You’ve probably noticed that now more than ever, most videos on social media come with subtitles.
Although it might seem distracting at first, you soon come to expect them when you’re scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and get annoyed when they’re not there!
There are plenty of reasons to back up the idea that every video should now be subtitled as standard.
Let us fill you in….
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People aren’t listening
It’s true. We’re now a nation of silent movie-watchers… on social media at least.
Research shows that 85% of Facebook videos are watched on mute, meaning that without subtitles most videos won’t make any sense and users will simply scroll on past.
By making it easy to understand without audio, you’re ensuring that the viewer can watch and enjoy your stuff in noisy environments, in bed whilst their partner snoozes or sneakily at work.
It makes your content more inclusive
Adding subtitles allows your content to be consumed by those who are deaf or hard of hearing, something which is increasingly important.
It can also allow you to reach other countries and grab the attention of people who don’t speak english (if you translate it, of course!)
Some people even suggest that watching a programme with the subtitles on can improve language skills, grammar, spelling and punctuation in children.
It’s thought that adding captions helps viewers maintain better levels of concentration for longer periods of time and is particularly helpful for viewers with attention disorders or autism.
Some people just prefer it
Ofcom, the regulatory body for UK television broadcasting, conducted a study of subtitle use in 2006 and found that of the 7.5 million people in the UK who use TV subtitles, six million have no hearing impairment at all.
Many people are turning on captions when they watch TV shows or movies, even if they’re native speakers of the original language because it helps them understand it better.
The reason being that on screen text is a convenient alternative to having the sound up high or just misinterpreting bad audio or quick dialogue.
It increases engagement
Encouraging people to watch your video all the way through is now more difficult than ever before, as people lose interest within the first few seconds.
PLYMedia found that 91% of videos with subtitles were watched until the end, compared to just 66% for those without.
Subtitles videos will also receive 15% more shares, more reactions and 26% more click throughs.
YouTube also uses closed captions as part of their search function which means that you can improve your SEO by including these in every video.
