Is Instagram’s Alt Text Trending Better Than AI? This New Study Has The Answer

Social SEO is trending at this point in time and to be more specific, it’s Instagram’s alt text that is really getting all the attention. But the question is why?

There is plenty of data available online that speaks about the best practices in the industry. It’s just that there’s not enough content present that is experimenting with this.

Thanks to a recent test conducted by Hootsuite, we’re getting the chance to glance over some interesting results after putting the theory to the test.

Today, it’s all about a great experiment where you can play with with producing customized alt text on the Instagram platform that boosts reach.

The hypothesis for the text was to produce custom Instagram alt text that generates great reach.

Remember, the feature is designed for all marketing experts, and in this situation, accessibility is quite essential. The fact that there is an inclusive design available means saying hello to new content that appeals to visually impaired users too. But is there a possibility that alt text enhances the world of social SEO or not?

If there is anyone out there that knows about this, it’s related to alt text being a descriptive copy that can best describe contents with pictures inside the HTML code. It just betters the accessibility to those using screen readers and may enhance opportunities to be seen across different searches.

Now, Meta’s leading Instagram app provides AI-produced automatic alt text and it may even produce its own.

We really wish to know if customized Instagram alt text may be the latest weapon in the repertoire to fight wastelands on Instagram SEO or simply help with analytics.

For the test, the company took out its dashboard and put up six kinds of posts through scheduling.

While three of them have an original customized alt text, the rest have Instagram-produced alt text. And to prevent bias, the content was kept as close in theme to one another as possible.

Putting up book reviews was necessary and Instagram really put out the most robust community of book lovers. And to better engagement, Hootsuite chose the best time to make such a post.

For default alt text, the authors of the research added a short text-based description with perhaps one image. While for the custom alt text, a much more detailed endeavor was mentioned with keyword-rich pictures as the description.

The results showed how the TL;DR couldn’t determine which performed better. They were both fairly similar and the trial was dubbed inconclusive. Does that mean users should not produce their own alt text?

See, the advantages linked to alt text go way beyond engagement as well as reach figures on the Instagram app. It enables content to be taken in by those who are visually impaired and hence produces a more equal experience through social media.

The authors even mentioned how adding folks in demographics for the content strategy puts out a huge reach to a bigger audience. So if you’re inclusive across social media, it really does help you out.

Read next: YouTube, TikTok or Instagram? This Study Revealed Which Short Video Platform is The Best
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World