What is closed captioning? Why you should add captions to your social media videos

Social media is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. And with a constant stream of fresh content keeping users glued to their screens for hours, there’s never been a better time for content creators and brands to make their mark.

Subtitles help your content reach every corner of the globe, giving you the edge in today’s fierce competition for attention. But that’s just the beginning—captions offer so much more when it comes to boosting your brand and engagement.

So, let’s dive into nine reasons why subtitling your videos is a game-changer. Ready? Let’s go!

Let’s explore the purpose of captions and why captions are so important when creating your content.

As a content creator, it’s essential to make your content accessible to everyone in your target audience. Whether they’re hard of hearing, do not understand your language, or have difficulty grasping the message, it’s up to you to make your content as easy to understand as possible. 

Adding captions to your content will ensure that every user accessing your videos, intentionally or unintentionally, is welcome. Accessibility can also enhance your marketing strategy on TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, or any other platform, as it broadens your reach. 

Captions will not only make your content more visible and impactful, but as a human being, you will also contribute to a more empathetic, inclusive, and healthy world for everyone.

If you’ve uploaded dozens of videos to YouTube or created trending content for TikTok or Instagram to no avail—you might be wondering why. Quick question—did those videos have captions? 

According to a study by Verizon Media (2019), 50% of users state the importance of subtitles when watching videos without sound. The same research shows that 69% of users prefer to watch videos with sound off in public spaces, and 25% do so in private places.

The study also concludes that 80% of consumers are likelier to watch a full video when captions are available.

The takeaway? Subtitles lead to longer watch time, increased interactions, and, ultimately, make it more likely to achieve your goals for each video.

Algorithms cannot read or interpret videos alone—they read the meta tags, title, description, or hashtags to determine a video’s content. 

Subtitles and transcripts also help search engines identify, recognize, and classify them.

Some social networks enable you to add captions independently through SRT or VTT files. Subtitles and transcripts on YouTube can even be self-generated—from medium to low quality—or independently uploaded, corrected, and reviewed.

Including subtitles makes your videos more likely to be recommended by YouTube, increasing your chances of appearing on Google and other search engines. 

Subtitles will also improve your reach in YouTube Shorts, as most of the content is subtitled.

As social media users, we’ve all had the universal experience of whipping out our phones on the subway or waiting in line at a coffee shop for a few moments of mindless scrolling. And, with video content becoming increasingly popular, it’s more than likely that most of your content will be video-based. If that content isn’t captioned, you have two options—annoy everyone around you by watching the video on loud, or deny yourself any context. 

Long story short, captions mean viewers can watch your content anywhere—anytime!

The great variety of accents, words, and jargon in most languages means our ears often cannot pick up or decipher certain messages instantly.

Captions on social media videos are perfect for breaking down all these barriers and ensuring comprehension and attention are top priorities.

Adding small captions or annotations can help your audience understand your message better. Not only will they help your audience understand you, but they will also provide more context for your content!

As a content creator or entrepreneur, reaching your target audience is crucial for achieving your business goals.

Most of your audience will often be from your region, your country, or speak your language. But, if not, that’s a whole untapped market your brand or business could be missing out on. 

Using captions, you can reach audiences interested in your niche or market who speak a language other than yours.

If something costs no effort and brings you a ton of benefits, why do without it? Nowadays, adding subtitles to your videos is extremely easy, thanks to dozens of automatic options that make the job virtually effortless.

In addition to the auto-generated subtitling that some social networks usually include, there are tools to automatically add subtitles that allow you to go a step further regarding precision, languages, and file formats when creating subtitles.

For example, you can caption videos automatically in Premiere Pro, giving you more control over styling, timing, and overall accessibility.

Many offer free trials, so you can try them out and generate captions for your content without spending a fortune. 

Subtitles alone will not take you from 0 to 100 overnight. However, they are one more piece that helps your brand value and awareness grow steadily.

The stats say viewers will resonate with your content longer if you include subtitles in your videos—so listen to the numbers!

Here’s how to make your subtitles shine and boost engagement.

Even a tenth-of-a-second delay in subtitles can throw off viewers, causing them to click away. If your timing is off, people will notice—guaranteed. Perfect synchronization is key to keeping them engaged.

Auto-generated subtitles are a time-saver, but don’t rely on them blindly! Always review and edit them before posting. Once mistakes are live, they can stick around forever, even if you re-upload a corrected version later. Double-check everything!

Classic captions won’t cut it on fast-paced social platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Your subtitles should be visually striking and trendy—think bold colors, animated effects, or words zooming out when spoken. Get creative and keep up with the latest caption styles to stay relevant.

Stick to fonts that align with your brand. If your brand font isn’t available in the automatic subtitles generator, use modern, clean options like Futura, Roboto, or Arial—fonts that are readable and stylish. Font size is crucial, too: it needs to be large enough to read quickly but small enough not to distract from the main content.

Spelling mistakes are a big no-no. One glaring error can tank your credibility, damage your brand, and send your followers running. Proofread every word carefully—your audience will notice even the tiniest slip-ups.

Different platforms call for different subtitle styles. On TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram, go big, bold, and fast-paced to catch viewers’ attention. Captions that take up space but don’t overshadow the content are ideal. Users will scroll past your video in a heartbeat if your captions are too small.

Make sure to include captions in SRT or VTT format on YouTube so users can turn them on or off. This extra layer of accessibility also gives the YouTube algorithm more context, potentially giving your video a boost.

Subtitles aren’t just a nice-to-have—they’re essential for boosting engagement, watch time, and organic reach. By adding captions today, you can make your content more accessible to a broader audience and ensure everyone can enjoy your videos.