Social media was originally designed to connect people all over the World Wide Web with ease. For this reason, brands and companies continue to leverage the platform to create exposure for their offerings and attract prospective customers. Simply put, these digital channels offer a number of benefits that many others lack.
However, accessibility is still somewhat restrictive in social media, especially for those with disabilities. After all, user interaction with the internet can vary. For example, someone who is hard of hearing can’t consume content the same way as many others can. And this is one of the reasons why Twitter has recently rolled out closed captions for videos.
Importance of closed captions
It’s easy to take the captions for granted if you don’t have any restrictions impeding you from fully appreciating video and audio content. However, it can make a whole heap of difference for people who suffer from auditory conditions. For a social media channel like Twitter, its addition effectively opens it up to a new demographic that they otherwise would have missed.
Beyond helping those with hearing loss, it also enables many others to understand the published material better. More importantly, the feature makes Twitter more compliant with the WCAG and guidelines of the ADA.
Why accessibility is essential to business
Web accessibility is more important today than it ever was in the past. The increasing reliance of consumers on the internet for the products and services they require presents a unique opportunity for businesses to attract customers and generate sales. And if their digital content doesn’t use tools like closed captioning software to improve accessibility, then it could potentially send the wrong signals to their target audience. Furthermore, they’ll effectively miss out on the chance to tap into a sizable market.
Because Twitter itself is a business, its choice to adopt an assistive feature isn’t just an ethical move but a practical one. With this option alone, they’re sending a message of inclusivity for the brand. As a result, they’ll likely attract more people from the disabled community while keeping their existing user base more engaged in the process.
How Twitter will be affected by closed captions
Closed captions might not sound like they’ll significantly impact Twitter, considering that it’s primarily aimed at a younger demographic. Still, it may surprise you that this upgrade can change the way users consume media through this platform. The inclusion of this feature can help improve user experience considerably, and in turn, should significantly improve the time people spend on this social media channel.
Additionally, more people who may have hearing-related problems are likely to join and engage with Twitter since they’ll be able to better understand any audio or video content posted on the social networking site.
Conclusion
Accessibility is important not only for the physical world but the digital one as well. With the strides that Twitter is taking towards accessibility through closed captioning, there’s no doubt that more assistive features are likely to show up, and this bodes well for both the social media platform and its user base.
