Once you’ve created some incredible video content, you try doing everything possible to market it. You share it on social media, optimize the title and description, and even promote it in a variety of internet groups; however, the outcome falls short, and you don’t receive the views you desire.
In this case, captioning your content may have a significant impact on your success. This is true for films, social media videos, television shows, instructional videos, and any other type of video you may record and distribute. Well, there are many ways to add text to videos but an online video editor works like a pro for adding captions.
Why are subtitles crucial? How to add subtitles? We will explore seven facts and reasons why you should add subtitles to your video, followed by a guide to add subtitles to your video and a discussion on the process of doing it.
Not Everyone Can Communicate in Your Language.
Excellent material crosses language barriers, but only after it has been translated. You may want people from all over the world to see your videos, but it will be difficult if they cannot perceive them.
Although English is the most prevalently spoken language on the internet at large, Mandarin Chinese is not far behind. Certain regions of the world mostly utilize the internet in Arabic and, alternatively, Spanish. When creating your videos, keep your target audience’s language in mind. Additionally, when possible, include subtitles in several languages.
Many people are unable or unwilling to turn on audio.
As you’re undoubtedly informed, most people watch videos on Facebook on mute. That, of course, is for a single social network. Snapchat, for instance, claims that two-thirds of its videos are accompanied by audio.
Regardless of the numbers, many individuals disable audio on their phones or laptops simply because they want or need to. Perhaps they’re listening to a favorite song and are opposed to pausing it. Alternatively, they are in a public space and hence cannot be disruptive.
Even if your videos are aimed towards an audience that is inclined to turn on video sound, some viewers may not. And those individuals will be unable to view your content if it is not subtitled.
The Viewership Is More Engaged.
When subtitles were provided in videos uploaded on Facebook, more individuals tended to watch a video till the end. On average, videos uploaded on Facebook without subtitles were viewed to 66% completion, compared to 91% with subtitles.
Naturally, these are correlations, and the underlying reason is a matter of interpretation. If there is a potential that captioning your content may increase their views, you should invest the time and money necessary to caption them. Bear this in mind when you read the next information.
Your audio is not audible to everyone.
Millions of people in the world are deaf or have difficulty hearing—and if your videos lack subtitles, you’re missing out on a sizable audience. Regardless of the quality of your work, you do not want to exclude millions of people from viewing your content.
That is simply poor business. Consider inclusivity of subtitles while creating your videos and before putting them up on the internet. If you do not know how to add subtitles to your videos, then you can take the help of the internet. However, subtitles are not simply for persons who have hearing impairments.
Subtitles Aid in Understanding.
Individuals acquire knowledge in unique ways. Certain individuals learn best by exploring. Others via observation. Others are discovered by listening. Additionally, if your viewers are not visual learners, they will not benefit as much from your video.
That is when subtitles enter the picture. Individuals who learn best via reading will benefit from your films if they include subtitles. The mix of video and text is effective and appeals to a broader audience than video alone. So, it becomes necessary to learn how to add the subtitles along with the skills you require to put out your content.
A brief search indicates that many individuals watch TV episodes or movies with captions enabled, even if they are persuasive speakers of the language. They simply comprehend it better. Even if such individuals can view without subtitles, they will appreciate your efforts to make your content more accessible to them.
Subtitles Expand the Social Reach of Videos.
Captioned videos on Facebook had a higher reach than those that were not. They received more shares, more responses, and more call-to-action. In short, they outperformed the competition on all relevant metrics. Combine that with the fact that subtitled videos are more likely to be seen, and the take-away becomes evident.
If you are completely doubtful of how to add subtitles to your videos, you can seek assistance from the internet for guidance. Subtitles significantly impact how viewers see, respond to, and engage with your films.
Captions help with SEO.
While the quality of your material should be your primary focus, we understand you’re also considering SEO. Additionally, video subtitles might help you rank higher in search results.
Numerous benefits mentioned above also have an influence on SEO. If consumers spend more time watching your movies, your dwell time will grow, which will benefit your rankings. Social media sharing might also have an impact. Additionally, appealing to a larger audience helps increase visits and decrease bounce rates.
However, the subtitles themselves can assist, as Google indexes captions that you provide to videos (but not automatically-generated captions, such as those supplied by YouTube). This may have a meaningful impact on the number of people that discover your website, view your video, and engage with your material.
How To Add Subtitles To Your Videos?
Adding subtitles to your videos is easy. Adding subtitles is as simple as identifying the times you want them to appear. If you’re still hesitant, there are several articles online about the guide to add subtitles to your video. Thankfully, subtitling software can assist by notifying you when you have too many characters per line or too much content in a single subtitle.
In either case, you may keep them in a separate file (for playback with or without subtitles) or encode them into the video (for constant display). In general, viewers should be able to choose to see or not.
Summing Up
Subtitles are not difficult to add to a video; they simply require time and practice. And it may not seem worthwhile if you’re simply looking to share your content. However, we’ve found that adding subtitles improves accessibility, enhances engagement, and even helps with search engine optimization. There is nothing to miss in this situation (except the potential for more viewers). So, go ahead and begin subtitling!
