A couple of months back I decided to start getting my video posts transcribed. A number of readers have enquired as to why I am doing this – here are the 3 main reasons I have my videos transcribed:
1. Accessibility
Not everyone is in a position to be able to consume video content. For some it is a technical issue – not everyone has access to broadband. For others it is about the device (although more and more mobile devices are set up for video).
Others still have a physical issue that impedes them from viewing video – for example I know that a number of ProBlogger readers are hearing impaired and had difficulty with my videos (particularly because I tend to mumble and make lip reading difficult).
Offering transcripts meets the needs of a variety of readers who cannot, for one reason or another, view video easily.
2. Learning Styles and Workflow
Other readers are just not ‘video people’. They rarely view them and would much rather read content than watch and listen to it. I myself would probably fit into this category – while I enjoy watching videos on occasion I’m much more likely to be drawn to content that is predominantly text that I can scan to quickly identify the juicy bits.
Ultimately its about appealing to people with different personalities, online workflows and learning styles to maximise your reach.
3. SEO
While search engines like Google is experimenting with indexing video content – the reality is that text is still king when it comes to search engine optimisation. A post with just a video is not likely to rank as high as a post with a good chunk of text in it.
Do you Transcribe Your Videos?
Getting videos and/or podcasts transcribed does take time and/or money but in my mind it is worth the effort as a way of maximising impact. I’d be interested to hear whether you do it on your blog?
Hello Darren,
You’ve touched on something important here, Yes I believe Google does focus more on scanning the text on a page at present.
But! They are getting smarter with voice recognition on video’s, so you’re quite correct when saying that getting your videos transcribed will do you a bigger favour than not.
Darren, It’s finally good to chat on your comments box.
I’ve been popping back and foward to Darrens blog for years to learn something new.
Anyone reading this comment, subscribe or bookmark this guy, you won’t be dissapointed.
Eamon.
I agree on all three points Darren. Personally, I find many videos frustrating because I prefer to read and my “high-speed” internet service sometimes runs at a slow crawl, making streaming videos near impossible to watch.
But many people prefer audios or videos over reading and videos are very useful for doing demonstrations and discussing technical topics. I’m about to launch a video series on book marketing topics and I am going to include transcripts.
Thanks for all the great information you share on ProBlogger!
When I see a video on it’s own without any explanatory text, I think to myself that I might as well be watching it on youtube. Warm me up with an introductory paragraph please!
And on a second note – and more important than my complaint above – yes, please consider those who have accessibility issues. It’s an important consideration that many of us bloggers aren’t aware of and makes our work more available to everyone.
Thanks for bringing this topic up!
I fully agree that accessibility can be a major issue. A lot of my clients do not have access to broadband like the aveage person. I myself am not much of a video person, but I really try to put out video posts. I simply do not have the time for it.
Wow! I thought I was the only person who preferred to read instead of watch videos (even though I create my own!). Thanks for the tip!
Yes we provide transcriptions for our videos. I agree that transcripts benefit persons with disabilities, especially those with hearing impairments. Transcripts also help persons with learning disabilities who prefer reading text and individuals who are learning English as their second language. Thanks!
I am just starting to get into making videos, so this has been extremely timely. I personally usually prefer to read as I listen, to make sure that I don’t miss anything.
I’m all for transcribing videos, Darren.
Sure, it takes time and/or money – but it soooooo worthwhile in the long run.
The other thing I am learning is that with every video that I create, I end up getting a bunch of new ideas and perspectives. It’s like do one video – and get content for a few dozen blog posts for free!
Also remember if you do not transcribe your video, a spammer will! It is known tactic to take someone’s video and transcribe it and place it on a splog as new content.
I am currently in the process of covering my ebooks into video format. Will have to consider doing a few video blog posts but still a bit new to me on how to go about it to make it look clear cut and professional and not some 2nd rate job lol Any recommendations of backgrounds or things you do before taking your video shoots?
I’ve just recently had my videos transcribed, and I’ve been using castingwords.com which is definitely the cheapest/most reliable service. And no, I’m not affiliated with them or anything, they just do very good work. :-)
Hallefrickenlujah,
this has been something that has been bugging me for ages, for all the points you raised and more (such as speed)
I’m so glad you you blogged about it.
This should be mandatory reading for anyone just doing video posts.
Sadly, I fear it may not be the case.
