Why Captions in Instagram Reels is Crucial

If you are a small business owner or a large enterprise trying to market your product to a large audience, you must use short-form video content. The short-form content industry has rapidly increased in the past few years since the inception of TikTok and Reels on Instagram. How we consume content has undergone a massive shift, and the consumer attention span has decreased. Reels get 22% more interaction than standard video postings. It is undeniable for businesses to market their product on these platforms, as it has become of utmost importance.   

 “From day one, there pretty much has been the psychology that you have to catch their attention immediately,” - Gretchen Tibbits, chief operating officer for Little Things. 

The average viewing time for a reel is 3 seconds. Hence, creators use all measures to capture the audience's ever-decreasing attention span. One such feature provided by platforms is captions. Captions in reels are not only used as an accessibility feature but also to increase views and engagements. Let us see how captions can provide value to your businesses.   

Accessibility: Adding captions to videos makes content more inclusive for viewers who are hard of hearing and allows them to enjoy the content fully. Check out our blog, How Subtitles and Captions Enhance Content Accessibility, for more on how content enhances accessibility. 

Clarity and Context and Engagement: We all know a lot happens in that short 1-minute video: singing, dancing, acting, dialogues. The content created on these platforms has to capture the audience's attention quickly and keep them hooked to avoid scrolling further. While all these are happening, it's easy to lose interest if you are unable to hear the dialogue or need help understanding certain words in the video. Due to multiple accents in the video, it is highly possible to misunderstand the word, which may create a negative impression or dissolve the purpose of the video. To avoid confusion and ensure the right experience is delivered captions serve as crucial components. It not only gives clarity but also explains the context of the video. Including a caption can significantly increase your engagement rates, pushing them from roughly 5.38% to above 6.7% 

37% of viewers said they are encouraged to turn the sound on because the videos seem more interesting, and 29% said that even with the sound off, they were better able to understand the video because of the captioning. 

SEO: Captions can boost the SEO of Instagram reels. Search engines like Google and Bing can index captions to enhance the overall visibility of the content. This elevates your brand visibility to reach a broader audience. As a result, content creators can plan their next reels accordingly to attract followers. 

Capture silent scrollers: Statistics show that a significant portion of social media users watch videos without sound, primarily in public and noise-sensitive environments. A similar trend has been noticed on Facebook, where 85% of users watch videos with sounds off. Captions ensure your message is understood even when the sound is turned off. For B2B marketing, this is particularly important because professionals often scroll through the content when in the office and might as well during their boring Cadence calls. For B2C captions, keep the audience engaged during a commute, coffee breaks, etc.   

“If you can make something compelling without needing people to turn the audio on, you’re ahead of people who are not thinking that way.” - Rye Clifton, director of experience at GSD&M.

Non-Native Speakers: Captions promote comprehension for non-native speakers of the language in the video. It allows viewer to follow the content quickly, ensuring that the language barrier does not restrict their ability to engage with the content.  

Multi-Channel Marketing:   

B2B businesses focusing on LinkedIn marketing are also jumping into short-form content. LinkedIn's introduction of stories allows B2B content creators or influencers to market their products and guide followers using short videos. Hence, a video on Instagram with captions can be repurposed on different platforms, including LinkedIn. These can have a significant impact on your marketing strategies, especially related to content marketing.   

Best Practices for Adding Subtitles to Instagram Reels  

• Use Auto-Captioning Tools: Instagram provides an auto-captioning feature. For higher accuracy, use specialized tools or professional services.  

• Match Your Branding: Customize fonts and colors to align with your brand identity.  

• Keep It Concise: Ensure the text is easy to read and doesn't overwhelm the visuals. Your captions must pop but not compete with the content itself.  

• Optimize for Localization: If targeting global audiences, consider adding subtitles.  

  
  

How to add captions to the Instagram reels:     

• Open the Instagram app and click on + to add Reels. You can record or select a video from your camera.  

• Once the video is ready, tap on the sticker/smiley icon at the top of the screen.  

• Select the blue "Captions" sticker to add automatic captions. 

• You will see the words "Transcribing audio…" It will start transcribing the audio to capture captions automatically.   

• Adjust to your liking and style: Move the captions around anywhere on the screen. It takes some time to start transcribing. Give different font styles to choose for your captions and change the color of the text or highlight and outline for Instagram captions.  You can also edit the captions on Instagram.   

For businesses looking for professional subtitles and open captions you can reach out to us at sales@timbel.net At Textar we provide open captions and subtitle services in more than 20+ Indian languages and 30+ foreign languages accurately and quickly. 

Incorporating subtitles and captions into Instagram Reels is not just best practice; it is necessary in today's digital landscape, where inclusivity and engagement are crucial. By making content accessible to all users, enhancing engagement levels, improving SEO, providing clarity, supporting non-native speaker's businesses or creators can reinforce brand identity and significantly improve their content strategy on Instagram. As social media continues to evolve, embracing captions or subtitles will be essential for anyone looking to maximize their impact on this popular platform.