A Simple Guide To Captioned Videos

We look at how to caption videos across various platforms with our top tips

You should aim to catch, and keep, your audience’s attention by captioning videos. Not only does adding text make the message clearer, it also increases accessibility and reach.

Starting from the nuts and bolts of online captioning, we explore how to include captions as part of your content. Let’s start with the basics.

Caption or subtitle?

For most viewers, captioning and subtitles are pretty similar. There are subtle differences, however, and they are most relevant for those with different needs.

Captioning means that the audio component is displayed as text with video or images. They can be either open or closed, meaning they are either displayed all the time, or they can be switched on and off.

Captions assume that viewers might not be able to hear the audio component of video – that is, there may be captions that narrate the type of background sounds. Typically, they are also in the same language as the production.

Subtitles are slightly different. While subtitles also display text, they are translations from the original language. They also assume that viewers can hear the audio component of videos.

How to caption your social media productions

Now that it’s clear what captioning is, charities might want to caption videos because it increases accessibility.

YouTube offers simple captioning options for uploads. Here are the steps in brief:

For individual accounts, sign into the YouTube Studio
Upload the video content onto the platform
Once uploaded, the left-hand side menu includes an option for ‘Subtitles’
Users can manually enter text, or upload captioning and/or subtitles to the video. When adding text, make sure the text and timeline match. Review automatic captioning language, as the narration is AI-generated and may not be as accurate
For those uploading the subtitle or caption file, ensure that the file type is supported by YouTube

How to add captions to Instagram

Instagram’s caption features are relatively new when compared with YouTube’s more advanced ones. However, the benefit of Instagram’s captions is that they can be added directly on your mobile phone. Here are a couple of tips to get captions on Instagram:

Record the story or reel on the platform
Once you’re happy with the video, click the ‘Stickers’ button
Select the captions button. Captions will automatically appear on your story and should be in sync with your video
To edit the text, click on the center rainbow button and amend. Users can also change the font, color and placement of the text

At the moment, English is the only language available. If you’re posting a Story in another language, make sure you’ve got the caption ready to paste into the video.

Using captions on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has basic functionality for adding captions. However, an SRT (SubRip Subtitle) file needs to accompany the video upload. To add text simply:

Click the video icon at the top of the feed page
Select or edit a video to share
Once you’ve uploaded the video, there is an option to upload an SRT fil
Select ‘done’ and post the content

To note, LinkedIn doesn’t yet have features to add captions automatically or manually. Charities that don’t have SRT production capabilities may need to consider a workaround.

Creating your own caption files

For the tech whizzes, creating captioning files may be the best way to go. The most common type of captioning and subtitle files are SRT formatted.

Being able to create your own files gives charities even more flexibility. There’s no need to use each platform’s bespoke captioning, because one SRT file can be uploaded to every platform.

Creating SRT files sounds challenging, but is actually very simple. Using a text editor, you can write your own captions, as long as you’re aware of the time stamp format.

With the time stamped at the start and at the end of each caption, content creators can build out the text. Once the file has been completed, save down the file as plain text and amend the file extension to SRT.

How to Add Text to Video Online With No Watermark

How to Make a Split Screen Video on Windows and Mac

How To Make Reverse Videos Online and Offline

Best Auto Subtitle Generator Software Online and Offline

Online Video Cutter – 10 Best Sites to Cut Videos Online

Jihosoft 字幕大师

最简单高效的字幕制作软件：免费编辑字幕文本、添加字幕样式