We live in an age of short attention spans.
Social media giants like TikTok and Instagram (reels) have benefitted, with many users focused on short-form video content.
YouTube launched YouTube Shorts in 2021 to give users access to short-form video content in the TikTok Reels format.
With over 2.3 billion users monthly and 50 billion daily views, YouTube Shorts has become the go-to platform to reach a wider audience for creators and businesses.
One of the fastest ways to increase your reach, get more engagement, and make your video more accessible is by adding captions to your YouTube Shorts.
We’ll show you a step-by-step guide on how to add captions to YouTube Shorts easily and reasons why you should.
How to Add Captions to YouTube Shorts Automatically
Here's how you can add YouTube Shorts captions using YouTube Studio:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio: Sign in with your email.
- Click on Subtitles: Select the Subtitles icon from the sidebar menu on the left of your screen, which should appear fifth in the list.
- Select your Video: Select the video you want to add captions to.
- Click More: You’ll find it under the Subtitles Menu. It takes you to the captioning area of the Studio.
- Review, Edit, and Optimize your Captions: Edit subtitles that aren't translated correctly or don't add value to your audience. You can also add new lines of captions.
The Best Way to Add Captions to YouTube Shorts is Using Submagic
YouTube's automatic captions have a lot of setbacks. They are not close to being accurate.
Beyond being inaccurate, they need more specific storytelling components that are effective for engaging audiences, which you can achieve when you optimize your captions.
If you're looking for the best way to add captions to YouTube shorts with high accuracy and audience engagement, then you need Submagic.
Submagic offers high-quality editing, a user-friendly interface, and AI features to create top video content.
Submagic is the best auto subtitling tool powered by AI to create effortless captions with perfect emojis and intelligently highlighted keywords.
It allows you to automatically add trendy captions. You’ll be able to add animated subtitles and emojis, which is a powerful combination for short videos (1080x1920). Doing this will undoubtedly increase the engagement of your videos.
Submagic works in over 48+ languages. This means that with Submagic.co, you can generate Japanese, Italian, and German subtitles.
It has an affordable pricing model, ranging from $20 - $50 monthly, allowing you to edit 20 - unlimited top videos from 90 to 180 seconds monthly.
How to Add a Caption to a YouTube short Using Submagic
Here's the Step-by-Step Guide for generating your captions
Upload Process
- Search for "Submagic.co" directly from your favorite web browser – or click here.
- Click "Create my video now" - upload your video without subtitles.
- Upload your video. Keep in mind that your video must be in short format (1080 pixels by 1920 pixels).
Step 2: Generate Unique and Top-Notch Subtitles
- Add your personal touch and personalize your subtitles.
You can add personal touches, like changing the color, the animation, the emojis, the timing when the text appears, or switching to another font. You can also personalize the captions and make your video unique.
- Download the video, and your captions are ready.
You can find this button at the bottom of your project's page. You'll receive your video with beautiful captions in a few minutes. Enjoy!
Why Should You Add Captions to YouTube Shorts?
Adding captions to videos has a significant impact on it’s engagement and accessibility. Here are the benefits you'll get by adding captions to the YouTube shorts you create.
Broader Content Accessibility and Higher Video Engagement
Research has shown that over 75% of people watch videos without a sound. This will affect your engagement rates if your content relies solely on audio materials.
Adding captions to your YouTube shorts makes your content engaging to these audiences and accessible to viewers with hearing disabilities.
More importantly, when you add captions to your YouTube Shorts, you're allowing your content to be accessible worldwide. You can add captions in different languages, breaking the language barrier.
The wider the audience, the more engagement you’ll get.
Captions Provide Great SEO Opportunities
Another benefit of adding captions to YouTube shorts is that it helps your content with SEO discoverability.
Search engines can index and analyze the text in captions, making your video more discoverable in search results.
If you use relevant keywords consistently throughout your video, they'll reflect in your captions, and search engines will be more likely to rank your content for these terms.
You can benefit additionally from using your captions to create accurate and detailed video descriptions.
Improvement in Content Quality
Adding captions to your YouTube shorts increases the quality of your content. In this age of high content churning, great audio sound is no longer the only requirement for quality video content.
Captions make your videos look more professional. You can use well-crafted and executed captions to highlight the value of your content and showcase the quality you offer.
Creators with high-quality content captions have been known to boost their reputation, just like Alex Hormozi.
Captions Help You Win Over the YouTube Algorithm
YouTube crawlers can know whether or not there are captions in your videos.
Captions provide additional keywords and SEO data that the YouTube algorithm can use to categorize and display your videos more effectively.
Having the proper captions helps you work with YouTube's algorithm, exposing your content to new viewers searching for your topic more easily.
Massive Growth to Your Channel
Adding captions to your YouTube shorts is a good growth strategy for your content. It can help you make your CTAs clear, which can increase your revenue.
You can leverage various growth pathways and strategies by implementing an effective caption strategy.
FAQs on YouTube Shorts Captions
Still trying to figure out the most effective approach for creating captions for YouTube Shorts?
Here, we address some of your commonly asked questions.
Can you modify captions on YouTube Shorts?
Absolutely! You can manually edit your subtitle text using YouTube's built-in captioning tools. However, it's essential to remember that you'll need to duplicate YouTube's original transcript to make any necessary changes.
Therefore, finalizing your captions in advance is generally advisable, ensuring that your video remains live once it's been published.
Why should you include captions in YouTube Shorts?
For YouTube content creators, incorporating embedded captions into YouTube Shorts enhances the accessibility of your video, particularly for those who either watch your content without sound or have a hearing impairment.
Furthermore, videos on YouTube with captions often enjoy extended view times and a greater likelihood of receiving likes, comments, and shares. Additionally, adding captions can contribute to higher rankings for your YouTube Shorts videos in YouTube's search results.
Do you Want to Add Captions to YouTube Shorts?
Sign up for a free Submagic account today to get started.
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