Facebook remains a powerhouse for connecting with your audience, sharing updates, and building community. But with billions of users worldwide, ensuring your content is accessible isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a must-have for reaching everyone.
This simple guide is designed for you, the small business owner, content creator, or marketer using Facebook. We'll break down common accessibility barriers on the platform and provide simple, non-technical fixes you can implement right away — because every like, share, and comment should be accessible to all.
Problem #1 Standard Photos
THE PROBLEM is that your stunning product photo is often just read as "image" or “could be an image of fill in the blank,” by someone using a screen reader (assistive technology that reads digital content aloud). Without a description, they miss out on the visual information you're trying to convey.
THE FIX is using Facebook's built-in "Alt Text" (Alternative Text) feature, which is a short, descriptive sentence (or two) that screen readers can convey.
How to Add Alt Text on Facebook
When creating a new post (Desktop or Mobile)
Start a new post and upload your image.
On Desktop click the Edit button that appears on the image thumbnail and select Alt Text from the options.
On Mobile tap the image to expand it, then tap the three dots (...) or look for an Edit button and select Edit Alt Text or Change Alt Text.
If you let Facebook auto generate the alt text, ALWAYS REVIEW & EDIT IT, as it’s usually generic and lacks context.
Write your own descriptive alt text, focusing on the key visual information (e.g., "A smiling barista hands a latte to a customer at a cozy coffee shop.")
Click Save or Done.
For Existing Posts (Desktop or Mobile)
Go to the published post and click the three dots (...) in the top right corner of the post.
Select Edit Post.
Click Edit on the image, and then select Alternative Text to revise your description.
Click Save.
Problem #2 Infographics
THE PROBLEM is if your photo contains a chart, graph, or other text that conveys necessary data, simply describing the image isn't enough. Screen reader users need access to that full data.
THE FIX is to be detailed. If your alt text can’t convey all the necessary information move the full data into the post's main text or pinned comment.
Alt Text Goal: Briefly describe the graphic’s appearance and purpose (e.g., "Infographic showing customer satisfaction results from Q2, with satisfaction trending upward.").
Post Text Goal: Include the specific data points in the visible text for the screen reader to access (e.g., "Customer satisfaction is up 15% this quarter, based on the chart below. Key findings: 60% loved the service, 30% were neutral...").
If your graphic is promoting a service or product sale, put that info in the alt text (e.g., “Two golden retriever puppies playing in the snow and the text “ All pet grooming services 30% OFF thru Saturday.”)
Problem #3 Hard to Read Text
THE PROBLEM is that long, dense blocks of text, excessive emojis, or creative fonts can make your Facebook posts difficult to read for everyone, especially those with cognitive disabilities or screen reader users.
THE FIX is to structure your text for readability and use common sense with formatting.
How to Make Text on Facebook More Accessible
Use Short Paragraphs & Line Breaks: Break up long sentences and thoughts. Use the Enter/Return key to create line breaks, giving text "breathing room" and making it easy to scan.
Use Bullet Points & Numbered Lists: For lists of items or important points, use Word or Google docs to properly format the post (Facebook currently does NOT have these tools available sitewide). These visually break up text and are easy for screen readers to interpret.
Limit Emoji Use & Placement:
Good: Place emojis at the end of a sentence or phrase (e.g., "We're excited about this! 🎉 ").
Bad: Avoid placing emojis between words or using too many in a row, as screen readers read out the full description of each emoji, which can be highly disruptive.
Adopt #CamelCase for Hashtags: Always capitalize the first letter of each word in a multi-word hashtag.
Accessible: #SmallBizTips
Less Accessible: #smallbiztips (a screen reader might read this as one long word).
Use Plain Language: Avoid jargon, technical terms, or overly complex sentences whenever possible.
Problem #4 Confusing Links
THE PROBLEM is that just pasting a raw URL or using generic "Click here" text without context makes it hard for screen reader users to understand where a link will take them.
THE FIX is to ensure your links are descriptive and provide context.
How to Make Facebook Links Accessible
Provide Context in Your Post Text: Write a sentence or two before the link that clearly states what the link is about.
Good: "Learn more about our new services on our website: [link]"
Less Accessible: "Click here: [link]"
Use Social Sharing Images or Set Open Graph Tags (For Your Website): Facebook pulls its link preview image, title, and description from the meta-tags or social share images setup on your website.
Edit the Link Preview (Domain Verification Required): While standard Facebook profiles and most pages cannot manually edit the link preview text, verified business domains using Meta Business Suite may have options to customize the title, description, and image.
Problem #5 Reels
THE PROBLEM is reels without captions exclude people who are deaf or hard of hearing. They also exclude anyone watching on mute (which is very common on social media feeds!), or those who prefer to read along.
THE FIX is simple: add captions, audio descriptions, and/or transcripts to all your reels.
How to Add Captions on Facebook Reels
Upload or record your reel.
In the video settings/editing interface, add a description of your reel.
Next scroll down and look for Closed Captions
Option 1: Upload Captions: If you have created your own captions, you can upload your SRT file.
Option 2: Auto Generate: Toggle on “Automatically Add Captions.” If you have spoken content in your reel Facebook can auto generate captions for you.
Review and Edit: This is the most crucial step. Use the built-in editor to play the video and correct any errors in the auto-generated text (e.g., proper nouns, technical terms, punctuation).
On mobile you may have the option to adjust the font color, size, and background. Be sure there is enough color contrast and use a readable font.
How-to Add Audio Descriptions
In the same edit menu look for Audio Descriptions.
At the time of posting this article the only option is to upload an audio description file. If you are not familiar with these, check out our audio description tutorial.
How-to Add A Transcript
Within the same editing menu look for Text Transcript
Facebook does not currently auto generate a transcript for your reels, so this would need to be uploaded. If you are not familiar with transcripts you can check out our tutorial on creating accessible transcripts or read our guide on accessible transcripts.
Click Next to finish publishing your reel.
Problem #6 Standard Videos
THE PROBLEM is that while Reels offer quick mobile captioning, uploading a longer, standard video post (like an interview or tutorial) often lacks easy, front-end options for closed captions, audio descriptions (AD), or transcripts in the consumer-facing interface.
THE FIX is to treat your video content like a fully produced digital asset by creating accessible features before you upload to Facebook.
How to Make Standard Facebook Videos Accessible
Create and edit your video outside of Facebook. Most platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and ScreenPal all have options to upload or auto generate captions and transcripts.
Upload your video, with captions already enabled, to Facebook. Now the user has the option to access them via their Facebook settings.
Tip: Standard captions are preferred but if you create a video with “burned in” captions, they will be visible to EVERYONE regardless of their settings/preferences.
Provide a Transcript: For longer videos, the main Facebook post should always include a link to a text transcript of the video's dialogue. This ensures the content is searchable and fully accessible to all screen reader users.
Wrapping Up
Making your Facebook content accessible doesn't need to be overwhelming. By consistently applying these simple fixes
Adding alt text
Structuring Text
Making user friendly links
Using captions & transcripts
you're doing more than just following best practices.
You're opening your content to a much broader audience, fostering genuine connection, and building a more inclusive and respected brand presence on one of the world's largest social platforms.
If you’re looking for help building your inclusive brand, let us know.
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