You’ve worked with a strategic creative agency to create a fantastic new video. You’re ready to publish it across your platforms, and you can’t wait to share it with the world. After bringing an idea to life, you want to make sure it’s seen as far and as wide as possible.
To ensure your video receives the exposure it deserves, consider ways to increase engagement and accessibility. Adding subtitles to your videos is one of the easiest ways to make your content more engaging and accessible to all - but there are a couple of different ways of including them.
The first option is to ‘burn’ subtitles into your video. This means the subtitles cannot be switched off, and the video is exported as a flat file with the subtitles built into it. This is useful for videos that will be played to audiences at events, or in presentations, but for many other applications, for example using your video on a website or on social media, this option is very limiting. At Big Button, our recommendation is to use an SRT file (SubRip Subtitle file). SRTs give the viewer the option to toggle the subtitles on or off via the settings on their video player, depending on their preference. Your audience can choose how to consume your content to suit them, which helps increase engagement, and makes your video easier for those with accessibility needs to enjoy.
Another great aspect of SRTs (which you don’t get with burnt-in subtitles) is the impact on SEO. When you upload a video alongside an SRT file, search engines can also search through the subtitles for key search words, meaning your video will have improved SEO rankings and appear higher in relevant searches, which will help you reach a wider audience.
To find out more about SRTs and other ways to make your video campaigns more successful, please contact the Big Button team.
Kela Kay
Producer/Director