hyperlinks:
Lastly, when adding hyperlinks to your copy, it’s helpful to state what the link is linking to, rather than just writing ‘here’. This is because screen-readers can sometimes push all the hyperlinks to the bottom of the page. So, if all that’s linked is ‘here’ then those individuals will be missing context as to what the link is actually leading to.
And there you have it! Remember, you don’t have to include each of these suggestions every time you post. We recommend keeping these things in mind when posting and finding the more inclusive options that feel right to you.
We get it, inclusive marketing can be a lot. If you’re struggling then we have a free guide that might help, but if you don’t think that’ll be enough then don’t hesitate to get in touch!
