Social Media
Your accessibility partner for all your social media content, from TikTok to YouTube.
Make your social media content more inclusive and engaging
Your social media content can be more accessible and inclusive to the 16.8 million disabled people in the UK. That’s one in four. If you want to make your content more accessible but aren’t sure how, we’re here to help.
At VoiceBox, we provide a free accessibility consultation to help you better understand which services fit your needs. We work with you and your marketing team to seamlessly fit into your workflows.
Whether you choose subtitles supporting deaf and hard of hearing audiences or audio description for viewers who are blind or have sight loss, your social media can help them to enjoy more of your content.
You can also appeal to a wider audience, open yourself up to the Purple Pound (the spending power of disabled households) — which sits at £274 billion in the UK — and encourage more loyal consumers to engage with your channels.
Remember that not everyone consumes social media content in the same way. Some users may watch videos without sound in a busy place, while for others, sometimes background noise is so loud that subtitles are needed to understand what’s going on.
Besides being more accessible and inclusive for disabled audiences, making your content accessible also brings other benefits.
That includes appealing more to audiences who love accessibility features like subtitles — four in five young people (18-24-year-olds) use subtitles some or all of the time. Additionally, subtitles can increase engagement rate and watch time.
When working with your social media content, we make sure your audience finds it more engaging than it was before.
Our services
- Open captions
- Closed captions
- SDH (Subtitles for Deaf and Hard of Hearing)
- Subtitle translation
- Voiceover
- Audio description script writing and voice over
- Video editing
- Video and audio translation
- Free accessibility consultation
- Dedicated account management
- Compliance guidance and support
Our wide range of services gives you plenty of options for your social media content for your chosen platforms. And you can rest assured that our ISO-certified workflows will take you through the process smoothly.
Ready to get started? Contact us today and find out why we are rated highly on Trustpilot.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t think of using anyone else. VoiceBox is my go-to, and I can’t recommend them enough.”
What does our process look like?
We always start with a chat. It may be a free consultation over video or a simple enquiry; either way, we support you with dedicated support from the very start.
After that, we find out your needs for your project, which channel(s) and discuss how you can best support your target audiences. Then, we get in touch with our linguists, from voice over artists to captioners, (as selected by our in-house vendor management team) who get the job done. We can supply multiple services and languages all at once.
As standard, our team regularly checks in with providers to ensure we meet deadlines and after the project, we perform human quality assurance (QA) to make sure you are happy with it.
Social media content that works for you
At VoiceBox, we exist to make your content inclusive and global ready. But it has to work for you, your needs and your budget.
Accessibility is a sliding scale. We appreciate that each of you will have different budgets and capacities. So, we don’t judge; we just acknowledge that being more accessible is always better, but you’re not expected to be perfect right away. We’ll work with you to find the best solution.
We can act as an extension of your production, marketing, social media or content team and we’re here to advise you on the best next steps. However, if you already have a team in-house to support with social media content, we can just stick to the accessibility advice.
Rather than going in without a picture, it’s worth knowing how your audience consumes content on your preferred platforms like TikTok and Instagram and what they would like more of, whether that be voiceovers, subtitles or else. We would also advise that if you’re thinking of targeting a new market, do this based on your data and market research. That way, you’re spending your money wisely.
Don't forget, we can also provide general advice on inclusive, accessible social media posts!
Because of our expertise across thousands and thousands of projects since 2014, our clients come back time after time — we’re available to support you whenever you need.
What accessibility services does VoiceBox provide for social media content?
At VoiceBox, we provide a variety of accessibility services for social media content, including subtitles, SDH, subtitle translation, audio description, voiceovers, video editing and more.
What are the accessibility requirements for social media?
There isn’t really a social media accessibility law in the UK. That being said, organisations should make content accessible as part of the Equality Act 2010 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Fair expectations include captions for videos, alt text for images, sufficient colour contrast and writing hashtags in CamelCase (e.g. #MediaAccessibility, rather than #mediaaccessibility).
