Here’s a number that might surprise you: 4.4 million Australians live with disability, representing a combined spending power of $1.6 billion annually. Yet most business videos completely ignore this massive audience. While you’re busy optimizing for SEO and engagement rates, there’s an entire market segment that can’t access your content – and legally, they should be able to.
The conversation around video accessibility isn’t just about doing the right thing anymore (though that matters). It’s about missing out on customers, facing potential legal challenges, and frankly, creating content that’s just plain better for everyone. When Netflix added captions to all their content, they didn’t just help deaf viewers – they discovered that 80% of caption users weren’t deaf at all.
The Legal Reality You Can’t Ignore
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act doesn’t mess around when it comes to digital accessibility. While enforcement has been relatively light in the past, that’s changing fast. In 2024 alone, we’ve seen three major Australian companies face accessibility-related complaints, with settlements reaching six figures.
But here’s what’s really driving change: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard is becoming the expected baseline. Government contracts now require it. Major corporations are demanding it from suppliers. Insurance companies are starting to ask questions about compliance.
For your corporate videos, this means every piece of content needs to be accessible from day one, not as an afterthought.
Beyond Compliance: The Business Case That Actually Matters
Forget the legal stuff for a moment. Accessible videos simply perform better across every metric that matters to your business. When we started adding captions to all our client videos in 2023, something interesting happened. Engagement rates didn’t just improve for accessibility reasons – they improved across the board.
Think about it: How often do you watch videos with the sound off? Whether you’re in a quiet office, on public transport, or just prefer reading along, captions make content consumable in more situations. That’s more views, longer watch times, and better SEO rankings because search engines can index spoken content.
One of our real estate clients saw their property video completion rates jump 34% after we added captions and audio descriptions. Turns out, international buyers were using the captions to better understand Australian accents and property terminology.
The Five Pillars of Accessible Video Content
Getting accessibility right isn’t about ticking boxes – it’s about understanding how different people consume content. We’ve broken it down into five essential elements that every business video should include:
Captions and Subtitles: Not just automated YouTube captions (which are wrong about 30% of the time). Professional, accurate captions that include speaker identification and sound descriptions.
Audio Descriptions: For visually impaired viewers, this means describing important visual information during natural pauses in dialogue. It’s like being the friend who explains what’s happening in a movie.
Color and Contrast Considerations: Information shouldn’t rely solely on color. If your commercial video says “click the red button,” viewers who are colorblind might struggle. Use multiple indicators like shape, position, or text labels.
Clear Audio Quality: Background music shouldn’t compete with dialogue. Multiple speakers should be easily distinguishable. This benefits everyone, not just hearing-impaired viewers.
Keyboard Navigation: For interactive video elements, everything should be accessible without a mouse. This helps users with motor impairments and people who prefer keyboard navigation.
The Production Workflow That Actually Works
Here’s where most businesses go wrong: they treat accessibility as a post-production add-on instead of building it into their workflow from the start. Bad news – retrofitting accessibility is expensive and often ineffective. Good news – planning for it from day one barely adds any cost or time.
During pre-production, we now include accessibility considerations in every client brief. Will there be crucial visual information that needs audio description? Are we planning complex graphics that might be hard to navigate? Should we budget for professional captioning?
For social media videos, we automatically include burned-in captions because most platforms auto-play videos silently. It’s not just accessible – it’s smart marketing.
During production, we ensure clear audio recording, avoid relying solely on color for important information, and leave natural pauses for potential audio descriptions. In post-production, we create caption files, add audio descriptions where needed, and test everything with actual accessibility tools.
ROI That Goes Beyond the Numbers
Let’s talk money for a minute. Professional captioning adds about $150-300 to a typical business video project. Audio descriptions might add another $200-500 depending on complexity. Sounds expensive until you consider the alternative.
One discrimination lawsuit can cost tens of thousands in legal fees alone, even if you win. But more importantly, accessible content simply reaches more people. Our event videos with full accessibility features average 40% higher engagement rates than standard versions.
There’s also the compound effect. When you create accessible content, you’re also creating content that’s more SEO-friendly, mobile-optimized, and international-audience friendly. It’s an investment that pays multiple dividends.
Getting Started: The 30-Day Accessibility Audit
Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to fix everything at once. Start with an audit of your current video content. Pick your five most important business videos and ask these questions:
Can someone understand the key message with the sound off? Can someone understand it with their eyes closed? If there’s a call-to-action, is it clear through multiple senses? Are important visual elements described in some way?
For new content, build accessibility into your video production process from the start. It’s easier to plan for a ramp than to build one after the stairs are already there.
The truth is, accessible video isn’t just about compliance or even market reach. It’s about creating content that’s genuinely better for everyone who watches it. And in a world where attention is the scarcest resource, shouldn’t your videos be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible?
Ready to make your video content accessible to everyone? Let’s talk about how we can help you tap into that hidden market while future-proofing your content strategy.
