We’re excited to announce a new addition to Scheduler: you can now add Alt Text (alternative text) to your images for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This update improves accessibility, enhances SEO, and helps your content reach a broader audience. Let’s break down what alt text is, why it matters, and how you can use it effectively in ZoomSphere.
What Is Alt Text?
Alt text (alternative text) is a short written description that explains the content and purpose of an image. Screen readers use it to make content accessible for people with visual impairments, and it also appears when images fail to load.
Beyond accessibility, alt text also carries SEO benefits. Search engines cannot “see” images the way humans do, so they rely on alt text to understand what your visuals represent. Well-written alt text can improve your content’s visibility in search results, increase discoverability on social platforms, and help drive more traffic to your posts.
In other words, alt text serves two key purposes:
Making your content inclusive and accessible to everyone.
Helping search engines and algorithms better index your posts for improved reach and performance.
What’s the Difference Between Alt Text and a Caption?
It’s easy to confuse alt text with captions – especially since both involve text connected to an image. But they serve very different purposes:
Captions focus on the post’s message, while alt text describes the image itself. A caption is about the topic of your post – it can highlight key points, encourage interaction, or include a call to action. Alt text explains what’s in the image so everyone can understand it, including visually impaired users and search engines.
Captions are visible, alt text is hidden. A caption is the text your audience sees under your image or video. Alt text, however, is not visible unless someone uses a screen reader or other accessibility tool.
Why Is Alt Text Important?
SEO Benefits: Helps search engines understand your visuals, which can improve visibility.
Clarity & Context: Offers additional explanation when images are complex or abstract.
Professionalism: Demonstrates inclusivity and attention to detail in your social media strategy.
Accessibility: Ensures all users, including those with visual impairments, can engage with your content.
How to Add Alt Text in ZoomSphere
Alt texts are available for these post types:
Facebook: Image post, Photo album
Instagram: Image post, Carousel
LinkedIn: Image post
Adding alt text to your images in ZoomSphere only takes a few clicks:👇🏼
Upload your images to the post. 🖼️
Click the Manage Images button.
Enter your alternative text in the Alt Text field, or click the star icon and let the AI generate your Alt text.
Hit save – and you’re done! 👏🏼
Facebook + LinkedIn: up to 4,086 characters
Instagram: up to 1,000 characters
AI-Generated Alt Text ✅
With ZoomSphere, you can generate alt text using AI with a single click. Just click on the star icon in the Alt Text field.
Here’s how it works:
Image text – If your image already contains text, the AI uses it as context when creating the Alt Text.
No image text? No problem – If there is no text in your image, the Alt Text is generated based solely on the image. Other images in the same post are not considered.
Language selection – You can choose your preferred language for Alt Text generation. ZoomSphere remembers this setting per Scheduler.
Automatic detection – If no language is selected, ZoomSphere attempts to detect it. However, this is only possible if the post contains text. The Alt Text will always default to English if no post text is available.
This way, you instantly get accurate and relevant Alt Texts, making your workflow faster and easier.
Best Practices for Writing Alt Text
Writing good alt text is both an art and a practice. Here are some guidelines:
Be Descriptive, Not Redundant – Clearly describe the image, but avoid repeating obvious details (e.g., “Image of…” is unnecessary).
Keep It Concise – Aim for a natural description without overloading with details.
Focus on What’s Important – Highlight the key elements relevant to the context of your post.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing – While alt text supports SEO, writing unnaturally hurts both readability and accessibility.
Match the Tone – If your brand voice is playful, you can reflect that in alt text (while still being clear).
By making alt text a natural part of your publishing process, ZoomSphere helps you create content that is inclusive, optimized, and professional.