For WCAG, the level you need to meet (A, AA or AAA) depends on your organisation, sector and audience. Most organisations aim for WCAG Level AA, as this is commonly referenced in legislation and best practice.
Can you make short-form content accessible?
Yes, we often work on short-form content for social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube shorts. Our support depends on your needs but commonly involves subtitles and voiceovers.
Can you help me with long-form content?
Yes, VoiceBox can support long-form content for platforms like YouTube. The exact support always depends on your needs but could include subtitles, audio description, voiceover services and more.
Does VoiceBox support high production value work?
Yes, we can absolutely support high production value work, such as adverts, brand films, YouTube content and more.
Does VoiceBox also work with small teams and creators?
Yes, we also work with small teams and creators to supply media accessibility and localisation services for social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. Based on your requirements, we can advise on what services suit your project best and supply them.
Can you work with livestreams?
Yes, our team can work with livestreams, such as webinars. We offer support based on your needs, but we commonly support livestreams with live captions and sign language interpreting.
Do AI solutions work for social media?
For more budget-friendly clients, AI solutions can work for social media content. For example, when scaling social media content, you may explore AI subtitles or AI voiceovers.
Just be mindful that raw AI risks errors. For example, AI subtitles come with an accuracy rate of around 80%, which can be improved with human post-editing.
Additionally, it's worth knowing that AI voiceovers sometimes have to be disclosed on social media.
How do I make social media content more accessible?
From a digital accessibility perspective, use alt. text, colour contrasts, and video/image descriptions in your content.
From a media accessibility point of view, consider SDH, voiceovers and audio description.
Are subtitles useful for social media content?
Yes, subtitles are very useful for your social media content. In fact, 79% of UK viewers use subtitles. For social media, subtitles are useful when watching content in noisy and busy places, and auto-captions may be incorrect, so having your own gets the message across clearly.
Why should I consider a voiceover in my social media content?
You should consider a voiceover in your social media content if you want to add extra depth to the video. For example, this may work well for an educational video where a narrator/voice explains what is happening on screen.
Voiceovers benefit audiences who are blind or have sight loss because they help provide a picture of what is on screen.
For educational content, Richard Mayer’s Modality Principle states that people learn better when graphics are joined with spoken narration, as opposed to on-screen text. This is because both visual and auditory channels can be used together and this reduces cognitive overload.
Can VoiceBox translate subtitles too?
Yes, we can translate subtitles as well for different markets. We translate and localise subtitles in over 220 language pairs, with some of our most requested languages including British English, American English, French, German and Spanish.
What is SDH?
SDH means Subtitles for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences. They are a type of subtitle specially designed for those who may not be able to hear audio, whether they are deaf or hard of hearing.
SDH provides additional context, including [music], [door closes], [laughter], and who is speaking, which helps viewers follow the full audio experience.
What’s the difference between open and closed captions?
Open captions are permanently visible to the viewer because they are ‘burnt into’ the video file. Closed captions (CC) are an overlay that can be turned on or off.
Open captions are popular for when clients want to enforce subtitles as they can’t be turned off and will be on the screen permanently. Closed captions are useful when clients think some will use captions and some won’t, so they give them the choice.
On social media, we know closed captions are very common (and often auto generated by platforms). We recommend getting auto captions checked or done professionally to ensure accuracy. Burnt in subtitles are also popular when brands want their subtitles to have a style.
What do VoiceBox’s quality assurance (QA) checks look like?
At VoiceBox, our quality assurance (QA) process is managed by experienced in-house project managers across all of our services. The team coordinates specialist reviewers and checks each project against the source material and the client’s requirements. This includes accuracy, terminology, consistency, timing, formatting, audio quality and overall presentation.
For example, in subtitling, the project manager ensures that the translation is reviewed and that the timecodes, reading speed, line breaks, punctuation and synchronisation meet the required standards. A final project-level check then confirms that the completed files are accurate and ready for delivery.
Get in touch
Let's have a chat! We offer free consultations, honest advice and demos so you can explore what's possible before making a decision.