Digital content accessibility is crucial if we want our marketing to reach as many of our target customers as possible. How do we do that effectively?
Let me take you through my quick guide to how to make your content much more accessible.
What is digital accessibility?
Digital accessibility is about web and content design and it refers to inclusive immersional experiences. That’s the ability to perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to digital content.
It’s not just about having someone who is registered disabled be able to use your site and interact with your content, it's much more than that. It’s about creating experiences for those who are permanently impaired, temporarily impaired, or situationally impaired.
The impairment in question might relate to hearing, vision, cognition and motor skills.
Here’s a wonderful guide by James Norris and Tzveta Dinova, on the subject of “making your website more accessible” at a Marketing Meetup 2022 session.
How big is the accessibility market and how does that impact our businesses?
The accessibility market size is difficult to estimate, but it is growing rapidly. According to a report by the World Health Organisation, 1 in 6 people globally suffer from a significant disability - that’s around 1.3 Billion people.
This growth of this sector is driven by factors such as an increasingly ageing population, the rise in the number of people with diagnosed disabilities, and growing awareness of accessibility issues.
Whilst a portion of the figure covers people from disadvantaged backgrounds and in particular third-world countries, there are still plenty of people who have more active buying power.
It's important to note that the accessibility market size is constantly changing as new technologies and regulations are developed, so make sure you check out the latest information.
The market is also being driven by government regulations, such as the UK’s Equality Act (2010) and the EU's Web Accessibility Directive, which require organisations to make their websites and digital content accessible to people with disabilities.
As business owners, we are bound to make these changes in our practices, but we are also starting to recognise the benefits of better accessibility. These include:
increased customer engagement
improved brand reputation
increased sales and subscriptions
So what is content accessibility and why does that matter?
Content accessibility refers to the design and creation of digital content that can be easily interacted with by people with disabilities, which include those who are visually, audibly, cognitively and mobility impaired.
This includes making sure that text is readable by screen readers, providing alternative text for images, and ensuring that buttons and controls can be operated with a keyboard. The goal of accessibility is to make sure that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and use the content.
By making our content accessible, we can:
Increase the reach and potential audience for our content
Improve the user experience for everyone
Comply with legal requirements
Improve brand reputation
Increase customer engagement
How to make your blog content more accessible
My area of content expertise is blog content - the guides and thought leadership that you need to nurture your audience. It’s the stuff that gives you a deeper SEO reach and it’s the stuff that brings you a constant stream of traffic on autopilot.
Here are a few tips to make your blog content more accessible:
Use clear and simple language - Avoid using jargon or complex language that may be difficult for some people to understand
Provide alternative text for images - This allows users who are visually impaired to understand the content of an image through a screen reader
Use guiding headings and subheadings - This helps users navigate the content and understand the structure of the page
Use descriptive link text - Instead of using "click here" as link text, use descriptive text that describes the destination of the link (otherwise called, “contextual linking”)
Make your CTAs clear, compelling and contrasting - If your reader can see the call to action line and feel compelled to follow its link quickly, then you are much more likely to have a conversion.
Provide captions and transcripts for videos - This allows users who are deaf or hard of hearing to understand the content of your video
Make sure your site is responsive and works well on different devices
Test your site content with people with disabilities to get feedback on how it can be improved.
Use of web standards and guidelines for formatting such as WAI-ARIA and WCAG 2.0
Digital accessibility is just one step in your content journey
Understanding how to write and format your blog content for better digital accessibility is one thing. You also need to understand what your business should be talking about, when to say it and how to tone it.
That’s where an expert blog writer can make a huge impact on your online reach.
If you need a copywriter to create compelling copy, someone who understands the customer journey, fill in the project brief form below!
