Instagram Video Captions: How to Add Captions to Instagram Videos
June 6, 2019
By
Danielle Read
Are you wondering how to add captions to Instagram videos? Looking for tips to create great Instagram story captions? When Instagram first introduced videos, more than 5 million were shared in 24 hours. And with 85% of people watching videos without sound,
Are you wondering how to add captions to Instagram videos? Looking for tips to create great Instagram story captions? When Instagram first introduced videos, more than 5 million were shared in 24 hours. And with 85% of people watching videos without sound, that’s a lot of silent vids. So, knowing how to add Instagram video captions is more important than ever. Is your brand still posting videos without captions? Sure, it might feel like ‘just another thing.’ But here’s a statistic about engagement that might win you over - Videos with captions generate a 12% increase in viewership. As well as being more inclusive to those hard of hearing, captioned videos allow people to consume your content in a way that suits them. Muted, or unmuted. If you have a think about how you consume video content, do you always watch with the sound on?
Convenient Instagram Video Viewing from Anywhere
Here we will give you a step by step guide to adding captions to Instagram Videos. We’ve rounded up the most popular apps for video captions. They’re actually quite easy to use. And will help take your brand’s (or client’s) audience user experience to the next level.
This year, Zuckerberg announced that Instagram Stories now has 500 million daily active users. That’s a lot of people choosing to watch stories their own way. This massive number surely includes a mix of people watching their Instagram video content with, and without sound. Popular types of video content shared to Instagram Stories varies. According to Brand Watch:
36% of Stories are product promotion
22% behind-the-scenes looks
14% Instagram takeovers
With the use of captions, all viewers are able to enjoy and connect with the shared content. But what about published videos in the Instagram feed? If your brand's not sharing video content to your feed, it’s time to start. The number of videos posted on Instagram has quadrupled since 2017. So we see a trend that the popularity of video content is continuing to grow.
How Engaging Are Your Brand’s Instagram Videos?
To establish how engaging your brand’s Instagram Story videos and posts are, it’s time to review your analytics. For starters, have a look at the performance of your current video content. A good way to calculate how engaging your Story videos are is to see how many people viewed your first story. Then compare this will how many people viewed your last story. The difference will indicate how many people chose to stick around. The more people continuing to watch? The more engaging your content is. To review how engaging your feed videos are is a little trickier. You can, of course, look at your insights for the post. But here you’re not able to see how much of the video people have watched. Try comparing video likes, comments, profile views, sends and saves with regular photo posts. Once you’ve reviewed your brand’s analytics, you’ll be able to see if there’s room for improvement (spoiler alert: there always is). And a key avenue to explore is adding video captions for Instagram.
Why are Top Brands adding Captions to Instagram Videos?
The secret sauce to killer videos on Instagram is on-screen text. It’s inclusive, easy to follow along with, and avoids the awkward level 1 volume on the train situation. Many large brands are choosing to add captions to their video content too. Here we’ll take a deep dive into three big brands using video captions for Instagram and reaping the benefits.
Buzzfeed’s subchannel, Pero Like posts a wide range of content. But their #growinguplatino series is particularly interesting. The account uses this hashtag to group relatable content for other Latino people . Each video is captioned. This works to clearly communicate with people whose first language may not be English. And it also encourages people to watch the video all the way through. Even if they choose to have the sound off.
Want to do something similar? Use Sked Social to schedule your Instagram Videos and auto-post without annoying notifications on Stories and the Feed!
Popular news update account, Now This News has also chosen to accommodate their audience by adding captions to their videos. The account cleverly uses clickbait titles on their thumbnail. Then goes on to mix up their captions, adding icons like music notes. This helps the viewer to understand what’s happening on screen. As well as giving them the option to turn sound on if a particular section captures their attention.
You know how some Instagram accounts constantly share engaging content? Yeah, The Dodo is one of them. Publishing weird and wonderful stories, the account teams interesting videos with accompanying captions. Not only do the unique visuals capture people’s attention, but the captions also keep them engaged. The Dodo uses their video captions for Instagram engagement. Showing that even if you have interesting content to look at, the messaging matters too.
From these accounts, we see key reasons why big brands are using Instagram captions for videos.
They allow the viewer to watch muted videos and still follow along
Those hard of hearing are still included in the content experience
Captions allow for a video title to be displayed on the screen in the thumbnail
Different phrasing or words can be highlighted by changing the text colour for impact
How to Add Captions to Videos
Now we can imagine you’re wondering, how do I add captions to my brand’s Instagram videos? And you’ll be happy to know there are a few options at your disposal. Whether you’re wanting to caption Instagram Stories or published posts, we’re here to run you through exactly how to do each.
