Do you use hashtags in your LinkedIn post?
Hashtags help make content discoverable on platforms like LinkedIn and, effectively, reach more people.
If they contain two or more words, they are constructed without any spaces.
They are also normally written lower case and they become a hybrid of all the words used eg #accessiblecontent or #linkedintips
Why this can be an issue
People who are hearing or sight impaired, have dyslexia, have literacy differences or are English learners use screen readers to consume content.
Screen readers cannot identify the individual words in a hashtag and they’ll usually try to read the phrase as one long word.
This would make it hard for the person listening to it to decipher the hashtag.
Here’s how you can create accessible hashtags
Capitalize the first letter of each of the words in a hashtag if it has more than one word.
This is referred to as camel case because capitalizing the first letters of the words mimics the humps on a camel’s back.
Screen readers will now be able to identify each word and will read the hashtag as intended.
So instead of #linkedintips I would use #LinkedInTips or #AccessibleContent instead of #accessiblecontent
Hashtags with camel case don’t just benefit people with screen readers.
It makes it easier for anyone to scan and read them.
If you want to get more LinkedIn tips, follow me on LinkedIn and follow my hashtag #nynaonlinkedIn and sign up for my newsletter.