In 2022, 82% of global internet traffic will come from video.
As an effect of the pandemic, video marketing greatly increased in popularity in 2020. This partly was because people couldn’t attend events or conferences, so they needed to be live-streamed.
Additionally, traditional marketing methods like billboards no longer had the same reach, causing a spark in creativity and marketing. Visual content allows marketing departments and brands to connect with customers in a unique way.
You can take video marketing to the next level by introducing subtitles.
Subtitles increase accessibility and engagement, and also allow your brand to reach new markets and diverse audiences. There are various forms of subtitling that are best suited to different situations.
In this blog, we are going to explore five different types of subtitles:
Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH)
SDH subtitles were designed for the deaf and hard of hearing, and provide informative descriptions of not just dialogue, but also sound effects, music, and more.
In the UK, over 5% of the population suffers from hearing loss, so adding SDH to your content will boost accessibility and ensure everyone has the same access to the information – as set out in the UK Equality Act 2021.
Translated Subtitles
Did you know that 75% of the world’s population doesn’t speak English? If your brand is only producing content in English, you could be missing out on huge international markets.
Subtitle translation allows your visual content and campaigns to be made available in a variety of languages. The aim of this will be to expand your audience and increase revenue.
Live Captions
Real-time subtitles, also known as live captions, are used to turn the dialogue into text instantaneously. Which is useful for meetings, speeches, and conferences!
From in-person to virtual events, live captioning is the tool your business needs to boost interaction and promote inclusion.
University of Liverpool used live captioning to ensure their conference was understood by post-doc students.
Virtual events appeal to a variety of people, so incorporating a subtitling service that captures what is being said in real-time and can translate that text into over 220 language pairs, will make you a trendsetter.
Closed Captions
Closed captioning displays audio as text and is also the only captioning tool that displays background noise, such as laughter and traffic.
This is different to SDH subtitling as it isn’t customisable. So, those who have difficulty reading black and white text should use SDH subtitling.
Did you know that 69% of people watch videos without sound? Which is why social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram have introduced close captioned options into their content.
These captions are used by people who are in busy environments. For example, those travelling on public transport will watch a video with subtitles. this prevents people around them from being disturbed.
Open Captions
Unlike other forms of subtitling, open captions can’t be turned off and on. This type of captioning is burnt onto a video, which is why open captions are often used by the film industry.
For example, James Bond films use open captions when the main character is communicating with another character in a different language. Or, in films like Lord of the Rings, fictional languages are also displayed in branded open caption form.
Open captions are used by streaming services, and marketing videos to prevent the content from being recreated many times. This is why many marketing managers and production heads use this type of captioning to be competitive in their field.
Consistent with other type of subtitling services, open captions will increase accessibility and expand your content on the global stage.
Are you thinking of using subtitling services?
Well, organizations like Amazon, Meta, and Disney are using subtitles to appeal to their audiences by reaching international markets and regions. Join the trend today and witness the growth of your content.
From subtitles to translation VoiceBox does it all.
Since 2006, VoiceBox has been supporting businesses in ensuring their customers have an inclusive experience. Do you want to see the benefit of applying subtitles to your video content? Contact us today.