Add Closed Captions to Video Quickly and Easily

People add closed captions to video because they improve accessibility. They allow you to reach a larger audience, including non-native speakers, people with hearing impairments, and anyone who can’t understand a video with only sound.

In fact, one in every five Americans uses English as a second language, and many of them believe they do not speak English quite well. So, even if your audience does not include international viewers, subtitles and captions are wonderful to your video material.

Despite the importance, not all content creators and providers add closed captions to video. This is your opportunity to shine and reach a larger audience. Continue reading to learn how to add captions and subtitles to videos on different platforms.

Adding Captions and Subtitles to Youtube Videos

Because YouTube is the industry leader, it is no surprise that you have a strategic advantage over other content makers when you add closed captions to video. It is an excellent approach to expand your channel and reach a worldwide audience.

Captions that are well-crafted can also help you obtain more viewers and subscriptions. This method is known as video SEO, and it aims to help you rank better on the platform’s video search result page. Below is how you add captions to your Youtube videos.

Click on your profile page in the top-right corner to access the “YouTube Studio” menu.
Locate the “Content” option in the menu on the left and pick the video to which you want to add captions.
Hover your cursor over the video to bring up the contextual menu, then select “Details.”
Find the “Subtitles” option under the “More Options” area in the top bar.
Finally, you can upload a script or use the English for YouTube feature (auto-generating closed captions).

Adopting automatically generated captions may appear to be a time-saving and convenient option, but because machine learning algorithms generate them, their quality is poor. The drawback is that they are frequently nonsensical, which is why many users believe that they are absolutely horrible and not a great tool to add closed captions to video.

While YouTube’s speech recognition capability is advancing, it is still far from usable in many situations. Furthermore, you must take proper care not to leave any misrepresentations behind.

Adding captions and subtitles to Tik Tok videos

Tik Tok is unquestionably the fastest growing social channel and is expected to be the sector’s next dominant player. Users and advertisers worldwide use the app to create interesting and amusing clips for viewers.

To make your videos more accessible to all audiences, you must add captions or subtitles, like with other video-sharing sites. Furthermore, many Tik Tok users do not turn on their audio when scrolling in public locations, so you can assist them to fully experience the videos when they are not at home when you add closed captions to video.

You can add subtitles to your Tik Tok videos through the steps below:

When you’re done recording your video, click the red checkmark to go to the editing section.
On the right side of your phone’s screen, look for the “Captions” tool.
Remember that Tik Tok will then ask you to enable subtitles in the video by selecting the Auto Captions option.
The automatic caption result can then be reviewed and manually edited for accuracy.

As you can see, Tik Tok does not let you upload a separate SRT file and instead leads you to edit the subtitles directly on the platform. This strategy may not be suitable for older users, but as Tik Tok users are largely teenagers and young adults, this should not be a major concern.

Adding Captions and Subtitles to Instagram Videos

Instagram allows you to add closed captions to video material in-app to make it more accessible to users. Use the integrated Instagram subtitle editor to add subtitles to your Instagram video feeds.

Open your phone’s Instagram app and make a video or IGTV post.
Edit your post as needed by adding filters and additions. When you’re done with the visuals, touch the “Next” option in the right-hand corner of the screen.
You should select the “Advanced Settings” button in the next window to move on.
You should now be able to see the “Accessibility” section. Then, look for “Show Captions” and turn the toggle into the on position to make the captions viewable.
Congratulations! You have successfully posted your captioned Instagram video post. To publish the final result, click the Share button.

The main issue with Instagram subtitles is that they cannot be manually edited to enhance their accuracy. Luckily, the quality of their automated subtitles is always improving, so you may expect a decent outcome as long as the dialogue in your video is clear enough.

Adding Captions and Subtitles to Snapchat Videos

Snapchat has been successful in bringing together a younger crowd since its inception. With around 250 million active account holders, this website represents the future of social media.

However, you may find difficulties when you want to add closed captions to video on this platform. So, to help you, here is a simple guide on how to add subtitles to your Snapchat videos:

You should begin by making a quick video. When you’re finished recording, go to the right side of the screen and hit the double speech mark sign.
Snapchat will automatically generate subtitles based on the content of your video. This process may take up to a couple of minutes depending on the length of your movie, so be patient.
When the automatic subtitles emerge, you can move them around and change any inaccurate words.
After double-checking the subtitles and ensuring that everything is in order, click the “Send to” option to publish your Snapchat video.

Adding Captions and Subtitles to Facebook Videos

Facebook is still the most popular social media network today. Every day, people share thousands, if not millions, of engaging materials, including videos.

Captions and subtitles have been shown to increase the reach of videos. According to the platform, Subtitles improve average video view duration by up to 12%. So, if you want to reap the benefits of Facebook video subtitles, follow the instructions below to add closed captions to video.

Go to one of your Facebook videos and click the three dots icon to access the “Edit video” area.
The “Subtitles & Captions (CC)” section should now appear. To begin creating the caption, click the “Auto-Generate” button.
Click the pencil icon to improve the automatic captions, and then click “Save Draft” once you’re finished.

Adding Captions and Subtitles to Linkedin Videos

When we talk about the LinkedIn platform, users are thinking professionally. This makes individuals more responsive to professional messaging, which also applies to video.

Luckily, LinkedIn has made it simple to add closed captions to video. The entire process is not overly complex; all you need to do is attach an SRT file to the video.

If you don’t have any videos on your Linkedin profile yet, choose one to share from your PC or smartphone.
To make adjustments to your video, go to the video preview section and click the “Edit” button.
Choose “Select Caption” to add the SRT file and approve your choice.
If you want to add any additional text, message, or hashtags, type them in the caption field and then click Post.
Wait until the video has been uploaded, processed, and is ready to watch. You will receive a notification once everything has been completed, and the subtitles will be visible at that time.

Adding Captions and Subtitles to Vimeo Videos

One great thing about Vimeo is the wide possibility of subtitle file types that it supports. Although you can use VTT, DXFP, or even SAMI files for your subtitles, SRT is still the most popular.

Here are the steps on how to add subtitles to your Vimeo clips:

Go to your video manager and open the desired video.
Look for the “CC” button on the player’s right side and click it to launch the subtitle editor.
Within the section, click “Settings” and then the “+” button to the right of the “My uploads” menu.
Choose a language and a file format. Click “Choose File” and select the subtitle file from your device.
Once the file has been uploaded, remember to toggle the toggle to the “on” position to enable the subtitles.

You can also edit, remove, download, or replace the subtitle file by clicking on the “…” button next to the file name and selecting what you want to do with it.

Conclusion

Captions and subtitles both give useful details that enhance the viewer’s experience. However, in order to provide the best watching experience possible, any subtitles you add must be of a specific quality.

Subtitles should be written in a way that does not confuse viewers. This is why you should learn how to add closed captions to video conveying all relevant information while not being distracting or misleading. This is where a professional transcription service comes in handy. With GoTranscript, you can have your recordings subtitled by some of the best pros in the industry. Their years of experience guarantee a superior result than do-it-yourself approaches or even auto-generated captions.