Did you know that according to Statista, the ‘revenue in the eCommerce market is projected to reach US$4.23tn in 2022’, and the ‘average revenue per user (or ARPU) is expected to amount to US$1,028.00’? Clearly, the eCommerce industry is growing at an astronomical rate.
But so is video marketing. That’s because consumers love videos more and more. A recent study by Hubspot revealed that 54% of buyers said they’d prefer to see videos from brands they like.
Let’s look at some more stats (source: Wyzowl) —
- 33% of people prefer to learn about products by watching a video because videos are quick and easy to digest.
- 69% of consumers believe a product demo best assists them when making a purchase decision.
- 80% of people state that product videos give them more confidence when purchasing a product.
But there’s one potent component of video marketing that many ecommerce businesses overlook. Be it explainer videos, product videos, or how-to videos. It’s called accessibility.
Accessible videos are an excellent way for eCommerce brands to impact a wider audience and enhance user engagement. Apart from the accessibility aspect, transcribed videos also enhance brand recall, improve brand awareness, and positively impact behavioral intent.
Why are transcription services the next big eCommerce growth breakthrough?
Video marketing is powerful, sure. But making it accessible for everyone adds the cherry on top. Let’s examine four reasons you must transcribe your videos as an e-commerce company.
#1. Improve accessibility.
Captions are essential for making video accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
In the U.S. itself, there are 48 million people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing.
Looking at global figures, the number stands at 466 million people. That means 6.1% of the world’s population. WHO has predicted that the figures could rise to 630 million by 2030 — and to 900 million by 2050.
Brands need to understand that consumers with hearing loss can have difficulty listening to audio. So, brands that prioritize accessibility receive support and recognition from consumers overall. It adds to a brand’s legitimacy and goodwill. Another critical point is that not just the people from deaf and hard-of-hearing communities benefit from captions. Still, it helps people who have learning disabilities and neurological disorders. Brands today can transcribe YouTube videos to text or transcribe MP3 to text — depending on specific needs.
Using transcription software to add captions to your videos makes you more inclusive as a brand. It assures you that you are not forgetting or missing out on capturing any audience segment.
Deploying accessible practices is forever an excellent marketing strategy.
#2. Enrich video SEO
Using transcription services has myriad benefits — accessibility is just one of them. Transcribing videos and audio can boost SEO and ultimately increase website traffic.
Most eCommerce brands exist online and don’t necessarily have offline stores. That is why website traffic is a top priority for such brands.
Google AI is quite intuitive. However, at this point, it doesn’t have superhuman abilities. For example, it cannot crawl the contents of an image or video. In the case of images, alt tags hold great importance for Google to understand them and rank them. For videos and audio, it’s transcription. Good video transcription lets Google crawl the content of your video and understand the subject matter.
Without a transcription, the crawler cannot determine context and will be left to its own devices. If you are serious about SEO, you can’t go to Google to understand a video’s context.
As a brand, your goal is always to give as much information as possible. Luckily, transcription works both ways; it provides the crawler with information to help you rank better while also benefitting anyone who visits your website.
#3. Enhances user experience
User experience or UX is another factor that significantly influences SEO and SERP ranking. A good user experience reduces bounce rates, which is essential for an e-commerce website.
Yes, captions mainly aid in making videos more accessible to customers with disabilities, but it’s crucial to note that the caption is error-free. That is, they have almost no grammatical or spelling mistakes, which can hinder their experience. If you want to invest in transcription software, take note of how accurate their caption is because that can make or break the deal.
In a nutshell, captions that lack accuracy can lead to a negative viewing experience for your users. If the captions are too bad, then maybe even end up with bad reviews or be marked as spam.
According to research, “Video captions, also known as same-language subtitles, benefit everyone who watches videos (children, adolescents, college students, and adults). More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video. Captions are particularly beneficial for persons watching videos in their non-native language, for children and adults learning to read, and for persons who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. However, despite U.S. laws requiring captioning in most workplace and educational contexts, many video audiences and visitors are naïve about the legal mandate to caption, much less the practical benefit of captions.’
When customers can engage more actively with video content, it improves the user experience and enhances brand awareness.
As we know, eCommerce brands share many videos on social media. But they miss one point: they don’t factor in the device their target audience uses to view the content.
Today, people use mobile phones to access content, especially if not in their workspace. They could be in sound-sensitive environments, like libraries, public transport, or at home with their kids. So when a video auto plays with a loud sound, it’s not a good experience. That’s when closed captions enter. It helps viewers read the audio or watch the video without sounds.
Related reading: 8 Types of eCommerce Videos You Need to Boost Sales
Related reading: How to Choose the Perfect Videos for Your Product Pages
Related reading: Shopify eCommerce Product Video Tips
#4. Reach global audiences
The beauty of starting an eCommerce brand is that you have accesscan accessworldwide (and consumers worldwide can buy from their favorite brands without any hassles).
As a brand, you must ensure that you appeal to audiences from all countries. There is no way better than speaking their language. It shows that you care and appreciate them.
eCommerce companies across the globe often have language preference settings that assist in translating the website content to the language preferred by the visitor.
So, with these settings, potential customers whose first language is not English can seamlessly translate the web pages and browse their favorite eCommerce website. It also applies to videos you may have put on the landing page. Translating audio content into the visitor’s preferred language can make a massive difference if you have any audio content on your website.
Implementing video captions and translations ensures that video content can be easily consumed by anyone and everyone.
Did you know that once a video has been captioned, it is even simpler to translate it into other languages? As a global brand, it is recommended to work with a third-party vendor that offers transcription services and leave the tedious process to automation. At the same time, you can focus on other essential aspects of your brand.
Pick the right transcription tool.
Today, you can find a slew of transcription software in the market, so it’s essential to know the features you need. Refer to these features when you are looking to invest your time and money in transcription software.
- No limits on uploads, irrespective of file size and length
- Machine translation in common languages across the globe
- Import public links r content from other platforms seamlessly
- Workspaces for collaboration—creating shared spaces for teams.
- APIs and great integration options like Zapier and Youtube.
- Security and confidentiality of transcripts, as well as files.
- Supports multiple export formats like TXT, DOCX, and more.
Make use of transcription services to deliver better experiences—
It’s safe to say that transcription services can make a massive difference to your eCommerce website—from boosting SEO effects to making your brand more inclusive; transcription is highly recommended for brands that are playing the long-term game.