How to add Alt text to my Images and GIF Posts?
The concept of social media is all about inclusivity. Every person should be able to participate in it equally.
An image having alt text enables the visually impaired people who use screen readers to get an idea of the image and its content. This makes visual content inclusive and accessible to those who could not be able to see it otherwise.
Hence, adding alternative text is a great start to making your posts accessible to all audiences.
Let's look at the steps on how to add them to image and GIF posts:
Go to Create Post.
Upload your desired image or GIF file from your local device or from Google Drive, Dropbox, or Box. You can use the stock images available on the SocialPilot scheduler from the Unsplash integration.
Click on the checkbox below the Post Composer titled Alternate text.
An empty field will appear below your image.
Add a description to your image in the text field.
Select the desired accounts and schedule your post.
Your image post will be published with alt text, even if it might not be visible outright. However, users browsing their social media with the help of a screen reader will be able to interpret your post from the alt text addition.
SocialPilot lets users add alternative text to their social media image posts on:
And you can add alt text to GIFs only on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Here are the character limits of alt text for images, platfrom-wise:
- Facebook: 8000
- Twitter: 1000
- Pinterest: 500
The tool will give a platform-specific error message if you exceed the character limit of alt text for any of these channels. Your post won't get scheduled or published until you abide by the limitations. So consider saving or editing them right away for timely scheduling of your posts.
Customizing Alt Texts
You can use the same alt text for all platforms. However, SocialPilot lets you customize them for each platform if you are scheduling the same posts for multiple networks.
Here's how it's done:
Compose your post under the “Original draft” tab in the Post Composer section.
Switch from the “Original draft” to any other channel which allows alternative text, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The alt text field for all other channels will contain the one entered under “Original draft” by default.
Edit it accordingly for each platform you want to publish the post.
Click here to check how you can edit and reschedule your posts efficiently through SocialPilot.