Digital marketers should pay attention to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to create better online experiences for everyone, regardless of their ability. ADA compliance marketing takes the principles laid out by the ADA and applies them to marketing campaigns. The result? People with disabilities can better access the information they need. By incorporating ADA compliance marketing into your organization, you can also target untapped audiences and promote your products and services. Here are some tips for making your online marketing more ADA-compliant.
Use Alt Text
Alt text (or alternative text) refers to text descriptions that describe images to web users. Assistive technology like screen-reading tools scan this text and present it to people with visual-related problems. That's why it's important to include alt text in your websites, blog posts, and social media pages. Without it, there will be a faction of your audience who can't access your content properly.
Want to improve ADA compliance marketing? Creating alt text is simple. Describe an image in a few words so those with visual impairments can create a mental picture. You can even include a keyword or two in your alt text, which might improve search engine optimization (SEO) when search engines crawl your pages.
Related Reading: 5 Explainer Video Benefits for Marketing Managers
Use Captions in Videos
Video is one of the most effective marketing methods, but those with hearing problems might not be able to view or listen to your content. Closed captions might solve that problem. Title II of the ADA requires all videos created by public entities like schools and police departments to include captions in videos. However, marketers working for commercial organizations can also caption content to improve accessibility for their audiences. Including captions in your videos can also benefit viewers who are learning English.
Here are some tips for better captioning:
- Use a clear font.
- Align text to the left for better readability.
- Don't include more than three lines of text on-screen at one time.
- Synchronize captions with the audio track.
- Note music, laughter, and other sounds in a video to add context to your captions.
Viostream's automatic caption feature produces captions when uploading a video to the platform. A caption editor analyzes the audio in your video, converts speech to text, and creates automatic captions that you can review, modify, and then publish. It's one of the easiest ways to improve ADA compliance marketing.
Viostream also offers a premium caption service. Human experts can create captions for your content with 99.9% accuracy so you can stay compliant not only with ADA but Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) too. Discover Viostream's automatic and premium captioning features here, or start your free trial and try them out for yourself.
Related Reading: 3 Types of the Best Accessible Videos
Standardize Headings in Web Content and Blog Posts
Assistive technology can have difficulty scanning headings in web content and blog posts if you use a different font or font size than the rest of the text on the page. To improve ADA compliance marketing, use the HTML specification for headings, where each heading element — H1, H2, H3, etc. — has a different number that indicates its importance. Main headings, for example, should be H1; subheadings should be H2. By using this standard, screen readers can scan content easier and provide people with disabilities with the information they need.
Accessible Video Player
Using an accessible video player can improve the viewing experience of people with disabilities. The best players let viewers enlarge or zoom into your marketing videos on any browser or device. Typically, these players have an 'enlarge' button on the control panel. You can also improve ADA compliance marketing by using a player that offers keyboard support and enables viewers to watch marketing videos without using a mouse.
With Viostream, viewers can enlarge videos by clicking on a button on the media player's control panel. Audiences with disabilities can watch full-screen videos on any device, helping you improve ADA compliance marketing.
Related Reading: 7 Reasons to Incorporate Video Into Your Marketing Plan
ADA compliance marketing means making your marketing activities more accessible to people with disabilities. By using alt text, standardizing headings, adding captions to videos, and using an accessible media player, you can reach new audiences with your marketing and improve compliance in your organization.
Viostream is an enterprise-level video platform that offers accessibility features such as automatic captions, premium captions, and an enlargeable media player. Start your free trial now and improve video accessibility in your organization.
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