Videos have changed the way we share and absorb information online. They’re an engaging way to grab people’s attention across various platforms. Depending on the creator, videos can break down complex ideas, tug at your heartstrings, and leave a mark that sticks with you—whether you want to learn something new from YouTube or just be entertained by scrolling down on TikTok.
However, as video content exploded, it also brought some challenges to the table, like making sure everyone can access them easily, and that’s where video transcription comes in to help videos live up to their full potential.
Transcripts break down barriers by providing a text version of the audio, making videos accessible even to those with hearing issues, who speak different languages, or who simply prefer reading over listening.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Video transcripts are crucial for educational content, interview sessions, webinars, documentaries, podcast content, and more.
- The benefits of video transcription include improved accessibility, enhanced SEO, increased engagement, repurposing opportunities, and varied audience preferences.
- Automated transcripts are only about 86% accurate under the best circumstances. So, it’s best not to settle for them when accuracy is important.
What Is a Video Transcription?
Transcribing a video means taking the spoken words and other sounds you can hear in the recording and turning them into written text. The process captures the dialogue, narration, and sometimes even relevant sounds that aren’t words so the content can be read and searched like a document.
Transcription services make video content more accessible to a broader audience. This includes people who are hard of hearing or speak different languages. Accurate transcriptions also make videos easier to discover since users can quickly find the specific info they need—more on the benefits later.
Types of Videos Where Transcripts are Crucial
Video transcripts and captions certainly have many benefits to bring to the table; however, what video needs transcripts the most?
| Types of Videos | Why You Need Video Transcriptions |
| Educational Content | Allows viewers to follow along at their own pace or easily reference specific instructions. |
| Interviews Sessions | Makes it easier for viewers to quickly locate specific discussion points without having to rewatch the entire video. |
| Webinars | Enables viewers to review insights, data, or examples mentioned in the video. |
| Documentaries | Helps viewers better understand and retain the information presented, as they can read along while watching. |
| Podcasts Content | Provides a text version of the content for search engines to index and for hearing-impaired viewers to follow along. |
| Foreign Language Content | Crucial for videos featuring content in multiple languages or targeted at non-native speakers, as they can be used to create translations. |
Benefits of Video Transcription
Video transcription has plenty of benefits. Let’s talk about the most important ones below:
- Improved Accessibility: Including a transcript alongside your content will make it accessible to viewers with hearing issues or non-native speakers. This will ensure more people can view, enjoy, or learn from your video.
- Enhanced SEO: Search Engines like Google or Bing can easily index your content when you have a transcript. Transcription is vital to get your content noticed since search engines still cannot crawl through videos. As a bonus, you can avoid getting tagged for keyword stuffing by having expansive text filled with natural keywords outside your metadata.
- Increased Engagement: Adding transcripts to your video content makes it easy for your viewers to skim through and locate specific info they want. There’s no need to review the whole video and manually note the necessary details.
- Repurposing Opportunities: Video transcripts can easily be repurposed into blog posts, social media updates, or email newsletters. This allows you to expand your content offerings and reach more viewers on different platforms without creating entirely new content, saving you time, money, energy, and other resources.
- Varied Audience Preferences: Many people prefer reading over watching videos, while some prefer watching videos with subtitles. If you incorporate transcripts in every video you produce, you’ll provide video and text-based content for an audience with different ways of consuming content.
- Time-stamped Navigation: Like the ones we found in YouTube Videos, transcripts often include timestamps representing the specific points in the video. These timestamps allow your viewers to jump to the sections they’re most interested in and make your content much easier to navigate.
Ways to Get Video Transcripts
Yep, I get it. If these video transcripts are important, how can content creators produce them for their videos, like podcast episodes? There are three common ways to get it done. Let’s tackle each one.
Transcribing Manually Using Your Phone or Computer
Creating a video transcript manually is a straightforward process. To get started, get the video or audio file of the video that you want to transcribe. You can do this right through your phone or downloading the video to your computer.
Once you’ve got your hands on that audio file, hit play and start typing out everything you hear, word for word. Yep, that means including all the “ums,” “ahs,” and any flubs or fumbles along the way.
Keep things sharp with clear speaker labels or paragraph breaks as you create that transcript. Don’t be afraid to hit the pause button or rewind to ensure you’re nailing every word. And hey, if you need to step away for a breather, go for it. Slow and steady wins the race.
Once you’ve typed out every last word, give your work a once-over to catch any mistakes—a little polish goes a long way.
Professional Transcription Service With Expert Human Transcribers
Suppose you want to take your podcast or interview transcripts to the next level. In that case, you might consider bringing in the real deal: a professional transcription service with expert human transcribers with over 99% accuracy—like Ditto Transcripts. Our transcribers are experts in various fields, with precise skills in turning audio into flawlessly written text.
We offer awesome advantages for our clients. We’re talking quick turnaround times, flexible pricing options, and the ability to tackle even the trickiest audio—multiple speakers or background noise.
Outsourcing your podcast transcription requires more investment than using automated transcription or the DIY approach, but it can be a lifesaver in terms of time and hassle. And you really can’t put a price on listener/reader immersion.
Should Content Creators Settle For Automated Transcripts?
No, it’s best not to settle for automated transcripts in most cases.
While automated transcription can provide a general idea of the content, it has many limitations that may compromise the usability of the transcripts.
According to research, automated transcripts—including video transcripts—are only about 86% accurate under the best circumstances. This means that they are bound to contain errors, misinterpretations, or inconsistencies that could be problematic for certain types of content.
For some scenarios, that level of accuracy might be “okay,” but if you’re dealing with episodes where every word carries a ton of weight (legal or medical things), you might want to think twice.
Even outside technicalities, having incorrect transcripts can make your listeners/readers damage your credibility as a professional outfit. Plus, if your content is more immersion-based, having errors can take your readers away from the story you’re crafting.
Why Choose Ditto Transcripts When You Need Video Transcription?
Enhance your video transcripts with our services, and enjoy benefits such as:
- Accuracy: We guarantee 99% accuracy in every transcription project. All you have to do is focus on creating amazing podcast episodes, and we’ll transcribe them flawlessly—the first time.
- Human Expertise: We have professional human transcriptionists who understand the subtlety of multiple speakers or technical jargon. We’ll create transcripts that reflect the natural flow of your conversation. We can also keep track of key details and subtleties in a way no AI transcription service can.
- Security: Not all podcast episodes are created equal, and we understand that some may contain sensitive information. For that reason, Ditto Transcripts is HIPAA, CJIS, and FINRA compliant. You can sleep well at night knowing that your content is secured with us.
- Affordability: For many content creators, podcasting can be a financial investment, and we acknowledge that. We offer high-quality transcription services that won’t break the bank. We have options to fit any budget without sacrificing a single bit of quality.
- 24/7 Customer Service: Our customer service isn’t fulfilled by chatbots—we’re all humans here. We take the time to understand your requirements and will gladly assist you with technicalities or answer any questions.
- Customizability: Our transcription services aren’t just about accuracy and meeting the client’s requirements. Do you need a verbatim transcript that captures every “um” and “uh”? Or do you need a polished version for a blog post? We can modify the transcript to satisfy your needs.
Get Your Video Transcripts From The Best
So what are you waiting for? Maximize your reach and retention with Ditto’s professional transcription services and see the difference.
Ditto Transcripts is a Denver, Colorado-based transcription services company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcripts for individuals and companies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote, and ask about our free five-day trial.
