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?
