Captions may seem like an optional component to video content, but they can actually be an important part of your online marketing strategy. You may know that 80 percent of internet traffic online is expected to be video by 2019. That’s why you are investing in it. But, without captions, you may be leaving a lot on the table – and a lot of viewers out of luck – from really capturing the content and message you are trying to present.
Why Does Video Captioning Really Matter to You?
Captioning is not new. It’s been used for many years for television. However, it hasn’t been used regularly on all websites or with all video production. It’s likely that this small investment and change to your marketing campaign, though, can make a significant difference in your outcome. There are a few key ways why captioning matters today.
- It improves accessibility. Captioning’s ultimate goal is to improve accessibility so that those who are deaf or hard of hearing can still interact with and connect with the video. And, with a global industry, captioning also allows those who don’t speak your native language to gain access to the content. In short, more people get to experience your content.
- Social media benefits come from captioning as well. It can help to increase the amount of people viewing your content on most websites. Keep in mind that captioning gives people a way to watch a video without the sound – such as when they don’t want to turn the volume on at work.
- It also benefits your search engine optimization efforts. With captioning, you get to create a transcript of your video. This easily incorporates your keyword phrases. It can give you a nice bump to your SEO efforts.
In order to make captioning effective, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, keep them subtle instead of over the top in terms of flashy graphics. You also want to choose captions that work well with your video on all formats including on your mobile phones.
Depending on the tools you use to create captions, you can offer your viewers the ability to turn on captions or turn them off. This can also give you more freedom to use your video in variety of ways no matter what your ultimate goal is. On a landing page, this makes sense.
When it comes to using captions on social media, it’s best to offer them in all cases. According to some reports, nearly all people use Facebook without any sound – they don’t want the sound unless they elect to hear something. In this case, captioning becomes very important for them. Without it, you miss the audience you need to embrace because they are scrolling past your video.
Captioning is an important tool you should not avoid when it comes to video creation. With it, you can create an effective video that reaches more people and one that provides you with a far better ROI. It’s easy to incorporate.
