The disability community continues to be underrepresented and undervalued in advertising, on social media, and in marketing in general.
And if you're new around here — hi, I’m Kylie 👋
I’m hearing-impaired and have worn hearing aids since I was 40, but I’ve actually been navigating hearing challenges since I was 11.
My husband broke his neck 18 years ago and lives with a C4/5 spinal cord injury – he’s an Asia A Quadriplegic, which means he’s paralysed from the neck down. So yep, when I say we live and breathe in the disability space, I mean it.
But here’s the thing: I don’t pretend to know what life is like for everybody. My experience is mine. His experience is his. Your experience is yours. And we’re all moving through the world facing our own mix of challenges – some visible, many not.
What I do know is this: accessibility matters. I’m passionate about it, especially when I spot someone treating a wheelchair bay like a VIP parking perk. Nope. Not today.
So in this blog, I’m not diving into disability advocacy as a whole (though that’s a convo worth having!).
I’m talking to YOU, the business owner, the brand builder, the marketer, about how you can make small, thoughtful changes in your digital marketing to create a more inclusive experience for everyone.
It’s not hard. It’s just a shift in mindset. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
What does accessible marketing actually mean?
Let’s strip it back. Accessible marketing means:
- Your content works for people using assistive tech (like screen readers)
- People can see, hear, read and understand what you’ve created
- Your website, ads, and social media aren’t putting barriers in front of people
But wait there's more ... It also boosts your SEO, broadens your audience, and just makes things… better.
Why this is a BIG deal in 2025 (and always)
💡 1 in 5 people globally live with a disability
🎧 Many more have temporary or situational accessibility needs (like a loud café or a cracked screen)
📈 Google loves accessible websites - yep, it improves your SEO
📣 Millennials + Gen Z actively support inclusive brands
🌍 The European Accessibility Act (coming in June 2025) is raising the global bar
Making your content more accessible isn’t just nice. It’s necessary.
Easy ways to make your content more inclusive (without overhauling your brand)
Let’s keep it real and doable:
🖼️ Alt text your images
Describe the visual for screen readers and search engines. Think: “A smiling woman with grey curls holding a sign that reads ‘All are welcome’.”
📹 Add captions to your videos
This isn’t just for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. It helps anyone scrolling in silence, too.
🎨 Use high contrast colours
Your beautiful pale grey text on a cream background? Not so readable. Boost the contrast.
🔗 Get more creative with your CTAs and links
“Click here” as a call-to-action doesn’t cut it. Try “Explore our inclusive design tips”.
⌨️ Make your site keyboard-friendly
Lots of users can’t use a mouse, your website should still work seamlessly.
#️⃣ Use CamelCase in hashtags
#LikeThis #notlikethis ... it’s easier to read and for screen readers to pronounce.
✍️ Use proper heading structure
Headings guide the flow. They’re like signposts for screen readers and scanners alike.
🧠 Write like a human (don't copy and paste from your fave AI tool!)
Plain language. Shorter sentences. Clear calls to action. Everyone wins.
REMEMBER: Accessibility ≠ Representation (but we need both)
Inclusive marketing also means:
- Showing people of different races, genders, bodies, and abilities in your visual
- Speaking in a way that respects everyone’s lived experience
- Inviting feedback and being open to doing better
Accessibility is step one. Representation is step two.
Both are about building a brand people feel safe with.
Final thoughts (from someone living it every day)
We’re all learning. All evolving. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s progress.
Start with one thing. Choose one win today.
Whether you’re creating a social post, email, landing page, or new offer, ask yourself:
👉 “Can everyone actually use this?”
👉 “Does everyone feel included here?”
If the answer’s no… good news: you have the power to change that.
And that, my friend, is what ethical, impactful, heart-led marketing looks like 💛
Let’s keep this conversation going.
I’d love to hear what small shifts you’re making.
Come say hi → let's connect on Facebook or on LinkedIn!
I wrote this because I'm so inspired by the people behind Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 15th) ... so here's a big CHEERS to GAAD – and for all of us who want to market with heart.
#GAAD2025 #InclusiveMarketing #AccessibilityMatters #DigitalForEveryone #DisabilityInclusion #MarketingWithHeart #RepresentationMatters
The following is from my original blog published in June 2023, titled:
4 ways you can be more ACCESSIBLE on Social Media & your Website ~ because inclusive marketing is accessible marketing!
In this blog I'm not talking about accessibility or disability in general, but rather how we as business owners and marketers can make small tweaks, to improve inclusivity and accessibility in our advertising, marketing, website and social media. It's easy, you just have to change the way you think about it! 
(1) ALT TEXT / IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS are VITAL!
