We know, we know… you don’t always just watch Youtube videos or scroll through Facebook from the comfort of your own home. Overhearing your partner scrolling through their feed and stopping to watch the latest news bulletin or NSFW video just requires a simple “hey, put it down, please!”… hopefully! But whether you’re surfing at work (shhh, we won’t tell) or just catching up on the early morning happenings over a coffee at your favorite local breakfast stop, subtitled or closed-captioned videos are appreciated by all those around you.
Video Subtitles Vs. Closed-Captioning
Subtitles are generally what we think of when you watch a foreign language film. You can hear all of the ambient noise and sound effects in the film and just require a translation of the spoken language. Closed captioning is geared more toward the hearing impaired in that background noise relevant to the video (slamming doors, storm noises) is often included as well as music description and speaker identification to aid those watching in their understanding of a program.
Benefits of Subtitles & Captioning Your Marketing Videos
Whether you just straight transcribe your audio or include closed-captioning elements of descriptive noises and speakers for understanding, there are marketing benefits to captioning your videos.
- Cover Your Bases – For obvious reasons, any addition you can make to your marketing communications that promote their understanding and ability to convey your message is welcome. As it’s estimated 85% of Facebook videos are viewed without sound, you want to take every opportunity to convey your message.
- Think Ahead – Creating a social media video to promote a product or event? Think of keywords and messaging you want to stay with the consumer and load your video with them. This not only drives home what you want to stick with you consumer but also is great for SEO.
- Keep It Clean – No, not the language… we mean make sure your captions match the audio. Sounds obvious but doing a quick edit of your captioning to make certain it aligns with the audio and is also legible without too much text per screen makes for easier viewing.
- Proof – Not all captioning programs are perfect so proofing for misspellings, incorrect wording and understanding are necessary before publishing.
No matter where your viewer is receiving your marketing message subtitles not only reinforce but also promote understanding of your message resulting in a more engaged and informed potential customer.
