7 Reasons to Transcribe Your Podcasts and Videos

In the contemporary world, the amount of content being produced is immense. According to a study, by April 2021, there were a total of 850,000 active podcasts and the total number of episodes exceeded 48 million. The number of published videos on the Internet is even greater. 

As a result of the increasing competition, increasing your active podcast listeners and video viewers is becoming a challenge. It is essential to be up-to-date with the new ways of growing your audience. 

Transcription is one of the best ways to promote and grow your podcast. It is the process of turning audio files into text. The text can then be used for promotional purposes, such as creating blog posts and social media content. 

This article deeply dives into why you should transcribe your podcasts and videos. Let’s get right into it:

1. Helps you become social media friendly

When you post a link to your podcast on social media, the thumbnail image in the link preview is usually an image from the episode’s audio. This gives people a sneak preview of the content they’ll be listening to when they click on the link. With no visible text on the thumbnail, people are likely to scroll past your post.

Getting a transcription for your podcasts/videos can save you time. For instance, you can select text from the transcription instead of crafting your own captions for social media posts. This way, you don’t have to spend much time producing content to keep your social media accounts alive. 

Regularly posting on social media can help in keeping your audience engaged. In addition, whenever you release new content, publish it on your social media. This way, listeners and viewers can know about your new podcast or video.

Once you gain popularity, people will wait for your new content to be released (and even turn on notifications to learn more about your new releases).  

2. Voice-to-text increases accessibility

Your podcasts or videos aren’t accessible to people who are hard of hearing. However, they might be interested in learning more about the specific topics you’ve covered. 

Similarly, in your videos and podcasts, people who speak a foreign language cannot understand the language. 

With a voice to text converter, transcribing recorded audio becomes hassle-free. With transcription, you can create subtitles that make them more accessible to an international audience. 

Some people also have an auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder in which the ear detects sound but finds it difficult to send it to the brain. It is easier for people with this disorder to read the content instead of hearing it. 

Additionally, people also suffer from attention deficit disorder, especially when it comes to hearing audio. Reading from a transcript can prove to be helpful for them. In short, having a transcript is a sure-shot way of improving your content’s accessibility. 

3. Transcription helps you engage with your audience on social media 

Imagine users wanting to share specific quotes from a podcast that motivated them. However, they don’t want to go through the hassle of listening to it again and typing exactly what they heard.

This is where transcription comes in. It allows users to simply copy-paste their favorite parts of the podcast and share them on social media. 

As a podcaster, you can use an audio transcript to engage with your audience on social media. By posting specific sections from the podcast and asking questions on Facebook and Twitter, invite your followers to weigh in with their answers. 

This will get your followers talking and encourage them to share your podcast with their friends if they enjoy it.

People’s comments will also give you an idea of popular topics, so your future podcasts can revolve around them. A higher audience engagement is a sign that you’re headed in the right direction. 

4. Use audio transcripts as content for your blog

One way you can promote your podcast is by creating blog posts that incorporate quotes taken from the audio version of your episodes. You can also take excerpts from the audio transcript and include them as standalone articles on your blog. 

Think of it this way: instead of writing down content for your website’s blog section, you simply take out points from the transcript of the podcast or video.

The podcast or video belongs to you or your company so the content is original. As a result, you don’t have to worry about the blog content being plagiarized. 

In addition, regularly writing down content on ‘hot’ topics in the form of blogs will help your brand’s SEO. Search engines will start considering your voice as an authority on the domain. This can become a great way to increase traffic to your website and will help your podcast grow. 

Google promotes long-form content. If you provide a comprehensive explanation of a topic, it starts ranking your content higher. The more questions you answer on a topic, the better.

The algorithm can index your written content (if keyword optimization and other best SEO practices have been kept in mind.) However, it cannot index your speech. 

A blog will encourage your readers to listen to more podcasts and vice versa. Some people are fond of reading.

There’s also a chance that these readers will share your blog posts on social media if they like what they read. Therefore, this way, you cater to a wider audience. 

5. It helps to get more reviews on podcast websites

One of the reasons people are reluctant to review a podcast they’re listening to because they don’t always have the time to write detailed reviews.

People worry that if they write short reviews, their comments won’t be considered helpful by the podcast host or other audience members. 

By creating a transcript of the show, you give listeners something to write about in their reviews and can provide them with the information they need to write a review of the podcast in no time. 

Additionally, having a transcript means they don’t have to rewatch the video when remembering specific parts of videos or podcasts.

Instead, they can just jump to the specific part and read the subtitles from the thumbnail.  

In other words, people who are obligated to provide useful feedback now have a smarter way to leave their comments. 

6. Helps people decide if they want to hear you out

Do you ever scroll through movies before deciding which one to watch? Having a podcast with a transcript can serve the same purpose. You can skim through the podcast’s transcript before deciding if it warrants your attention. 

Imagine halfway through a very long podcast before realizing it wasn’t worth your time. With the help of a transcript, you can choose the right podcast beforehand.

For instance, if you listen to podcasts regularly, such as while running or exercising, selecting the right one can result in a rejuvenating workout.  

7. Generate more revenue

Perhaps, the most important benefit of transcribing your podcasts and videos is the opportunity to earn more money. With the help of transcriptions, you can start producing gated content. 

If you speak on a valuable topic that gives out exclusive information, you can charge a subscription fee to users. This can become a secondary revenue stream for you.

Your revenue increases as more people sign up for your content. This will also incentivize you to churn out high-quality content and speak on in-demand topics.  

Conclusion

Getting transcriptions of your podcasts and videos can grow your audience. It can help you reach out to more people and grow your personal brand.

It’s also a great way to get new content to your blog if you’re struggling to think of new ideas for your content calendar. Transcription ensures that a wider audience can understand your videos and podcasts. 

Transcription also caters to an audience that prefers reading over listening. Having a transcription also increases your website’s search visibility.

If you have covered a topic in detail in a podcast but don’t have it written in the form of a detailed caption, blog, or article, it is unlikely that search engines will ever discover it. In short, transcriptions can help your podcasts and videos to grow.