Modern Video on Social Media

By Julia Enthoven

Video seems to be eating social media. Time spent watching video on Instagram has increased 80% in the last year! Consumers say that watching mobile video makes them feel closer to community and more inspired than by watching TV. Engagement with video content on instagram has increased 53% in the last year, surpassing engagement rates on photos, and videos get more comments than photos according to a study by Newswhip.

Because of this shift towards mobile video, the way people consume video content is changing. Video viewers are often on the go, meaning they prefer shorter “snackable” clips. When browsing social media, people tend to watch video without the sound on; 85% of Facebook videos are watched muted. If you want to be able to reach a modern audience, you’ll need to communicate your message without relying on sound.

Improve Engagement by Adding Subtitles

For video creators and publishers, subtitles are an amazing way to tell your story in short social media videos. If you publish interviews, testimonials, or just a funny moment, adding subtitles can create the “thumb-stopping” interest that is so important for engaging an audience.

In a study by Instapage showed some astonishing results about the engagement of subtitled videos vs. non – subtitled. Here’s a quick summary of the key findings:

● CTA clicks were 26% higher on subtitled videos vs. non-subtitled

● Average shares are 15% higher

● Average reach is 16% higher

Don’t let your story fail on deaf ears; add subtitles instead.

How to add subtitles to your video

If you don’t have experience with professional video editors, you can use the Subtitle Maker by Kapwing to add subtitles directly to your videos quickly and easily online. Here’s how it works:

1. Upload your video file, or, if your video is already on YouTube, Vimeo, or somewhere else on the web, copy and paste the URL to upload the video directly.

2. Add subtitles, one at a time, while you watch the video. You can edit the text and timing in the straightforward UI. You can also adjust the font, text color, and size using the left-hand panel

3. Create your video by clicking the big “Create Video” button.

4. Publish to Instagram: You can download your video directly. If your video is a landscape video, you can use the Kapwing video resizer to make it the right size for Instagram (1:1) or Instagram Stories (9:16)

There are other software options for adding subtitles to video, so you can explore to find the one you like. Kapwing is good for people that have no formal video editing experience and want to add subtitles or text labels permanently to their video so they appear across all platforms (known as “open captions”). Unlike other subtitling services, Kapwing is free to use and doesn’t require you to download any software. It costs $2/video to remove the watermark, or you can subscribe to the Kapwing video.

Hope this helps increase engagement on your videos!

For more tips and tricks when it comes to video, check out our Video Pinterest Board! And don’t forget to follow me 😉

BIO

Julia is the founder of Kapwing, an online toolbox for modern video creators. She left Google in 2017 to work on Kapwing full-time with her co-founder, Eric, from San Fransisco, and is also a runner, Texan, feminist, and coffee-
addict.