In our article – Why businesses need to adopt dubbing and voice over services, we explored in detail that how this trend of communication via videos is here to stay and why businesses need to seriously invest in video translations. In this post, we explore another way of video translation which is done via subtitling and closed captioning, look at global stats, and the business benefits.
But before we proceed, let us have a quick review of the benefits a video-based communication does for a business:
- Wider reach and engagement on websites and social media handles
- Effective messaging and comprehension by removing the language barrier
- High return on investment in terms of conversions and improved profit margins
Global businesses and subtitling/cc stats
Entertainment industry is in the forefront of video translation activities and the numbers are soaring both in terms of video content consumption by people at a global scale, and on investments by OTT players into video translation activities.
Subtitling and closed captioning numbers are linked to video usage, but what difference do marketeers see when videos are played with subtitles or cc?
Cielo24 points that captions increase video shares by 15% with 26% increase in click through rates. They also point that 91% of videos with captions are watched till completion while for videos with captions, this number stands at 66%. Online consumer behaviour on social media shows that 85% of Facebook users prefer to watch videos without audio.
On the grounds of language, in a world with 7 billion people, merely 360 million people speak English. For a widely popular platform like YouTube, 60% of the views are from non-English belts.
Subtitles and cc hence become a primary need.
Business benefits of subtitling and closed captioning
While consumer behaviour may paint a strong picture of the need to have subtitles and captions, businesses may be legally bound to add them in some countries.
As per WHO, there are about 466 million people worldwide with hearing loss. In USA, Americans and Disability Act (ADA) which extends to digital platforms as well, demands web accessibility to limit discriminatory practices towards people with disabilities which can be physical, sensory or cognitive.
Incorporating subtitles and cc with or without legal procedures is inclusive, and often inclusivity is good for people and business. Here is more on that note:
#1 Content accessibility for d/Deaf and hard of hearing (HoH)
Video communications are rarely without audio. Though most social media platforms or other streaming platforms provide the option to toggle the audio on or off, it is still there. Adding subtitling or closed captioning in videos ensures that people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (HOH) also have access to the information about your products and services if it interests them. Also, with text running on the screen, people can also consume content in crowded spaces or access them without earphones.
#2 Cost effective and accurate
Adding subtitles and closed captioning via localization firms is the most cost-effective way of video translation. While there are many platforms that can automatically generate subtitles via ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition), it is hard to trust on the accuracy of the generated text. Subtitling or closed captioning via firms not only ensures accuracy but the language expertise makes the text more understandable for your target audience.
#3 Aids in Search Engine Optimization
One of the most overlooked benefits of multilingual text addition in videos is SEO. Global searches do not happen in one language. When SRT files are added to the videos, search engines can crawl and index them, even the ones posted on social media channels.
Conclusion
Subtitling and closed captioning is one more way of achieving translation on video content other than dubbing and voice over. This process is cost-effective, supported across multiple social media platforms, and provides SEO benefits while keeping the viewers engaged.
Whatever you choose to translate your video content, either via dubbing or subtitles, it is still a wise choice for your business, and with ActiveLoc’s expert team, your goals of better business via multilingual videos are efficiently realized.
Check out more about our Subtitling And Closed Captioning service