Videos and audio content on social media: how to make them accessible

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Video has become the dominant format on social media. Reels, LinkedIn videos, YouTube Shorts, podcasts shared on Facebook: these formats fill every feed. And by default, they exclude a significant portion of your audience.

A video without subtitles is inaccessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing people. It is also unusable in any context where sound cannot be activated, such as on public transport, in open-plan offices, or during meetings. A video whose important visual information is not described is inaccessible to blind people. A podcast without a text transcript excludes both groups at once.

None of this is inevitable. Each of these alternatives can be produced, and the tools to do so have never been more accessible.

This third article in our series explains what adaptations to plan for, how to produce them, and how to integrate them into your posts according to each platform’s possibilities.

What adaptations are needed for an accessible video?

Making a video accessible does not simply mean “adding subtitles”. There are three types of adaptation, each meeting different needs.

Subtitles

Subtitles transcribe in writing the speech and important sounds of a video: dialogue, voice-overs, but also significant sounds (a slamming door, applause) and speaker identification when several people are talking.

They are essential for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. They also benefit everyone who watches videos without sound, which, according to several studies, represents between 69% and 75% of mobile viewings.

Text transcripts

A text transcript reproduces the entire audio content in written form: speech, audio information, and, for videos, the important visual information that would not be understandable without sight. If a graph appears on screen during a video without being described verbally, the transcript must describe its content.

It is essential for deaf-blind people and for those who cannot access the video itself. It also allows people who have already watched it to quickly find a specific piece of information.

Audio description

Audio description is an additional audio track that describes the important visual information of a video during the silences of the main audio track. It is intended for blind people.

YouTube is currently the only major platform testing the possibility of adding multiple audio tracks to a video, which would allow audio description to be integrated. This feature is not yet available by default for all users. For other platforms, audio description must be integrated directly into the video, which requires specific production work.

Subtitles: how to produce and integrate them

Automatic subtitles: a starting point, not a solution

Most major platforms now offer automatic subtitle generation. This is a useful step forward, but these AI-generated subtitles contain errors. Spelling mistakes, misheard words, confused homophones, timing issues: a video automatically subtitled without verification can convey an incorrect message.

The absolute rule: automatic subtitles must always be checked and corrected before or after publication.

In Luxembourg, this vigilance is particularly important for content in Luxembourgish. Speech recognition systems frequently confuse Luxembourgish with German, producing strongly inaccurate subtitles. The LuxASR tool, developed by the University of Luxembourg, generates subtitle files from a Luxembourgish audio track with greater accuracy. These files can then be imported into distribution platforms.

What the different platforms allow

LinkedIn offers automatic subtitles for videos uploaded from a computer. Note that native automatic generation works primarily in English. LinkedIn also allows you to import a subtitle file in .srt format, which is the standard format for subtitle files.

Instagram offers automatic subtitles for videos, Stories and Reels via the “Caption Stickers” feature in the mobile app. These subtitles must be checked and corrected before publication. From a computer, automatic subtitles can be enabled via the “Accessibility” panel when creating a post, though this feature may behave differently depending on platform updates.

Facebook allows you to import a .srt file for each published video, via the “Edit video” option and then “Upload SRT files”.

X (formerly Twitter) also allows the import of a .srt file after the video has been uploaded.

YouTube offers the most complete solution: editable automatic subtitles in YouTube Studio, .srt file import, and a text transcript directly accessible from the video page via the “Show transcript” button. YouTube also allows you to add links in the video description, making it easy to link to a more complete transcript hosted on your website.

When producing your own .srt file is no longer enough

For long or recurring video content, producing subtitles yourself can quickly represent a significant amount of work. Specialist subtitling or transcription providers can handle this task professionally and reliably. This option is often more economical than it appears, especially when compared to the cost of content that excludes part of its audience.

Text transcripts: where to publish them?

The general problem with social media

No social media platform currently offers a native feature for providing a text transcript directly linked to a video or podcast, with the exception of YouTube.

This does not mean it is impossible to offer one. It means working around the platforms’ limitations.

