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Social Media Accessibility Standards

Applies to all official Cal State Fullerton-owned social media accounts.

Purpose: Required Accessibility (Minimum Compliance) and Guidance

These standards define CSUF’s requirements for ensuring social media content is accessible to individuals with disabilities and compliant with ADA regulations, the CSU Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), and WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Accessibility requirements apply to all social media platforms and must be maintained throughout the lifecycle of each account, including content creation, publishing, and ongoing review.

 

Images and Graphic

  • Provide alt text for all images
    • All images published on social media must include alternative text to meet accessibility standards and ensure content is usable for all audiences. If support is needed, tools such as ChatGPT may be used by uploading the image and prompting “Please provide alt text for this image,” with all generated text reviewed and edited for accuracy and relevance.
      Example alt text: A group of students wearing CSUF shirts smiling and talking at Discoverfest booths outdoors.
  • If text appears in a graphic, repeat the text in the caption
    • If text appears in a graphic, the same information must be repeated in the caption so it is accessible to screen readers. Whenever possible, key details should live in the caption rather than on the graphic itself, especially for event promotion. This is critical for accessibility when sharing event date, time, location, and cost, all of which must be clearly stated in the caption if applicable.

Video and Audio

  • All videos MUST include accurate captions. Be attentive to names, titles and program spelling.
  • All captions must be reviewed and corrected before publishing, as auto-generated captions may contain errors.
  • Important visual information should be described verbally or in written captions.
    How to Add Closed Captions in Adobe Premiere Pro
    1. Open your video project in Adobe Premiere Pro and place the video on the timeline.
    2. Go to Window → Text to open the Text panel, then select the Captions tab.
    3. Choose Transcribe Sequence, select the correct language, and start transcription.
    4. Once transcription is complete, select Create Captions, choose a caption format (typically Subtitle), and apply them to the timeline.
    5. Review and edit captions carefully for accuracy, punctuation, and timing.
    6. When exporting, ensure “Create Sidecar File” is unchecked so captions are embedded, or export an .SRT file if required by the platform.

Text and Language

  • Use short, plain, clear language
  • Avoid excessive punctuation, special characters, or decorative formatting
  • Place emojis initially or after text, not mid-sentence
  • Start with Inclusive language
    • To make the phrase "listen to our podcast" more inclusive and accessible, use action-oriented language that accommodates various ways of consuming content beyond just hearing.
    • Here are several accessible language suggestions:
      General and Action-Oriented Phrases
      • "Check out our latest episode."
      • "Explore this episode"
      • "Dive into this conversation."
      • "Engage with our content."
      • "Access the episode"
      Phrases Emphasizing Content Options
      These options explicitly highlight the availability of transcripts and captions, which are essential for accessibility:
      • "Listen to or read this episode."
      • "Listen with captions or read the full transcript."
      • "Access the audio and a full transcript of this discussion."

Hashtags

  • Use CamelCase hashtags
    Example: #GoTitans (correct)
    Avoid: #gotitans, #GOTITANS
  • Limit the number of hashtags to what is necessary

Common Accessibility Issues to Avoid

  • Busy graphics and/or text baked into images without caption text or Alt Text
  • Videos posted without captions or with mispelled, inaccurate captions.
  • Emoji-only posts
  • All-caps or lowercase hashtags

Key Principles for Accessible Hyperlinks

People using assistive software want to know where they will end up when clicking on a link.

  1. Descriptive Link Text
    1. Ensure link text is meaningful and descriptive, indicating the purpose or destination of the link.
    2. Example: Use “Visit our Spring Concert Page” instead of “Click here.”
  2. Contextual Clarity
    • The link text should make sense out of context. Users navigating via screen readers often jump from link to link.
    • Example: “Learn more about our accessibility policy” provides clear context.
  3. Avoid Using URLs as Link Text
    • Long URLs can be confusing and difficult to read, especially for screen readers.
    • Instead, use a descriptive phrase that represents the link’s destination.
  4. Consistent Styling
    • Ensure hyperlinks are visually distinct from regular text. Typically, links are underlined and in a different color.

Responsibility and Accountability

  • Accessibility is the responsibility of every content publisher
  • Posts must be accessible at the time of publication
  • Units may be asked to remediate or remove inaccessible content.

Standards Referenced

 

 

 

 

Guidelines

While social media is an effective communication tool for the university, it also brings unique challenges. Individuals who contribute to CSUF social media accounts as representatives of CSUF and as a part of their employment must be attentive to the university guidelines.

Planning Guide and Best Practices
Social Media Guidelines

Submit Your Accounts on CSUF Directory

If you are managing a social media account for your department, have your handles listed on the CSUF Social Media directory.

Submit your social media accounts