As a brand smart enough to invest in content marketing, you’re constantly creating a video with text on it. We may have heard the terms “captions” and “subtitles” used interchangeably, but there are a few critical differences between captions and subtitles.
Captions:
Captions can make your video accessible and inclusive and are a requirement for broadcast television in the U.S. They are for viewers who can't hear any sounds and include non-speech elements like door slamming, cats meowing, and heavy rain.
Subtitles:
Subtitles often help translate a video from one language to another. They only contain speech and assume viewers can hear and thus don’t need other audio elements like footsteps, babies crying, and harmonicas to be described. We use subtitles when viewers can hear sound but don't understand the language or accent in the video.
But!
According to a 2019 study by Verizon Media, 92% view videos with the sound off on mobile, and 83% watch with the sound off. This means that if you don't add text to your content, people are likelier to skip it and keep scrolling.
The report suggests advertisers caption their content because 80% of consumers are likelier to watch an entire video when captions are available.
The report also found that half of consumers said captions are important because they watch videos with the sound off.
So, whether or not a significant portion of your audience can hear, it's wise to assume viewers can't hear and opt for captions.
Still, as attention spans shrink and creators include more dopamine-inducing sound effects in their content, we may want to start rethinking whether or not ALL non-speech audio elements should be included in our captions. If your video has a ton of extra audio that doesn't add to its substance, it may be best to leave some out. (Whoosh. Ding. Airhorn. Alarm Clock Buzzer. How annoying was that to read?)
For more on the difference between captions and subtitles, watch Ahmed Khalifa’s video here:
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