All logical reasons, and I totally get 2 and 3, as I have often wondered about the video post’s reverse effect on SEO, though it has many positive effects as well.
Hi, thanks for posting your video, these helps me a lot for my project given by our instructor, i was hoping soon that you’ll give more tips and guidelines for blogging.
Thanks.
I’ve actually started a similar process, but in the opposite direction. I’m making audio recordings of my written blog posts and posting them to YouTube with links back to my copywriting website.
Ya I mostly transcribe my videos into list-ups..thats a better option although with some important step’s images.
I don’t use transription (yet) because I don’t have any video content but it is definitely something I would consider. As a reader, I appreciate the transcriptions for all three reasons you mentioned. Often I’m reading blogs in an area where I’m unable to use sound. In general I prefer to digest information in text style so I can skim, jump back and re-read sections, etc.
One way around the SEO issue might be to post the video on YouTube with tags, etc. and a way of driving people back to your blog (similar to the process Gideon Shalwick introduces in his Rapid Video Blogging series).
For videos acting primarily as virtual demonstrations I wonder how effective transcription would be – I suppose you could insert the appropriate screenshots where necessary to make up for the lack of visual content. That would be quite costly and time consuming though, although probably very much appreciated by readers.
I don’t have any ideo, but I think about it. Definitely I will have transcriptions to videos, beacause I prefer reading and I understand similiar peoples ;)
Right now, I’m doing an entire video series, and adding a transcribe after the entire series.
I’m very thankful that you DO have your videos transcribed. Although I work from home, there are always people around – and whether my family is sleeping, talking, studying, watching tv, or doing something online, I prefer to be able to work quietly without disturbing them.
I also seem to digest information in the written form better than through audio.
Having said that, I could listen to your beautiful accent all day!
I do a radio show and they are offering transcription services of our episodes, I have been contemplating taking advantage of it and now I think that I will go ahead with it. Thanks for reading my mind in advance and answering my question :)
One of the BEST reasons to transcribe video content is the reader’s TIME. As a reader, I get frustrated with video posts because they are too SLOW. I can read at twice the speed I can listen to someone talk. In my own video posts, I do put up the video, but also transcribe the main ideas for those who prefer to read.
I just noticed that a lot of commenters ask about who transcribes the videos, or who you can pay to do it. Why pay anyone? Just open two windows, one for playing the video, and the other for the blog post. Play a sentence and pause, and then type it. Play, pause, type. That’s how to do it. It doesn’t take any longer than writing a normal blog post.
@William Reynolds, what a great idea.
I can see why people transcribe video. It really is hard for some to hear and/or understand. I prefer reading, but I am not beyond listening to a podcast if I am busy or if actually seeing the video adds to the content being talked about.
I don’t transcribe, but I do write a post to go with the video. Generally it covers the same information that I talk about in the video in a more concise form since I tend to ramble a bit on videos.
I am one of those who really enjoyed your video post transcribed due to band restriction. It has been really easy for me to just read all part of the video rather than downloading it.
Thanks for that change.
Video posting is something I’m thinking of doing and your points on transcribing video content makes total sense.
I’m debating if audio is enough rather than visual and audio.
Thanks for the post, Darren.
Yes fully agreed…all these points are genuine and have their own benefits. As a blogger the 3rd and the last one is very important as we all are fighting to get top rankings in the search engines.
OK. You convinced me. Thanks, Darren! I’ll get on that… might take some time…
Hey, Darren!
I don’t usually comment on ProBlogger because even though I subscribe there are usually comments that already voice my opinion. Today I just decided I wasn’t going to read all 68 to find out.
I appreciate transcripts because my only I’net access is a BlackBerry, and Adobe and RIM just haven’t collaborated enough to come out with FlashPlayer for 5.0. I keep hoping someone will break Adobe’s monopoly and come out with a compatible player. Or I’ve heard HTML5 will have video (and hopefully the BlackBerry people will keep up).
So, thanks!
Annie
Good on you! As a US university employee, I am required to comply with section 508 of the Americans with DIsabilities Act, and have attended the fabulous AccessU in Austin every year I’m able. Accessibility is good for everyone! As our population ages, it will help insure we stay involved with the world, even if our health declines.
Here at White Horse we recently started posting our transcripts for our old podcast for some of the same reasons.
