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How can you add captions for videos for videos on TikTok, YouTube |

May 26, 2022

Video captions often go unnoticed until the moment they're needed. For accessibility, contextual or search-engine optimization or to make it easier to watch videos on mute captions can be a great option to increase the value of your video.

In this post we'll walk you through the steps to add captions to videos on various platforms like , YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook and provide you with a handful of apps you could use to edit captions or add the transcripts quickly based on your video needs.

Closed captions not only enable viewers to view videos without the sound removed, captions improve accessibility, too. We'll start this post with details on why captioning videos is crucial.

Following that, we'll walk through the process of adding captions to video on various platforms.

This article:

What are the reasons closed captions are so important?

Closed video captions are important for two main reasons:

Increased accessibility

1 in 8 people in the US by themselves have hearing loss in both ears. So, including captions to videos makes it easy for people who are like them to appreciate your content.To add, subtitling videos can also make them available to those with different abilities including those with autism or ADHD. Indeed, captions are proven to increase focus and retention in people suffering from ADHD and autism.

Improved reach and speed of completion

The majority of users are watching videos using the audio off - same as 92% of viewers on mobiles who view videos on mute. In addition, 80% of them are more likely to watch the whole video if captions are provided.

Meaning: if you want more people to watch your videos, make sure you have closed captions for the videos. In this way, users won't need to scroll past your videos simply because they're in a public or private space.

Additionally, captioning may help you reach people who don't understand your language but want to watch your content regardless.

Let's take a look at ways to add closed captioning for videos across various video hosting platforms.

How do you add captions to video content on

Captioning your video content can be a simple method to improve discoverability and accessibility for all your video content.

To manually add captions to , follow these steps:

Paid users are able to edit their transcripts within the app using the transcript editing tool while all other users can download, edit, and upload their transcripts. To learn more look up the assistance center.

Another thing to note: you aren't limited to adding only SRT files for captioning videos on . It accepts other formats also, which include SAMI, SCC, DFXP/TTML as well as WebVTT. Of all these, WebVTT is the most highly recommended.

How to add captions to videos on TikTok

Are you looking to include captions in your video posts on TikTok? Good news! There are two options to caption video content:

Auto-generated video captions on TikTok

When you've published your content on the bite-sized video platform, you need to:

1. Click on Captions to the right of the screen.2. Allow it to process, and you'll be done.

This is a great alternative for anyone wanting to easily add captions without too much customizations.

Add video captions manually to TikTok

The manual addition of captions lets you to make captions from scratch or edit the auto-generated captions. Follow these instructions after you've recorded your video:

1. Click on Captions - same as above - and give processing time.
2. Click on the pencil icon in the corner to begin.
3. Edit the auto-generated captions or add new ones.

 How to add caption on TikTok after you have posted

There's no way to include captions in your TikTok video post after you've uploaded it. It's a good idea to delete the video and then reposting the video with captions will help. You're worried you'll lose all of the music, effects and edits? You can save your video and delete it to cut down on work. Take these steps to save your TikTok video before you delete it:

1. Tap on the me icon located on the lower right side of your screen.
2. Click on the video to select it and then on the horizontal dots that appear to the right.
3. Click to Save the video.
4. Post the video you saved with captions included.

Bonus: Add captions to videos using the tool for text

This option is perfect to caption videos that are short. After you've recorded or uploaded your video, follow these steps:

1. Select the Text button at the screen's bottom and add your own caption.
2. The text box can be moved to place it on your screen - wherever you want but the center is best to prevent the captions from merging with the description text of the video.
3. Select the text box and click the clock icon to calculate the time stamps for the text or when it'll appear on the screen.
4. Play the video in the preview. Then Click Done on the upper right corner.

How do you add captions to video content YouTube? YouTube

There are a handful of choices to caption YouTueb videos: auto-generated captions, manually adding captions, uploading captions to a file as well as using auto-translate.

Let's look at each in turn:

Automately generate captions for video for your YouTube video

At the time of writing, YouTube only auto-writes captions for short and video clips The feature is accessible in 13 languages.

To auto-generate video captions in the available 13 language Follow these steps:

1. Head to YouTube Studio.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left menu and choose the video you want to play.
3. Select the three dots below Subtitles.
4. Read or edit the captions automatically generated whenever needed.

Add YouTube captions manually

To add captions on the spot, follow these seven steps:

1. Log into the YouTube Studio account. YouTube Studio account.
2. Select Subtitles from the left-hand side of the screen and select the video you want to play.
3. Tap Add under Subtitles (like above).
4. Pick Type manually out of the four options which you can see.
5. Add captions to the video by clicking the video, adjusting the time stamps according to the need.
6. Click Press.

Add captions to YouTube video clips by including a captions file

To upload captions to YouTube it is necessary to have the caption file. Like with SubRip, you're not limited to SRT files. YouTube can also take SubViewer as well as LRC file types in addition to SubRip.

