{"id":28810,"date":"2019-12-04T12:09:30","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T12:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=28810"},"modified":"2019-12-04T16:47:24","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T16:47:24","slug":"making-content-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/making-content-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"Making content accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Accessible content is important. There are around 14 million disabled people in the UK. This number doesn’t include temporary or undiagnosed disabilities. These people are on the internet, they have rights and they are not being served by many public and private institutions. So how can we open up our content and make it more accessible?<\/p>\n

Hiding content in videos<\/span><\/h4>\n

A few years ago, everyone wanted an app whether it would be useful to the audience or not \u00a0(some still do). The same is true for videos. We see organisations throwing thousands of pounds at videos with only a vanity metric attached: traffic numbers.<\/p>\n

Many organisations don\u2019t have a strong content strategy that covers their digital products and services. Sites grow \u2018organically\u2019. \u00a0They want to be engaging. Some of them want to go viral. And so we see a lot of content being published that doesn\u2019t actually serve the audience or the organisation.<\/p>\n

Then there is accessibility. In this scramble to publish everything that an organisation does, many will think accessibility is just screen readers for blind people.<\/p>\n

Without a strong content strategy covering all your channels, what success and value is, who your audience really is and what you actually want in return for your money, you are missing out on millions.<\/p>\n

Videos: when they work<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In some instances, videos are great. For example, if you want to show an exercise routine. It\u2019s not impossible but videos may convey more than the written word – if the audience can access it.<\/p>\n

If you work at a university, we know international students may not be able to visit the campus before applying so video tours are very popular.<\/p>\n

If your service is complex or may be difficult for some, a walk-through video may help allay fears. We\u2019ve seen profoundly deaf participants and those with anxiety feeling much better when they saw a video showing them an interview process they would go through to apply for a benefit.<\/p>\n

So there are many reasons to use videos. If they are accessible and there for a reason.<\/p>\n

Accessibility makes your content usable<\/span><\/h4>\n

Videos: captions and transcripts<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Adding captions and transcripts to video is not only for deaf people but for those who have hearing impairments, including not having headphones while traveling on the bus. You need to have transcripts so that:<\/p>\n