• by Ray Schultz , August 25, 2022

Social media is the most difficult platform for serving consumers with disabilities, according to Capterra. But email is second, according to the firm's 2022 Accessible Marketing survey.  

Capterra is a software reviews and selection platform that connects businesses to technology.

Of the marketers polled, 49% say social media is the toughest area for providing accessibility, while 43% cited email.  

These channels were followed by events (41%), websites (39%), video (33%) and audio (31%). 

One in four Americans live with a physical or mental disability. But they face accessibility barriers when engaging with digital media. While 83% of marketers are doing more to provide accessibility, they tend to prioritize age, gender and race as demographic factors.  

Still, marketers say their content offers these accessibility features:

• Visual (e.g., enlargement, screen-reader compatibility, color adjustments, high contrast) — 66%
• Hearing (e.g., captioning, amplification, sign language translation) — 56% 
• Speaking (e.g., text-to-speech recognition) — 55%
• Cognitive (e.g., easy-to-read format, dyslexia fonts) — 53%
• Mobility (e.g., assistive input device compatibility, keyboard shortcuts) — 46%
• None of the above — 6%

Of marketers who provide accessibility features, 53% say this improves customer service and 44% cite loyalty/retention.  

But they face challenges, including: 

• Cost or obtaining funding — 38% 
• Difficulty accessing or monitoring the performance — 31% 
• Code or design challenges — 31% 
• Lack of staff to support/implement — 28% 
• Fear of negatively impacting marketing content — 26% 
• Lack of technology to support/implement — 26%
• Inadequate time frame to support/implement — 23%
• Inadequate guidelines to support/implement — 21%
• Company values or culture — 18% 
• Other — 1%
• Don’t know — 4%

Education would motivate their firms to be more proactive in improving accessibility, 45% of marketers say. Another 40% would be driven by revenue impact, and 37% would be motivated by corporate policy changes. 

“While accessibility in marketing is gaining more traction, businesses need the right resources, including training, budget and technology, to make improvements,” says Meghan Bazaman, senior marketing analyst at Capterra.  

Bazaman adds, “By taking a more proactive approach, marketers can reach more customers while generating a positive brand perception.”

Capterra surveyed 428 U.S. marketers in July 2022.