Which video files should have captions?(Make customers know you better)

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but according to Forrester Research, a minute of video is worth $1.8 million.

That's because video encourages more engagement than other media. Nearly 60 percent of B2B decision makers say they prefer to watch video over other forms of marketing content.

That said, not all videos perform equally well. Research shows that when you upload videos with subtitles, 80% of people are more likely to watch them in their entirety.

However, it's not always feasible for businesses to caption every piece of content they produce. Video managers often have to deal with the following challenges.

• Large volumes of video content
• A fast-paced stream of new, time-sensitive uploaded content
• Budget or resource constraints

If you face similar obstacles, having a plan that prioritizes captioning can help maximize the performance of your video marketing strategy - so your ROI is the best it can be.

Which Video Files Should Have Captions?

Captioning first emerged as a solution to increase video accessibility for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Non-English captioning was also designed to accommodate the 67.3 million Americans who speak a language other than English at home.

But captioning also aligns with the behavior of today's average viewer. The report shows that 69 percent of people watch videos in public places on mute - and 25 percent keep the sound off even in private.

Not captioning videos is not just cutting off these potential viewers. It's also a missed opportunity to expand the reach and impact of all your branded content. That's because-

• Videos rank 53 times higher in search engine results, enhancing their discoverability.
• Captions improve video performance metrics such as click-through rate, watch time and bounce rate - a signal to search engines to expand the scope of content.
• Research shows that captions improve information retention and brand recall.

The right approach can help your organization leverage these benefits in terms of your resources, constraints and needs.

Captioning upon request

At a minimum, video managers must comply with the law's accessibility standards. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires organizations to meet any captioning requirements.

Proactively anticipating such needs is especially important for live virtual events like conferences and webinars. Ignoring the need for captioned content may marginalize some audiences and limit their ability to participate. But it can also expose an organization to potential legal penalties.

Make sure you ask attendees about their captioning needs during the registration process for your next virtual event. That way, you can plan for any accommodations you need.

Captioning Top-Performing Video Content

Adding captions to your organization's most popular video files can help further expand their reach. You increase the odds of audience engagement by expanding access to a wider audience. Each new user action increases the video's SEO authority, building a digital breadcrumb trail for the rest of your content library.

This is an SEO feedback cycle that continues to expand over time.

To kick-start the process, consider adding captions to the videos that generate the most interest among your audience - even where captions are not required. This may include.

• Keynote speaker presentations at the event
• Live streaming of conference breakout sessions with the most attendees
• Videos that currently have the most views in your content library for the public
• Videos that your organization may reuse in the future

A speech-to-text provider like Rev can help you caption live, streaming video and pre-recorded content. Leaving the captioning to a trusted partner can help you ensure accessibility for all your viewers without the pain of doing it yourself manually. In addition, if you want to review captions provided by Rev's professional captioners, you can do so on our caption editing platform. This shareable interface allows you to make any necessary edits before releasing the final version of your recording.

Captioning All Content

With benefits such as increased comprehension, improved engagement and expanded search engines, adding captions to all video content should be a goal for every organization.

It doesn't have to be a lofty goal, either. Make sure you can meet the captioning requirements, and then gradually expand your strategy to fill the engagement gap. Whether you create videos regularly or polish old content for new uses, you can start including them.

• Provide live closed captioning for live events like webinars and conferences to provide the best experience for all registrants.
• Choose captioning options such as srt files in different languages.
• Provide closed or open captioning for evergreen content such as webinars or informational videos.

As their marketing ROI rises, your organization can take action to integrate captions into more and more of your video content. We're here to make those high returns even easier. rev ensures you get accurate captioning in lightning-fast turnaround times - so you can continue to accelerate video metrics without interrupting your workflow.