Video marketing has grown at an exponential rate over the past five years. It’s no longer just a benefit to have a video marketing strategy for your business; it’s necessary.
Adding subtitles or closed captions to your video content— whether for internal or external use— should be common practice in your business. Here are some compelling reasons why adding subtitles is vital for long-term success.
Most Videos Viewed on Mute
The number one reason why you should add subtitles to your video content is that most videos are viewed on mute. A 2019 study conducted by Verizon Media revealed that 69% of consumers view videos with the sound turned off in public places. These are the individuals consuming your content on public transit, in the office, or while waiting in line at the bank. Furthermore, 25% of viewers also watch muted content in private places.
The study revolutionized Verizon Media’s approach to producing video content. In 2021, the brand announced that 100% of its new videos would be captioned going forward.
The key takeaway from this study is that failing to add subtitles or captions to your video content is the equivalent of leaving money on the table. You’re reducing your audience by upward of 70%. With Movavi Video Editor, you can add subtitles for free.
Improves Viewer Retention
Verizon’s transformative study also indicated that viewers are 80% more likely to complete a video with subtitles. This data further highlights how many people view videos without sound, but it also shows the importance of the text as a hook.
In 2015, the standard recommendation for capturing a viewer’s attention span when engaging with online content was eight seconds. Now, Instagram and Facebook register an engagement as someone spending three seconds on a post. The interface of social media platforms has also evolved, making it easier to scroll through content within seconds rather than clicking back or next.
Strong visuals are essential for hooking an audience with video content. For example, a food company posting a tutorial video for baking a cake would start with a clip of the beautifully presented finished product before breaking down the ingredients. However, the subtitles add context.
Adding subtitles presents another opportunity to hook the audience and keep them engaged throughout the video. In addition to keeping your audience’s attention, the longer viewing time or video completion rate also appeals to social media algorithms to extend your reach further.
Improves Accessibility
Over 35 million people in America (13% of the population) report having hearing trouble. These issues range from minor issues when ambient background noise is present to functional deafness. Furthermore, 67.3 million U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home.
Adding video subtitles improves accessibility on several fronts. These captions allow people with hearing trouble to fully engage with video content. It also helps non-native speakers consume content by providing readable content, which is considered easier to process than listening. Subtitles are also easier to translate to other languages, further improving accessibility.
Inclusion and accessibility are essential for modern businesses to find success. Adding subtitles is a step in the right direction.
Improves SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of any digital marketing strategy. Yet, crawlers haven’t evolved to read video content. They can, however, read text embedded in videos, including subtitles.
Adding subtitles to video content helps notify crawlers of relevant keywords to improve rankings and reach. This benefit occurs both on larger search engines like Google and in-platform algorithms on social media.
Adding subtitles to your content can dramatically increase your reach and engagement when producing video content. These efforts also contribute to evergreen content creation to improve your ROI. At this point, the question isn’t whether you should include subtitles; it’s if you can afford not to. The answer? You can’t.