Available solutions

Publishing the transcript on your website. The most robust solution is to publish the text transcript on a page of your site, such as a blog article, a resource page or a dedicated landing page, and then insert the link to that page in your social media post. This approach works on all platforms and guarantees that the transcript is accessible in an environment you control.

Using a LinkedIn article. LinkedIn’s “article” format allows you to publish long-form text with accessible formatting, including headings, paragraphs and lists. It can host the transcript of a video or podcast shared on the same platform.

Instagram: the special case. Instagram does not allow clickable links in posts. One solution is to place the link to the transcript in the account biography or in pinned Stories. A more practical alternative: include a short URL in the post text for users to type manually into their browser. This is not ideal, but it is what the platform’s constraints allow.

Beware of text embedded in videos

If your video displays text on screen, such as a title, a statistic or a quote, and that text is not read aloud in the video, it must appear in the text transcript. Blind people do not have access to these visual elements. If you do not transcribe them, they receive an incomplete version of your message.

A concrete example: an interview video in which the interviewee’s name and title appear on screen as embedded text but are never mentioned verbally is inaccessible to a blind person. The transcript must include: “[Text on screen: Marie Dupont, Director of ASBL Inclusion Luxembourg]”.

Video accessibility in 2025: what has improved, what remains to be done

Real progress

Automatic subtitling tools have improved. Most major platforms now offer some form of native subtitling. Speech-to-text transcription tools are more accurate and less expensive than five years ago. These developments reduce the production time needed to make a video accessible.

Persistent gaps

In 2025, no platform offers a native feature for text transcripts linked to videos, with the exception of YouTube. Audio description remains almost entirely absent from major social networks. And automatic subtitles, however good they have become, still require human verification before publication.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people therefore remain dependent on content producers’ willingness to provide alternatives. That willingness does not happen by chance: it is organised, planned and learned.

Integrating accessibility into your production process

The most commonly overlooked point is simple: time for accessibility work must be built into the production schedule, not treated as an afterthought.

If you publish a 10-minute video, set aside one to two hours for checking and correcting subtitles. If you regularly publish podcasts, include transcription in your production budget. If you create videos with graphics or embedded text, plan to describe them in the transcript.

What seems complex the first time becomes methodical with practice, and even more efficient when an entire team shares the same habits.

Trainings available on request:

FAQ: accessible videos and audio content

Do I need to subtitle all my social media videos?

If your organisation is subject to Luxembourg’s legal accessibility obligations (public sector, non-profits predominantly funded by public money, companies subject to the 2023 law), yes. For others, it is strongly recommended. Subtitles benefit not only deaf and hard-of-hearing people, but all viewers who watch videos without sound.

Are LinkedIn’s or Instagram’s automatic subtitles sufficient?

They make a good starting point, but they must be checked and corrected before or after publication. Their accuracy varies depending on audio quality, speech rate, and the language used. For content in Luxembourgish, particularly careful verification is required.

What is a .srt file and how do I create one?

A .srt file is a text file containing a video’s subtitles with time codes indicating when each piece of text should appear. It can be created manually with a text editor, generated automatically by transcription tools (and then verified), or produced by a specialist provider. Most online subtitling tools export in this format.

Is it possible to make already-published videos accessible?

Yes, on most platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and X allow you to edit a published video to add or correct subtitles. On Instagram, it is also possible to edit the alt text of a post after it has been published.

Is a text transcript really necessary in addition to subtitles?

Subtitles and text transcripts do not serve exactly the same purpose. Subtitles are synchronised with the video and require watching the video. A transcript is an independent, searchable document that allows you to find specific information or access the content without watching the video. It is essential for deaf-blind people and useful for anyone who wants a text version of your content.

My team does not have time to produce subtitles. What should we do?

Two options: use automatic subtitles and correct them (less time-consuming than transcribing from scratch), or call on a specialist provider for high-impact content. For less critical content, a link to a transcript produced with an automatic transcription tool and corrected by hand remains preferable to nothing at all.

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