Add Captions to Videos Using Apps
There are a wide variety of apps that allow you to conveniently add videos captions for Instagram. These can be used for Instagram Stories and published posts. Let’s have a look at some of the top picks.
If you have an iPhone, Apple Clips is built into the iOS system. Apple Clips creates captions as you speak. This means, you don’t need to type out every word you say and this is all done on auto-pilot within the app. You can then go back and edit captions if any errors are made. But the best part is that the transcribing is actually quite accurate.
How to Add Instagram Video Captions Using Apple Clips
Use Clips to create video captions for Instagram by following these instructions.
Open the Clips App, tap the layered squares in the top right corner
If editing an existing video, select it from your camera roll
If you’re starting from scratch, tap the ‘+’ sign to create a new video
Tap the speech bubble to open the Live Titles menu
Press the large pink button to start recording
Speak while you’re recording and the captions will automatically appear on your screen
Image Source: Apple Support After you’ve finished recording, you’re able to edit your captions style, the text and add any effects you’d like. Apple Clips is easy to use, free and accurate. The only downside to this app is that it isn’t available for those with Android Devices. Luckily, for the Android-users among us, this next app to create video captions for Instagram works for any device.
Rev is a popular transcribing service. While they transcribe audio and video files into documents, they can also add captions to videos. For just $1 per minute, a 24-hour turnaround and 99% accuracy guarantee - you can’t go wrong. Considering Instagram videos are usually around 1-3 minutes long, this is quite an economical way to add captions to Instagram videos. However, it does require access to Adobe Premiere Pro.
Admittedly, it does take a bit of fiddling to add captions to Instagram videos with this method. But once you’ve got the hang of it, this will be a breeze.
Clipomatic is an app specially designed to add text to your Instagram videos. Similarly to the Clips App, you’re able to add live captions to your videos. This means that while you’re talking, the captions are automatically added to the video for you, in real time.
With the app, you’re able to record in square or full mode. So filming on an iPad is not a problem. These videos can then be uploaded directly to your Instagram Story or feed.
How to Add Instagram Video Captions Using Clipomatic
Click the red record button to speak
Edit the font, color and style of your captions
Choose from 40 languages
Apply your filter
Save and share
Scheduling Your Brand’s Instagram Videos
Once you’ve added captions to your Instagram videos, it’s time to get organized. Instead of posting each video in real time, prioritize filming one day. Then reap the benefits for days, weeks or even months in advance. By scheduling your captioned Instagram videos and auto-posting, you’ll have one less thing to worry about. Sked Social allows you to schedule videos for your feed and your Instagram Stories.
1. To publish video posts to your Instagram Stories, select one or more accounts. Then select the story posting tab on the left of your dashboard.2. Next, upload your video from your computer, Google Drive/Photos or Dropbox. Click ‘Continue’
3. Review your post details. Then either send them to drafts, add them to your queue, or schedule them to be published at a later date.
1. Choose “Upload Posts” from your “Home” Dashboard2. Select the account(s) you want to upload your Instagram video(s) to, then click upload
3. Type your caption4. Add your hashtags5. Review your post details. Then either send them to drafts, add them to your queue, or schedule them to be published at a later date.
Over to You
Instagram video captions are a powerful tool that will help your audience remain engaged with your content.These videos are important because:
They help to keep people engaged
Captioned videos accommodate to people hard of hearing
No matter if people are watching with the sound on or off, they can still enjoy your content
Now that you know why and how to use captions for Instagram videos, it’s time to put it all into action!
Try downloading one of these apps and adding captions to your Instagram videos
Review your analytics to see if your Stories get more views
Review your analytics to see if more people save and share your feed videos
Sked Social gives you the tools you need to schedule quality content. Organise your captioned Instagram videos ahead of time and carve out hours throughout your day. Sign up for your 7-day free trial of Sked Social today.
Collaborate effortlessly, save time and spend less
Why settle for a lackluster social media management tool when you could be using Sked Social? With unlimited collaborator access, streamlined approvals and advanced auto-post technology that lets you schedule to all major platforms, Sked Social offers everything you need.
Our blog, Instagram Trends & Memes, is your one-stop shop for all the latest buzz on the platform. Sign up below to receive regular updates straight to your mailbox.
