3 Reasons to Give Transcription a Shot

Do you produce audiovisual content?

If so, don’t forgo a key factor for taking your content to the next level and enable your message to be heard – or rather, read – by a wider audience (and by Google).

Below, I give three reasons you might want to include transcription in your AV workflow.

But first, what is transcription?

Per Merriam Webster’s dictionary, the definition of the verb “transcribe” is to make a written copy of.

Professional transcription services take your audio recordings or videos, and produce a text record of what is said. There are many possible applications, for example: presentations, podcasts, conference proceedings, e-learning modules…

And why not those course lectures you’ve been presenting on Zoom?

Transcription is routinely used in the legal world (in courts and preparation for a case) and in a medical setting (doctor’s notes), as well.

Today, so much unscripted content is being produced and made available online. Because of this reality – and my typing skills that rival the agility of a concert pianist’s fingers – I decided to include transcription as a separate service in my audiovisual translation project offering, thereby filling the gap.

3 reasons to produce transcripts of your audio or video content

1. SEO

The first reason is easy: featuring a transcript, or even just a summary, on the page of your latest podcast can increase your visibility. Moz can tell you more.

This facilitates the work of search engines, bringing your audiovisual content to a wider following and extending your reach.

2. To keep accurate records of anything unscripted

Essential in a legal setting, this is also the case in journalism. Transcription can help you capture what was said during an interview, and make it easier for you cite your sources accurately.

From a content marketing perspective, an electronic record could also serve as the starting point for repackaging existing materials for other platforms or formats, allowing you to maximize what you already have.

3. As a preparatory step in bringing your message to new audiences, in other languages

The genesis for adding transcription to my service offering is rooted in requests I’ve received for turnkey AV projects. The translator receives a video file, and the client expects a file with the English subtitles integrated.

That is, of course, the end product, but a number of intermediary steps are required before this point is reached. Transcription ensures that no information is lost and actually simplifies the process.

Inversely, you could also use transcription when developing a script to prepare for a recording or voiceover.

With all this in mind, could integrating transcription to your AV workflow be beneficial for your business?

If so, contact me to set up a time to discuss your project.

A WORD OF WARNING TO ANYONE TEMPTED TO LEAVE TRANSCRIPTION TO A MACHINE

Hop on over to YouTube and check out what the output is like for automated voice to text applications (and have you tested text-to-voice?). Even with such a powerful tool, the output can be littered with errors, and the formatting is not up to par.

Recourse to a free service won’t do much to enhance your professional image.

At the very least, text processed by a machine should be reviewed by a human. This will ensure that accents and non-native (or multiple) speakers are taken into account to produce a clear text, as well as proper nouns and names are correct, and lastly, to compensate for variations in recording quality.