I’m sure that you would say that most businesses make an effort to make accommodations for clients and customers with disabilities. Making sure their events are wheelchair accessible and have plenty of seating for those that can’t stand are some of the most obvious ways a business can be accommodating. But, sometimes they miss the mark when it comes to supporting folks with invisible disabilities, especially with their content..
I’m talking about people who have:
- Mental illnesses like anxiety, eating disorders, or schizophrenia
- Vision and hearing impairments
- Epilepsy
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Chronic pain
- Autoimmune disorders
The list could go on and on…
When you live everyday with an invisible disability like those listed above, it can feel alienating trying to navigate through a world that isn’t built for you.. But as business owners, we can do our part to keep them in mind when creating content for social media, email, and our websites.
As you go through the process of creating content like ebooks, videos, or podcasts for your business, keep in mind that some people may not be able to consume it the way you intended. Below are suggestions on different ways to make your marketing pieces more accessible.
- If you’re creating podcasts, consider having a transcript to go along with it. This will ensure that folks with hearing and vision impairments will be able to enjoy your content in their preferred format.
- When creating videos, be sure that you don’t have flashing or flickering effects that can trigger seizures in those with epilepsy.
- Unless your business is specifically about weight loss or gain, don’t mention it in any of your content. Bringing up calories or the “morality” of foods can be triggering for folks living with an eating disorder.
- When posting on social media, make sure that you have descriptions of posts in your captions for those using screen readers.
- If you are running a live event, consider hiring a sign language interpreter. This will make it easy for those with hearing impairments to enjoy your event.
By making these small, yet significant tweaks to your content marketing strategy- you can be sure that those with invisible disabilities can learn from your content in a way that works best for them. Doing this will allow them to feel seen by you and your business.
Do you want to learn more about bringing inclusivity into your business? Join my Facebook group Built to Be Inclusive, a community for feminist business owners dedicated to growing themselves, their business, and the world into a more inclusive and diverse place.
