Video creation should be a key component for any modern business’s communication and marketing plan. Not only are videos one of the most effective marketing tools to boost engagement with your audience, but they are also effective in getting messages across to your employees.
That said, simply creating video is not enough. In order to engage with audiences, employees and customers effectively, additional tools are needed. One key item to consider is adding closed captioning.
Captioning, which provides text to support audio and visual content, is used in numerous applications. These applications include everything from corporate training to marketing and from eLearning to TV broadcasts.
Yet, just how advantageous is it to use captioning? The benefits of closed captioning are many, making the solution a key technology business leaders must start utilizing more frequently.
1. Captioning is often a legal requirement
In many some cases, closed captioning is a legal requirement. For example, when it comes to nationally broadcast media, captions need to be synced with all videos shown on TV, including live broadcasts such as those of news and award shows.
Higher education institutions in the US, UK, Australia and elsewhere should also take note. US laws, including the ADA for example, require most colleges and universities to supply closed captioning for online courses, class materials, recorded lectures and other video-based content that’s used for the purposes of teaching. Those who aren’t providing it are at risk of lawsuits, but also aren’t creating equal opportunities for their students to succeed. Those learning with hearing loss for example, need captions in order to participate effectively in class and at a level playing ground with their peers.
2. Accessibility is needed for those with disabilities
Aside from just students, perhaps the most important benefit gained from closed captions is that it allows all individuals to enjoy your video content. Whether it’s consumers with hearing impairments or other disabilities, you’re not excluding these individuals from your messaging when you provide more accessibility measures. Business leaders who offer video captioning help consumers follow their videos and gain the same information as everyone else.
3. Accessibility tools can help everyone
It’s not just those with disabilities that gain accessibility with closed captioning. It is also useful for people in certain scenarios where they don’t have the option of listening to the video’s audio.
For example, a person may be in the library or commuting without any headphones. Instead of the video’s audio causing a disturbance, the individual can still consume the content with the aid of captions. Some individuals even prefer to watch the videos without the audio.
4. Broadened reach of non-native speakers
It can often be difficult to decipher what someone is saying due to an accent. This scenario can be further compounded when the spoken language featured in the video is not native for a viewer or consumer.
Even if the individual has a strong understanding of the language, they may still struggle to fully follow what is being said in a video. With closed captioning for videos, however, they can further understand the content’s messaging. This is particularly the case if the captioning is offered in their native language. With many businesses operating globally and universities offering programs to more international students, the use cases are seemingly endless.
5. Additional information channel
Video is known for being easy to consume. However, some audiences can still struggle to focus or consume the information provided effectively. This is where closed captioning can help. Acting in essence as a multisensory experience, this additional channel for information can help users better understand the content with a visual aid.
6. Boosts SEO and marketing efforts
Unless the video content has a title and/or description, its search engine optimization (SEO) is generally limited. With closed captioning, the entire content of the video is essentially provided in text form.
Google likes to see when scoring the viability of content for the top of its search rankings. It obtains information from the closed caption text, which naturally boosts your content’s keyword depth. For a business or brand looking to get more exposure, captions can therefore be incredibly helpful to spread awareness and get more traction.
Those who aren’t utilizing closed captioning are quite simply missing out on a multitude of benefits. As a provider of closed captioning working with top universities, corporations and media entities, Verbit’s leaders have a great deal of experiencing witnessing the benefits of captioning to viewers and audiences first hand.
Feel free to reach out to us at info@verbit.ai for assistance in featuring captions as part of your video strategy.