12 Reasons to Add Subtitles to Your Content

Video content is increasing at a phenomenal rate and adding subtitles to videos has grown more important in the content creation world. More and more users are choosing to reach wider audiences by adding captions to their videos. In just a few short months we have seen a growth of 15,000 Subly users who are wanting to optimise their video content for wider audiences by adding subtitles! 

Here are the 12 reasons why subtitles are helping individuals, agencies, brands and creators globally reach wider audiences!

Increase engagement

You can improve video engagement by 80% by adding subtitles, according to a PLYMedia study. This is because people are naturally drawn to follow along with text for better comprehension. PLYMedia also found that most users turn on captions when watching movies and TV shows, even if they’re native speakers.

Reach the ‘sound-off’ audiences

Adding subtitles to your video has also been shown to grow audiences. On average, 63% of viewers watch videos without sound. This number is probably even higher now that people are working from home in smaller spaces with others around them.

This means that it is more vital than ever for audiences to be able to connect with your content without having to turn on their sound.?

Stand out on social media platforms

Subtitling your videos can sometimes be the difference between your viewer clicking your video versus the next one along. In an age of content overload, viewers are pickier with the content they watch and are more inclined to continue watching after viewing a preview of your video without sound. A great example of this is the way Youtube allows viewers to preview the first 30 seconds of a video via subtitles to entice the viewer to click.

Become an accessible content creator

Video is a consumers’ favourite type of content to see from a brand, so more creators are beginning to prioritise accessibility when it comes to creating their content. In 2020, there are around 466 million people worldwide with disabling hearing loss. Therefore, creating content that accommodates all viewers can be crucial to capturing new audiences and increasing engagement.

Reach international audiences

In such an interconnected world content travels beyond English speaking countries. Optimising your video captions with the native language of your target audience can be a great way to create more inclusive content, test out new markets and repurpose content for multinational marketing.

Save time optimising your videos

Accessible content has been a priority for content creators worldwide for some time now, with some spending hours of their day manually transcribing their videos for Youtube. Subly makes that tedious job of transcription a simple one-click function, saving you time for creating and sharing your content!

Compliment your organic marketing plans

Considering that one-third of online activity is spent watching a video it makes sense why many creators are focusing on optimising their videos with every feature possible. To stand out on social media platforms it takes more than great quality and valuable content— it often has to be the right type of content, too.

One study found that video posts on Facebook have 135% higher organic reach than regular photo posts. This is true across most social media platforms.?

Simplify your workflow

Many creators are beginning to subtitle their videos to be able to use their content across multiple channels. Tools like Subly Pro make repurposing video content incredibly easy by offering downloadable audio files, transcription and resizing for social as well as standard subtitling.

Maximise conversion rates on your ads

Subtitles allow the viewer to spend more time digesting content. When surveyed by Databox, over 60% of marketers said that video drives more engagement in branded content.

Videos also had a greater click-through rate than images when it came to paid advertising. This is mostly due to the increased watch time and commitment required from users when watching video content. Subtitles make it easier to commit to watching those videos.

Requires no skill

Adding subtitles to your videos no longer requires video editing skills or a lot of time, so many creators are opting in to adding captions to their content because they can. It has never been easier to shoot, edit and optimise a video than it is today. Video, also, performs better than all other types of Facebook posts, so creators are prioritising their time to make better video content for greater ROI.

Regain control of the editing process

Video is an incredibly powerful marketing tool. In 2019 it was found that around 87% of marketing professionals use video to promote their brands. Most often video production is outsourced and this leaves little room for control of how your content travels across channels. Automatic subtitling speeds up the process but allows full control of the editing process by allowing multi platform content creation with subtitles and brand logos so your brand message never gets lost along the way.

Improve SEO

Captions in videos can also optimise your video for better SEO. Subtitling your video and uploading it with the transcription in the description box allows search engines to recognise and rank your video higher since it makes the subject matter easier for the web to categorise.

SEO can also be increased by embedding relevant videos (with captions!) within your text content like blog posts and website pages.

It is undeniable that adding video subtitles can be the key feature that sets your content apart from other brands’ content. Offering a way to engage with your content in more than one way, and making it more accessible to wider audiences creates for a memorable experience being associated with your brand. And, the best part? It is incredibly easy these days.

If you’d like to try adding subtitles to your video for free, get Subly here!