Why accessibility matters
No matter what your target audience is, there’s bound to be a portion who aren’t able to experience it in full, whether due to a hearing or visual impairment or a cognitive disability.
Failing to provide accessible elements within your ads alienates those individuals when they attempt to experience your content. This means your brand loses the ability to make an impact on those individuals, resulting in reduced ad effectiveness. Additionally, the customer might be turned off by the inaccessible content and develop a negative perception of your brand.
5 ways to improve your ads’ accessibility
Technology gives brands the ability to make their digital advertisements more accessible than ever before. However, advertisers should think about these accessibility features when conceptualizing their ads to ensure the elements translate well in the final product.
• Caption videos:
One of the easiest ways to ensure deaf viewers can understand your videos is
adding captions
for all audible elements. Many platforms offer captioning tools for native video, or you can add them in post-production.
• Narrate videos:
If your video includes a lot of on-screen elements but little audible information, customers with visual impairments might miss out on what you’re trying to convey. Including narration in your video advertisements can help explain your message to people who can’t read or view it clearly. Plus, it helps your video appeal to multiple senses to increase its effectiveness.
• Add audio descriptions:
Sometimes, basic narration isn’t enough to help visually impaired customers understand the meaning or context of your video ad. Audio-described ads include an extra level of narration played atop the original audio. This narration describes the unspoken action of the video—who the characters are, where they are and what they’re doing.
• Add alt-text on visuals:
If you’re sharing a photo or graphic as an ad, make sure the image is tagged with alt-text. Alt-text provides a description of the image and can be read by screen readers or other tools to help visually impaired individuals. The alt-text on your image should be straightforward but descriptive, allowing customers to understand the image and its context.
• Utilize image descriptions:
Alt-text is coded into an image online, but these descriptions have a character limit. If your image or graphic is detailed and requires more explanation, adding an image description to the caption of your ad can explain it more clearly.
Aside from ensuring your ads are accessible to everyone, many of these methods can also improve the performance of your ads in other ways. For example, captions and alt-text can improve an ad’s SEO, and a combination of narration and on-screen graphics helps customers remember information.
Incorporating accessibility into your advertising efforts not only allows you to reach all of your customers—it’s also just the right thing to do. Advertisers must look for areas their ads might fall short with audiences and put effort into making sure their ads are as accessible as possible.
Need help ensuring your video and photo ads are accessible to all your customers? The team at Spin Creative is adept at planning and executing ads that build great brands and engage viewers.
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About Us
Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.