It is working out well because it give us a little bit more content for our blog so we don’t have to churn out content at such a fast pace. We get more time to articulate our posts so I believe that quality has gone up as well. Plus the SEO boost is always nice.
You can check out one of our transcripts here if you are interested: http://bit.ly/9qYZTW
It is about Facebook Ads right now. I feel it was good timing on the editor’s part since Facebook recently started testing user rated ads.
Let me know what you think as I do work at White Horse.
i’ve only done one video so far and i did because i had already typed it out as a script for me to work from anyway so i only had to make a few changes after i finished my video to have it match.
my work computer doesn’t have sound so i know i can’t listen to videos there so i wanted to make sure other people in the same situation could still absorb my content.
I am constantly annoying bloggers about transcribing their videos. It doesn’t take that long to transcribe and it has multiple benefits, for the blogger as well as the readers. You can attract more readers with transcription as well as help your SEO.
Thanks so much for keeping your blog accessible, Darren.
I’ve never made a Vlog before but when I do I’ll take this into account.
Once you have the text transcriptions, you can compile them into a report or ebook which you can give away for free to build your list or sell as a product.
Again, leveraging your assets.
Here’s what you can create from your video:
* articles and blog posts (text)
* image screenshots
* mp3 files
* ebooks
* reports
How does one go about having their video transcribed? Do we do it ourselves then submit it somehow? Or is this a service that we pay someone else to do for us?
It is amazing to me how God works. I have been considering transcribing my videos (just started making them) into text and here you write a post about that very thing. Confirmation!!!!!
I noticed you Alexa ranking is just over 2,000. Howl long did it take you to get to that level? Reason I ask, mine was at 12,760,000 and dropped to 350,000 in 3 months, Can I extrapolate from that how long to get to your level?
Thank you in advance and God Bless. I enjoy your blog.
Ive never thought about this before, but i guess it must be good!
Thanks for doing that, Darren – at the moment I’m struggling with the Flash Crash (Adobe Flash 10.1 crashes consistently, in several different browsers) and it’s pretty hard to play video, so having access to a transcription makes the difference between being able to access the content and not. I wish more people would do this.
Though video posts are very effective to learn new things , Using video posts in Websites can delay page loading time . Those who use BB connection it is better for them .But few people use dial up connection .It is very tough to them to watch video tutorial for buffering.
I like that you are doing that! Its nice to be able to either watch the video or read the transcription.
Thankyou. I’ve come across several things recently with instructions on video only and it drives me nuts. I can read and process much quicker than a video and I don’t have 20 minutes to sit in one block.
As an educator I don’t get a lot of videos that are being used at the moment – they are basically lectures, one of the least effective ways to teach. I use videos, but it’s to demonstrate physical things like how swings work, not me talking.
If you don’t want to pay anyone to do your transcription, here is a good article to help you get started in doing your own transcription. It’s not as easy as it looks at first glance. This article gives you some good tips and tricks to make it easier.
http://transcribenow.net/home/how-to-transcribe
I’m thankful when someone transcribes their video content for two reasons:
1. the video card on my current laptop is shot. I can’t watch videos, even when I want to (which isn’t often).
2. I don’t learn visually. I prefer to read. Print. Highlight. Take notes.
However, I acknowledge the power of video online. And I will have video posts on my blog in the near future. After I get a new computer.
I am one of the readers that asked you this question!! Thanks for dedicating a blog post to answer this. You went a lot more in depth than I had imagined. I do not do videos as my blog is still very young. In the future I do see myself doing podcasts (especially since I took an entire college course on social media and podcasting). Now I see why I should transcribe them. I will probably transcribe them myself to save money and I am a quick typist. Thanks again!!
~Jeff
Darren, I am a follower of your blog for long but I don’t usually comment. However this post made me do it. You have told the world what we have been telling our transcription clients for long. It pays to get your video transcribed.
Please give me permission to reproduce the article on our site blog.
Hey Darren,
Interesting stuff. Rather than actually transcribing my video posts, I tend to just make sure that I write the main points from the video in the form of an introduction and then occasionally a paragraph after the video itself.
Thanks for your thoughts. I may well start to get my videos transcribed as a result of them as the accessibility point is a very good one.
Matt
You get the maximum from everything.
But yeah I must say that this is a nice move.
I haven’t made video blogs yet, but I would definitely transcribe them.