Social Media Guidelines, Videos, and Accessibility
As HSU continues to evolve its virtual operations, it’s important we ensure that social media images and videos are accessible for all people of all abilities, and that HSU's social media guidelines are followed on all HSU-affiliated social media channels. Before you click "Post," ask yourself if everybody will be able to enjoy it.
In addition to accessibility issues, HSU's social media guide covers:
Tips and information for HSU DIY video creators
Copyright violations
First amendment issues
Consent & model releases
Crisis communications best practices
First and foremost, please make every effort to put closed captions on videos and alt-text on images. This responsibility falls to social media admins and their supervisors.
Closed captions should be included on all publicly available posts whenever technologically possible. They can be hidden on platforms like Facebook and Youtube, but should be embedded into Instagram Feed videos (example).
Alt-text (not to be confused with image description in a caption, e.g. "IMG DESC") is metadata hidden inside an image that is used by software for people with vision challenges to read a description of a picture. If you have a poster with text on it, you should transcribe the text of that poster in the alt text in the 'advanced settings' of the post.
These links can help you:
Accessibility options vary by platform, so please do your best to keep your content inclusive.
Social media guidelines can be complex, particularly as laws are continually lagging behind rapidly changing technology. Thank you for your efforts during this challenging time.
If you have questions about these social media best practices at Humboldt State, please contact Mike Dronkers at mad9@humboldt.edu.