You may have heard of alt text, or alternative text, on Instagram recently. This increasingly popular topic is being adopted more and more by users on Instagram and is a feature that has been present for a while but hasn't received the attention it truly deserves. Alt text can help you reach a broader audience and improve accessibility on your Instagram channel.
Why alt text on Instagram is important
Alt text may display when a photo is very slow to load, when using a browser for the visually impaired, or when using a screen reader that tells you what is on an image. Instagram automatically generates alt text for your posts, but it often does not capture the full context and description of the image in a post. You can write your own alt text to more accurately describe your photo.
Alt text is important for accessibility and SEO. It allows screen readers to read off descriptions of images to visually impaired users, and it allows search features and search engines to more easily discover your content based on the description provided.
Overall, it's a good idea to start writing your own alt text for your Instagram posts! It will help you reach the largest audience possible on Instagram.
How to add alt text to your next Instagram post
Creating your own alt text on an Instagram post is super easy!
1. Start by creating a post on Instagram. After you've taken or chosen the photo and done all your edits, tap "Next". Tap "Advanced Settings"
You may have to scroll all the way to the bottom to see "Advanced Settings" if you have multiple accounts.
2. Under Accessibility at the bottom, tap on "Write Alt Text"
3. Write your alt text and tap "Done"
4. Share your image on Instagram as usual
That's it! You can also edit the alt text on a post you've already shared by navigating to that post and tapping the three dots in the top right corner, then tapping "Edit". Once you tap edit, an "AA Edit Alt Text" option will appear on your image. Tap this icon to edit and save your alt text.
Do you need help with social media?
Ripl is your all-in-one app that helps you create, schedule, and post your social media in minutes. So you can get back to business.
How to write effective alt text for Instagram
The goal of alt text on Instagram is to describe the image you are posting accurately. The most effective alt text captures the context of the image and the description itself.
Here's an example of alt text describing the image used above:
To go above and beyond alt text, you can also choose to include a photo description in the caption of your Instagram post. User @blairimani on Instagram does an excellent job providing detailed descriptions of her Instagram posts:
Ripl is your shortcut to great social media
The all-in-one app that helps you create, schedule, post, and track your social media. Start your free trial today!
