What You Need to Know About Subtitles and the Value They Add to Your Content

What is a subtitle? A subtitle is a text that transcribes or translates the dialogue in the video, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. Subtitles are a great addition to any video content, whether you’re dealing with short promotional ads, TV shows, or blockbuster films. Subtitles are used all over the world on a daily basis for all types of content. The entertainment industry, in particular, benefits a great deal from subtitles. Coupled with translation services, subtitles ensure audiences enjoy movies, TV shows, documentaries, video games, and even YouTube videos all around the world.

What Are the Benefits of Using Subtitles?

Some people don’t like subtitles - they find watching and reading at the same time quite bothersome. That’s all right; subtitles can be optional. Open subtitles are visible for all viewers. Closed subtitles offer the option to turn them on or off, and could also include a translation feature where viewers select their preferred language. There’s so much more to subtitles than displaying the dialogue, though. Here are some essential advantages of using subtitles in your content:

Enhance Clarity 

Your audience doesn’t have to miss out on any information because they didn’t hear certain words or phrases. This is especially the case when the speaker has an unfamiliar accent, or when the dialogue goes beyond the usual subjects to include technical terms or fictional places/names. If users keep missing out on different words, it will be challenging to follow the script, and the message could be lost. Subtitles ensure that your content is absorbed in its entirety without missing one bit.

Improve SEO 

Search engines primarily use keywords to locate content. Search engine spiders scan through text to index the content. They still have a long way to go as far as scanning audio or video content is concerned. Providing subtitles makes it easier for people to find your content. Remember, up to 90% of online interactions can be traced back to a search engine, and 70% of people do not go past that first page of the search results. What does that tell you? If your site isn’t among the top search results, chances of being reached via a search engine are slim at best.

Adapt for Sound-Sensitive Environments 

Did you know that people watch up to 80% of videos on mute? Users often find themselves in silent places such as offices and libraries. If they don’t have earphones, they can only watch videos without sound. In the absence of subtitles, people have to guess what’s going on. If they can’t figure it out, they’re most likely to abandon the video and move on to the next one. It’s well known that subtitles increase video viewing time by approximately 12%. By giving your viewers the option of reading, you capture their attention for longer.

Accommodate People with Disabilities 

Subtitles ensure that hearing-impaired people interact with your content, as well as people with learning disabilities or attention deficiency disorders. To this lot, subtitles are a learning aid. In some instances, you’re required by law to include subtitles for you to be permitted to distribute your content. By adhering to these laws, you make your content more adaptable and available to a bigger audience.

Utilize the Content Elsewhere 

Once you have the subtitles made for your content, you can use them in multiple scenarios. You can rewrite the information and use it as a video description on YouTube or a related blog post. Written content is easy to translate. For every language that you translate to, you expose your content to a whole new audience, bringing your content closer to people all over the world and enhancing your appeal to the global audience. The language barrier should no longer stand in the way of your online engagements.

Final Thoughts

What is the meaning of subtitle? If you came here looking for an answer to that question, we believe that you’re now sufficiently informed. Contact us for high-quality transcription services so you can include subtitles in your content and make it accessible to a whole new global audience. GoTranscript offers professional, 100% human-generated subtitles for all types of content, including webinars, seminars, lectures, interviews, vlogs, films, and everything else in between. Sign up today and access a free 5-minute trial so you can sample the quality of our services.