Facebook and Instagram are some of the most powerful social media tools available today, which is why digital marketers cannot afford to ignore their effectiveness in reaching out to users through videos – especially if you’re selling a product, destination or experience. But when sharing videos, captioning any conversation or narration will prove to be just as effective as the visuals. Here are some reasons why you should caption your social media videos.
People Often Watch Videos Without Sound
According to SEO Shark SEO Agency, whether they are on public transport, in a classroom, in a hospital, or in bed, many people tend to watch videos on social media without any sound for fear that it will disturb others around them. This means that your visuals will lose their effectiveness if you can’t get your message across to your audience. For this reason, captions and subtitles must be an important part of any video you develop for your brand’s audience. Consider the following:
- Soundless videos should maintain the same level of effectiveness as videos with sound
- Videos must be designed to capture attention without needing sound – captioning can help you grab eye-balls immediately
- Striking visuals and up-front captions retain user attentiveness to the rest of your video and brand messaging
It’s likely that most people will prefer to read captions over listening to what your video has to say. Make sure you cater to all types of audience requirements for greater conversions.
Enhances Viewership ToNon-English Speaking And Hearing Impaired People
Interestingly enough, many brands have followers that are not the most fluent in English or may have difficulty with their hearing. They likely speak other languages at home, with a basic understanding of English or simply cannot hear sounds and voices as clearly as others. They remain important to your brand as they are just as likely to be customers. Consider the following:
- Captioning makes it easier for your non English speaking and hearing impaired audience to understand what you’re offering
- Captioning gives them the opportunity to engage more actively with your brand without feeling left behind
- Captioning ensures they follow your messages and call to action accurately
- Captioning makes your videos more share worthy and gives them the chance to go viral to more people
- Captioning and subtitling helps to enhance your content by embedding keywords – that could prove useful from an SEO point of view
You can avoid confusion with these sets of potential customers through captions for all social media videos you post for your brand.
Expands Your Reach To A Wider Audience
Video captioning immediately helps to expand your reach to a much wider audience who may not have otherwise been able to enjoy its content. This not only widens your audience base but also demonstrates your inclusivity as a brand. Consider the following actions to expand your reach to a wider audience:
- Make sure captions are bold and readable so viewers have a clear understanding of your messages
- Ensure the video and captioning are optimised for mobile since many users may view them on their smartphones
- Write/converse in easy-to-understand sentences for greater memory retention and comprehension, especially if your content is highly technical
People who will otherwise skip your video will be far more likely to view it thanks to your captions. So make sure you include them in every video you post.
Promotes Better SEO Practices
One of the biggest advantages of adding captions and text to any social media video is the possibility that they could benefit from better SEO over time. Consider the following:
- While search engines don’t index videos yet, they have the ability to index embedded captions
- Videos can be ranked for specific brand-related keywords through captions – making them specific and relevant to your offerings
- Videos with captions rank better in SEO which will help to generate more views through an increased audience base over time
SEO is an important part of the mix for any online marketer today, which is why captioning must be considered when creating a video strategy for social media.
When you post a video on social media as part of your digital marketing strategy, you’ll want it to reach as many people as possible. For these reasons, captioning should be an important part of any video development plans for your brand.
