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YouTube Transcription

By: Verbit Editorial
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More than 2 billion people around the world use the video hosting platform YouTube. 70% of viewers say that YouTube exposes them to new brands, so it’s easy to see why YouTube has become the most widely-used platform for video marketing.

With so much content available to consumers on YouTube, brands and businesses must consider ways to ensure their content stands out from the crowd. One great way to do this is to make your content more inclusive and accessible by offering transcripts of your YouTube videos.

YouTube transcript table of contents:

Why To Transcribe YouTube Video to Text

Video content is becoming a must-have in just about every aspect of business. Webinars, conferences, training, marketing materials and more have all come to rely heavily upon audio and video. As the popularity of video content grows, so does the need for transcribing it. Video has much to offer as a medium, but content creators and consumers still want readable materials too.

youtube app icon in 3D

When it comes to YouTube content, there are therefore many reasons to generate transcripts from YouTube video:

  • Greater accessibility: Video content is a valuable resource for businesses, but it’s not always inclusive of individuals with disabilities or those with varying learning styles. Offering written transcripts of YouTube videos makes it possible for viewers who are Deaf or hard of hearing to engage with the content. Transcripts are also helpful tools for viewers who benefit from receiving information in a readable format, such as those with ADHD or auditory processing disorders. A YouTube transcript can ensure that all customers and employees are able to enjoy a more equitable viewing experience. It’s worth noting, however, that in order to be truly accessible, a transcript must also be accurate. Offering accurate transcripts of video content can make your YouTube presence more inclusive and leave viewers with a positive impression of your brand.
  • Increased visibility: Making content more accessible is a great way to diversify your audience. Not only can transcripts expand your viewing audience to include those with disabilities, but they can also be more inclusive of viewers who speak a language other than English. Transcripts are also an extremely valuable resource given that 83% of people tend to watch videos with the sound off. Written transcripts of video content can help to ensure no messaging gets lost if a viewer is unwilling or unable to watch at full volume. Written transcripts also make it easier for companies to pull quotes from their video content to utilize in other marketing efforts. Additionally, generating and posting a YouTube transcript in a video’s description or on an external site can make the content more discoverable and improve your overall SEO ranking. 
  • Streamlined record-keeping: Transcripts can be incredibly valuable when offered alongside video conferences, lectures, trainings, meetings and events. Important information is often shared during these functions. It’s crucial for companies to keep an accurate record of what gets said and by whom. A YouTube video transcription service like Verbit can generate accurate, searchable transcripts to serve as a reference tool for both internal and external purposes. The searchability of these transcripts can also save businesses from spending unnecessary hours fast-forwarding or rewinding videos looking for a particular portion of a conversation.
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Can You Get Transcripts of YouTube Videos?

Many viewers are growing increasingly accustomed to seeing captions on YouTube videos. So much so, in fact, that YouTube statistics show that videos with captions see an increase in watch time over videos without. What some users may not know, however, is that it’s also possible to generate and view a transcript of YouTube videos. When watching a video on the platform, a user is able to select “Show transcript” to view a time-stamped, readable version of the spoken text of the video. Transcripts of recorded YouTube videos can also easily be provided by companies like Verbit, regardless of whether or not the video was transcribed live.

Is There a Way to Transcribe YouTube Video?

There are several different methods for transcribing a YouTube video. Some of these methods can be done directly on the YouTube platform using the YouTube captioning and subtitles tool. It’s important to note that captions and subtitles appear within the actual video window, while a transcript will appear below or beside the viewing window. This transcript includes time stamps that link the YouTube transcript to text spoken in the video. The viewer can then click on the selected piece of spoken text and be navigated directly to the corresponding location in the clip.

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How to Transcribe YouTube Video

As discussed, there are a few different ways a user may choose to create transcripts from YouTube videos. The YouTube platform does offer automatic captions and transcripts for some types of content, but the company itself acknowledges that these are generated by artificial intelligence and tend to contain several inaccuracies. YouTube lists the following options for users looking to provide a more accurate, comprehensive YouTube video transcript to accompany their content:

  1. Auto-Sync: A user can manually transcribe the text of the video and paste that text into the YouTube video transcription tool. This tool then automatically sets the timing of the spoken text and will auto-populate the transcript beside or below the YouTube video. 
  2. Type manually: YouTube’s captions and subtitles editor allows the user to manually type in the text of the video as the content plays. The transcript timestamps will then be set automatically and can be adjusted later for accuracy.
  3. Upload a file: This option is typically the best if accessibility and accuracy are your goals. It allows the user to directly upload a professional transcription file like one produced by Verbit that already includes accurate timings. This file will then be converted to in-video captions, as well as the official YouTube video transcript.

How to Get a Transcript of a YouTube Video

The fastest and easiest method to generate transcripts from YouTube videos is to use YouTube’s “Upload a File” option. This method does, however, require a pre-existing transcript file. Those looking to transcribe video to text may choose to do so in a few different ways:

  • Utilizing in-house employees to manually transcribe video content: As you can imagine, this process can be extremely time-consuming, as it requires an individual to watch and rewatch the same bits of video over and over again. Additionally, employees who are not trained transcribers are prone to making substantial transcription errors that can be potentially embarrassing and even offensive. Inaccurate transcripts can contribute to a perception of unprofessionalism, leaving viewers with a negative impression of the brand. When captions and transcripts are not accurate, it also means that viewers who are Deaf or hard of hearing are not able to enjoy an equitable viewing experience to those of their peers.
  • Safeguard against the problems posed by automatic or manual transcription errors by hiring professional transcribers: While these transcribers tend to be far more accurate, it’s not uncommon for them to encounter bandwidth issues which can prevent the brand from sufficiently scaling their video marketing initiatives. Furthermore, these professional transcribers tend to be expensive to hire, which can make a hefty dent in a company’s production budget. 
  • Employing a professional transcription service: Professional transcription solutions like Verbit’s, can use both artificial intelligence and human transcribers in order to generate highly accurate transcripts in a fraction of the time it would take someone to do so manually. Verbit’s platform is also fully integratable with YouTube, which makes it easier for brands to create and upload transcripts for their YouTube videos in bulk.
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How Does YouTube transcription Work?

Let’s say your company recently filmed a number of marketing videos and wants to join the 77% of video marketers that use YouTube to host their video content. In order to get the most mileage out of the content, the company also wants to provide written transcripts of the videos. With Verbit’s transcription service, simply upload the video into the platform and receive a highly accurate transcript that has been generated by AI and proof-read by professional human transcribers in as little as four hours. Once the transcription process is complete, simply download YouTube transcript in a compatible file format such as an SRT file, and upload the file directly into YouTube using the steps outlined above.

YouTube Transcript – Make Your Content Count

As video continues to grow as a driving force in marketing, business leaders must give adequate thought as to how to make the most of the medium. Partnering with a transcription service provider to make your content more accessible not only increases viewership, but it can ensure a greater return on the time, money and resources invested into producing the content in the first place.

A professional transcription service like Verbit’s can also streamline the transcription process from end to end, which allows businesses to more easily scale their video marketing initiatives without compromising on transcription accuracy or prices.

Verbit offers solutions designed to meet the requirements of both the ADA and platforms you’re likely using to offer YouTube transcription, Vimeo transcription, closed captioning and YouTube audio description. As a result, brands are improving the reach of their content, while cultivating a reputation for prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion.

By utilizing Verbit’s in-house artificial intelligence in conjunction with its vast network of human transcribers, Verbit is able to deliver a highly accurate final product with industry leading turnaround times. Learn more about how our accessibility solutions like captioning and transcription can help you make the most of your YouTube video marketing initiatives.