Here's how this works:

1. Head to YouTube Studio.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left side of the dashboard. Choose the film you'd like to subtitle.
3. Hit the Add Language button Now and select the language you prefer.
4. Tap Add to the Subtitles area on to the top screen.
5. Pick upload file among the options available.
6. Choose from whether you want to include captions with timing or Without timing and then press continue.
7. Now choose the file to upload, and then choose either Save Draft or to publish.

Caption YouTube video captions using the auto-sync feature

The auto-sync captioning feature gives users the greatest of the above options. This means that you are able to add captions manually but YouTube alters the timestamps of your videos automatically.

Here's how (the the first three steps follow the same as the previous steps):

1. Log in to your YouTube Studio Account.
2. Choose the Subtitles from the menu on the left, and then select your video
3. Tap Add under Subtitles.
4. Pick Auto-sync in the menu.
5. Enter the transcript of your video into the text field. You can also choose the Edit Timings option at the top of the screen and then select Upload file (instead of manually typing into everything, just ensure that the video is available in the language that is supported by YouTube).
6. Select the Edit Timings. Then, Save and Close.

How do you add captions for video on Facebook

Facebook gives users a manual and automated option for captioning videos. This is how it works:

Automately generate captions to your Facebook videos.

Before adding captions, make sure you upload and save your video as a draft on your Facebook page.

In order to do this, click to click the Photo or video icon located on the webpage and upload your video. After uploading, click save the draft from the drop-down menu, next to the publishing button.

Then, follow the next steps:

1. Open the saved video from Drafts located under Posts within Publishing Tools.
2. Tap on Edit Video on the Video tab to the right.
3. Choose the Captions from the a variety of choices available now, and then click to generate.

That's all. The best way to check the auto-generated captions , however. So play the video to see what captions show up. If you want to edit one, make the changes on the right-hand side of the screen. Scroll down to the exact text and click on the caption you wish to modify.

Make manual captions with .SRT file

This can be a great method of adding captions to videos that you post on your private Facebook profile, as well as to videos in Groups.

It is important to ensure you have a SubRip subtitle file (SRT) ready beforehand - save it as plaintext .srt file. Learn more about formatting and the proper way to name your SRT file correctly to minimize odds of error.

The other steps are similar to the ones above:

1. Upload and save your video after which select Edit Video.
2. Choose one of the Captions among the options.
3. Choose Upload SRT File rather than Generate.
4. Choose the language that matches with the file's SRT language and then press Save.

 Can you make captions for a Facebook video after posting?

Add captions to existing or published Facebook videos by selecting your post on your Page. After that, select the three vertical the ellipsis (...) at the top right, then tap edit post. Select Captions from this menu and choose to either auto-generate them or add an .srt file.

Tools for adding video captions

If you're in search of third part tools to help add closed captions to videos, look through our list of providers:

Auto closed captions and transcription tools permit users to add captions automatically or upload transcripts to edit and fine-tune caption styles to match the video content, and search key moments in the transcript of a video.

2. Kapwing

Kapwing is an online tool for editing captions on videos, is available as an unpaid and free version. Its free editor lets viewers to create captions on videos for no longer than four minutes. The editor for free also keeps edited videos for up to 2 days. It also allows users to publish three hours of video content each month.

If you're trying to caption lots of videos, the professional version with 2 GB upload limits and other features may be worth a try.

3. VEED.io

As with Kapwing, VEED.io is a online video editor free of charge which allows users to automatically generate subtitles. You can also manually add them or upload caption files for subtitles that can be added to your video.

Additionally, it gives you the option of editing subtitle text (useful in cases where text is auto-generated and you spot the errors) as well as alter its size, color, font, and timing, too.

4. Rev

Rev is a platform that converts speech into text that lets users transcribe or caption audio and/or video as accurately as possible. It offers a range of resources like the human-to-computer transcription process, AI transcription, on-screen captions for videos that are in English, and more.

Pricing is based upon transcriptions, captions, as well as subtitles, per minute.

5. Zubtitle

Zubtitle is another web app to caption videos. When you upload your movie into Zubtitle, it auto-generates subtitle text that you can then edit to correct it and change the design.

Remember that the free version will only allow the addition of subtitles on only one video. To get more options for captioning your video, check out a paid subscription.

6. Subly

Subly is yet another simple to use online application. It comes with a convenient seven-day trial. Subly makes it easy for users to automatically create subtitle text in 67 languages, generate and style captions, as well as transform audio files to video.

After you upload a video, the captions will generate and, you can edit their position as well as color, font as well as their size. Additionally, you are able to download the transcribed file in three formats.

7. Amara

Amara lets you add captions to your videos with their free online editor and also offers subtitling for video and the ability to translate text into 50+ languages.

It also integrates with video hosting platforms such as . This makes exporting and importing subtitles all the more simple.

8. MixCaptions

It's an Android and iOS application for subtitling video. It can automatically add captions for 23 different languages. Once captioned, you can edit the subtitle text as well as change the caption's position.

Have more visibility with video captions

This step-by-step guide to adding captions to video, we're confident you're ready to include subtitles in your video content. It's crucial to have closed captions in place as they increase accessibility to your video and reach.

What are you wasting time for? Start captioning videos today.