Why Subtitles and Captions Are More Important Than You Think
At this point, your videos are basically incomplete without subtitles and captions
Engaging concepts, 4K visuals, dreamy filters, flawless transitions, and high-fidelity audio — these elements used to be surefire ways to create an absolutely perfect video for your website and social media. The formula is changing. The components still produce a pretty good video; however, they do not ensure maximum reach. Include subtitles and closed captions to your videos for that additional engagement boost.
Closed captioning vs. subtitles
Subtitles and closed captions are forms of text that accompany audio-visual media, such as movies and television shows. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, there are differences between the two.
Subtitles are the transcription of the dialogue translated into different languages. They usually help non-native speakers follow the conversation and understand the audio, making the content accessible to a broader audience.
Closed captions, on the other hand, are a form of subtitles specifically designed for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. They provide a textual representation of the audio, including speech, sound effects, and music.
The differences do not make one type less important than the other. They can help with your content marketing strategy extensively if implemented correctly.
Why subtitles and closed captions are important
1. Makes your content more accessible
According to the World Health Organization, 432 million adults and 34 million children are battling with disabling hearing loss. Not including subtitles or captions in your video means excluding this large demographic.
After spending hours perfecting your content, you would naturally want the maximum number of people to enjoy it. When you decide to be inclusive and reachable to as many individuals as possible, your brand will also benefit from it.
2. Helps with SEO
Content marketing without SEO does not make sense. So, when you create your content, apart from catering to your audience, you also need to cater to the search engines. Adding subtitles and captions gives you an advantage when it comes to ranking your page.
Although Google does not index auto-generated captions, it can crawl the text file you add manually. If the script of your video includes some strategic, organic keywords, that make your content even more search engine friendly.
3. Non-native speakers can enjoy the content
Subtitles provide a critical bridge between the original dialogue and the audience, ensuring that essential nuances of the language are not lost in translation.
Although captions use the same language spoken in the video, they can help foreign-language audiences to a great extent. English, for instance, is spoken in multiple countries. However, the different accents and dialects make the same language sound quite different.
However, thanks to the usage of the same 26 letters, the words look similar across nations. Adding CC helps non-native speakers or learners understand the content quite easily. They also improve reading skills.
4. People comprehend your content effortlessly
Subtitles and closed captions improve the overall quality of the content. Captions are often carefully crafted and edited to improve the flow and clarity of the dialogue, making the content more enjoyable and easier to follow.
We all learn things differently. One might grasp a concept quickly through video demonstrations, while some find audio or written text to be a better medium. Adding subtitles and captions helps your audience understand the content of your video without any hiccups. This also impacts audience engagement as a result.
5. Many people prefer reading subtitles and captions
While we all want to lead a life without mindlessly scrolling through social media, most of us are guilty of committing this sin. By now, we are so adept at this task that we often play videos on mute, don’t we? Maybe we are stuck in a noisy environment or going through a mind-numbingly boring meeting that could have been an email.
Playing videos on mute is gaining increasing popularity these days. If you do not optimize your video according to the consumer’s preference, your brand will fall behind.
Subtitles and closed captioning are now an integral part of improving user experience, and it is wise to allocate a portion of your content marketing budget to them. With simple tweaks, you can optimize your content and reach a broader range of audience.
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