What if I told you that there’s a quick and easy way to get WAY more views on your videos that you’re posting out to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and every other single place where your videos can live? And when I say WAY more, I mean over double. Would you believe me?
Well, you better believe it. All you have to do is add subtitles!
You might be surprised to learn that most videos watched, especially on social media, are watched with absolutely no sound. This means that even if people are watching your videos and there are no subtitles, they may see the cool video you have to offer, but they’ll never hear a word in that video. Or in videos like the one is this blog, people will pass right over it. (Good news to those of you that don’t like the sound of your own voice!)
What this also means is if you’re running ads on social media with a video and do not have subtitles, you’re wasting a big chunk of your ad spend.
I won’t lie, adding subtitles isn’t fun. It’s actually probably the least favorite part of what I do on a regular basis, but I tough it out because I know how crucial it is.
I personally add all of my subtitles with Adobe Premiere, but if you’re not great with computers or don’t want to pay for the complicated software, it’s not the easiest task. So what I recommend to these types of people is to use an online service like Headliner to add subtitles to your videos. Headliner is completely free to use as of now for up to 10 videos a month!
A few other things to think about when you’re making videos:
- You only have a few seconds to capture your viewers’ attention. Don’t waste it explaining who you are or what company you’re with. If they care about that, they can find it out very easily. Just jump straight into your video with why they should keep watching.
- Make sure your video is the right size. There are so many different platforms, that all call for different sizes of video. For example, (as of right now) on Instagram, you’ll get the best results if you have a square (1080×1080) video. That same dimension video on Twitter won’t even show a full preview. So make sure to know your platform. Here’s a guide on what dimension your videos should be on social media.
- Be consistent! Just like anything on social media, consistency is one of your best friends. The best way to build a loyal audience and following is to give the people what they want! Content!
- Check out our blog on tips for creating engaging and effective videos for more ideas!