Alt Text (short for Alternative Text) aka Image descriptions are an accessibility tool that describes what is happening in the picture or graphic, and is read aloud. Great for people with vision impairment, or someone with dyslexia, blindness or other reading impairments.
Include details in your Alt Text to help people grasp the visible imagery and also the sense of feeling involved.
(2) TURN YOUR CAPTIONS ON for VIDEO!
Captions are a hearing-impaired persons (well, ME at any rate!) best friend! I have captions on EVERYTHING! Whether it's socials, news on youtube, or movies on netflix, the captions mean I know what's going on, and don't have to have hte sound turned up to 100% which would not only have my neighbours calling the noise police but my family wearing noise-cancelling head phones, too! So, be a good human, make your content accessible to those who use captioning. If you're writing your own captions, include super detailed and accurate descriptions of the video that's being watched. It's not just appreciated, it's needed.
People with vision impairment also benefit from captioning, as screen readers can be incorporated with this software, also.
(3) Use CamelCase for your hashtags!
Firstly, in case you don't know what CamelCase is, "CamelCase is a way to separate the words in a phrase by making the first letter of each word capitalized and not using spaces. It is commonly used in web URLs, programming and computer naming conventions. It is named after camels because the capital letters resemble the humps on a camel's back. Common examples include "iPhone" and "eBay""
It isn't widely used in social media platforms to write hashtags, but it should be!
Screen readers that are often utilised by people with vision impairment can read and recognise words faster, as each of them already starts with an uppercase letter. Let's face it - Hashtags are tricky to read for anyone, so let's start a new trend of CamelCase hashtags - we'll all be better off for it!
For example #hellomedia isn't reader-friendly until CamelCase turns it into #HelloMedia ~ which is a whole lot easier to understand. Reduce confusion, embrace accessibility.
(4) Be careful how you use EMOJIS!
If you've read many of my blogs, or watched many of my digital marketing webinars, you'll know that I LOVE EMOJI! Emojis add so much life to social media posts, newsletters and text messages, and if a picture speaks 1000 words, then emojis speak 1000 feelings!
They're basic picture representations of people, animals, places and things, and can be used at the front, end, or in between words or sentences. OR use them as I often do, as the complete comment or reaction!
HOWEVER ...
Too many different emojis in a line, will be bamboozling for a screenreader! Many people with blindness and low vision use screen readers, also known as text-to-speech, to interpret information on the screen. When reading a message with an emoji, a description of the emoji is read out loud. For example, laughing emoji, screen readers may read it aloud as “laughing face.” Imagine you have 5 laughing crying emoji's in a row, it'll be pretty frustrating for someone using text-to-speech to heard read to them, "yes exclamation mark, laughing crying emoji, laughing crying emoji, laughing crying emoji, laughing crying emoji, laughing crying emoji, exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark" as an example!
Perhaps try using just one or two to get your point across! (note directed at ME! 😅😆😜!!!)
Everyone deserves to have access to all information whether via the internet or other sources, just as everyone has the capacity to contribute to society. Accessibility and disability inclusive marketing are good for all people, and when everyone can fully access and engage with your products, content, and experiences, it’s good for business.
Brands that prioritise accessibility as a human and business imperative will find that it opens up their work to a more diverse audience. Committing to accessibility in marketing breaks down barriers and enables brands to be better in their work, which is better for all users.
(The following are some snippets from a fabulous article - resourced below) which I encourage you to read.
Nothing about us without us
Disabled people are their own experts, which is why it’s so important to bring in their voices from the start. Often this involves dedicating the resources required to do accessible marketing right, such as training and support for internal teams.
Account for intersectionality
For marketing to feel truly inclusive and accessible, brands must think about people with disabilities holistically, and consider the full spectrum of markers that comprise identity. Beyond disability, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and education level are just a few of the additional ways that people may identify themselves.
Failing to recognise and reflect intersectionality in your messages runs the risk of reducing disabled people’s multidimensional identities into oversimplified stories that can perpetuate stereotypes, rather than uplifting them. An excellent rule of thumb is to always opt for nuanced narratives, preferably ones that come directly from the people who are part of the narrative.
Accessibility is a mindset, not a box to check
Best practices for disability inclusion and accessibility marketing change over time as technology evolves and culture shifts. It’s an ever-evolving journey that depends heavily on the needs of people with disabilities. Like other forms of inclusion, accessibility should be a constant commitment that’s embedded into every aspect of your brand campaigns — from conception to execution, and beyond.
Resources (and a brilliant read!):
KR Liu, Google’s head of brand accessibility, shares her personal story and why accessible marketing is critical for every brand CLICK HERE to read.
Google's Inclusive Marketing Playbook