Milk Video makes it super easy to transcribe your video – but you may be wondering, why should you do it? Here are the top three reasons why you should always transcribe your video content!

1.  It Enhances the User Experience

The top reason that you should transcribe your video is that it enhances the user experience.

Sure, you may have captivating video and audio content that you share with your viewers, but what about the people who prefer to read? Everyone has a different learning style and preference, so creating an option for them to digest your content in their favorite way will make their experience better.

You can also opt for a feature that highlights the text as the words are spoken in the video. This allows viewers to reinforce their understanding of what was said.

Similarly, a transcript can let the viewer skim for topics and keywords they are interested in. They may only have a few minutes to watch your video, so providing them with a transcript that leads them to the section they are most interested in can keep them engaged!

Did you know that you can also make your transcripts interactive? All the viewer needs to do is click on a portion of the text, and the video will jump to that specific portion.

Another way that transcripts improve the user experience is that it allows them to enjoy the video wherever they are.  People often browse social media while they are in public places, which may prevent them from turning their audio on. With a transcript, your viewer can still consume your content without needing to enable their sound.

2.  Boost your SEO Performance

SEO rankings are one of the most important metrics for attracting viewers and website traffic. The search engine will compare different web pages with the same content and bump up the best performers to the top of the search page.

Unfortunately, search engines, like Google, can’t crawl video content. Even the best videos in your industry will not be successful if no one can find them!

Luckily, a transcript can address this issue! The search engines can use your video transcript to keywords and phrases to your web page so they can be ranked and indexed.  That means when viewers search for those terms, they can find your content. Not only will this help you drive additional traffic to your webpage, but it will ensure that you connect with the right audience.

3.  It Makes your Content Accessible

Another reason you should transcribe your video is that it makes the content more accessible. There are people everywhere who suffer from hearing loss or are considered hard-of-hearing. These viewers deserve to enjoy your content just like everyone else, and a transcript will ensure that they can do just that.

All federal agencies and similar organizations are required to caption and transcribe their videos to comply with accessibility laws, so your brand may be required to do so too.

Likewise, a video transcript helps viewers who are non-native English speakers understand the information. They can use the text as a study guide or can input it into a translator that allows them to read it in their native language.

Regardless of how you look at it, you can only create truly accessible content if you include transcripts and captions!