One of the most important realizations that you can have as someone who creates video content on the internet is that not everyone will - or even can, in many cases - watch those videos with their original audio.
Sometimes people are in public and they don't have headphones, at which point watching with the audio on would be considered pretty rude. Other times, they might not speak the same language that the video was recorded in - thus making the dialogue track fairly unhelpful.
In these types of situations, and especially when you're creating content for a new market that you're expanding into, subtitles become hugely important for comprehension. But the decision to go further by subtitling your online videos pays off in a variety of other ways as well. One recent study revealed that, on average, about 66% of videos are actually watched to completion. If you include subtitles, that number jumps to a massive 91%. Not only that, but subtitles generate 15% more shares on social media, are responsible for 17% better reactions AND improve SEO.
Having said all of that, the decision to actually create the subtitles for those online videos yourself may not be the most appropriate use of your time. By and large, it's a process that is far more cost-effective than a lot of people realize. But it also takes a lot longer to do.
On average, it usually takes about five times the length of your video to properly add subtitles and captions. This means that even if you've only created a modest five-minute video, you can expect it to take about 25 minutes to add in those subtitles properly.
Likewise, don't forget that oftentimes no subtitles are better than poorly constructed subtitles. Part of the reason you're even thinking about adding subtitles at all is to improve comprehension and engagement. If your subtitles are poorly translated or performed far too quickly, they're only going to harm the end-user experience, not help it. This actually makes it LESS likely that people will engage with your content (and by association, your brand).
Because of all of this, the best solution to meet these requirements is to enlist the help of trained professionals when it comes to all of your closed captioning and subtitling needs.
When you partner with a company like Andovar, for example, you're getting access to a team of people who do this type of work every single day. Don't worry, the process is simple! You still have complete control over the creation of your content. When it's completed and you're happy with it, hand it over to Andovar and we'll take care of the rest.
We have long-term experience in providing localization and translation services for just about every industry you can think of, including eLearning organizations, technology, MarCom, eCommerce, enterprise companies, game developers and many others. We have over 140 full-time employees and more than 3,000 translators located all over the world - meaning that your subtitles will actually be edited and reviewed by someone who speaks the same language as your target audiences.
In the end, you'll be left with more than just a convenient way to get subtitles onto your online videos. You'll be taking full advantage of an opportunity to increase your reach and views, boost video engagement AND improve your search engine optimization efforts - all at the exact same time.
Remember that the difference between subtitles and good subtitles is a large one. When you want to make sure that your efforts look more like the latter than the former, don't be afraid to bring in someone who can get the job done properly.
If you'd like to find out more information about the benefits you stand to gain when you add subtitles to your videos, or if you have any additional questions that you'd like to discuss in more detail, please don't delay - contact Andovar today.