LinkedIn is a popular professional social networking platform used by millions of professionals and businesses around the world. One of LinkedIn’s key features is the ability for users and pages to upload and share video content. Videos can be a highly engaging type of content on LinkedIn, allowing brands and professionals to demonstrate their expertise and personality visually.
When uploading videos to LinkedIn, one question that often comes up is whether LinkedIn will automatically add subtitles to the video. Subtitles are the textual version of the audio in a video, and they are important for making video content accessible to viewers who may be deaf or hard of hearing. Subtitles also allow videos to be watched without audio when needed.
So does LinkedIn automatically generate and add subtitles when you upload a video? The short answer is no, LinkedIn does not automatically add subtitles to videos at this time. However, there are ways to manually add subtitles to your LinkedIn videos.
In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at subtitles on LinkedIn and how to go about adding them to your video content.
Does LinkedIn Auto-Generate Subtitles?
Unlike some other video platforms, LinkedIn currently does not automatically generate subtitles for videos uploaded to their site. The audio from your video is not automatically transcribed and converted into subtitles.
Some key points on LinkedIn’s lack of auto-generated subtitles:
– Uploading a video with no subtitles will result in a video with no subtitles on LinkedIn. The platform does not analyze the audio and add timed captioning.
– There is no setting or option within LinkedIn to enable auto-captioning or subtitles.
– LinkedIn does not currently offer any auto-captioning or auto-subtitling services, even on a paid basis. There is no built-in speech-to-text transcription functionality.
– Members and page owners are responsible for manually adding subtitles or closed captions to their videos if they would like their videos to include subtitles.
So in summary, no, LinkedIn does not automatically add or generate subtitles to videos at the time of upload or after the fact. All subtitle creation and implementation must be done manually by the user prior to uploading the video file.
Why Doesn’t LinkedIn Auto-Caption Videos?
Why hasn’t LinkedIn implemented auto-captioning technology on their platform yet? There are a few possible reasons:
– **Technical challenges:** Automatically generating accurate subtitles is technically complex, requiring accurate speech-to-text transcription, syncing, formatting, etc. These types of AI-powered transcription tools often have imperfect accuracy, especially for specialized vocabulary.
– **Cost:** Developing, testing, and deploying an automated subtitling service at LinkedIn’s scale likely has significant development and computing costs. The costs may currently outweigh the benefits.
– **Low demand:** Only a subset of users may be requesting auto-captions, meaning it has not become a priority feature due to limited demand so far.
– **Focus on other priorities:** LinkedIn engineering and product teams have likely been focused on other perceived higher priority product developments.
– **Quality control:** Automatically generated captions would likely require human review to catch errors before publishing live. This adds more complexity.
– **Legal risks:** Automatically captioning user-generated video opens up some legal risks regarding miscaptioning content.
Overall, while auto-captioning tools continue improving, LinkedIn may still be weighing the costs and benefits before implementing such a feature. But the lack of auto-captions certainly should not prevent users from manually adding subtitles when needed.
How to Add Subtitles to Your LinkedIn Videos
Despite the lack of auto-captioning, there are ways to manually add subtitles to your LinkedIn videos:
**1. Create the subtitle file**
– Manually transcribe your video’s audio into a document. Make sure subtitles are synced with the audio by time stamping each subtitle.
– Save the transcript as a subtitle file format like SRT, VTT, or TTML. SRT is most common.
**2. Add the subtitles to your video file**
– Use video editing software to “burn in” your subtitle file to the video. The text will now be visible when playing.
– Ensure subtitles display cleanly and are synced to audio. Make edits within software as needed.
**3. Upload video to LinkedIn**
– Upload your subtitled video file to LinkedIn as you normally would when sharing a video.
– The embedded subtitle text will display as part of the video when played back on LinkedIn.
**Alternatively, add interactive subtitles**
– Upload your video file to LinkedIn without burned-in subs.
– In the video upload flow, select the option to add subtitles.
– Upload your subtitle file. LinkedIn will now display interactive subtitles users can toggle.
So those are the main methods to add subtitles to your LinkedIn videos manually. To summarize:
Summary
– LinkedIn does not automatically add subtitles. You must add subs manually.
– Create subtitle files by transcribing and timing your audio.
– Use video editing tools to burn in subs or upload separate subtitle files.
– Upload your subtitled video to LinkedIn as normal.
Following these steps will allow you to create accessible, engaging video content for LinkedIn. The extra effort is worth it to reach larger audiences!
Benefits of Adding Subtitles
Manually adding subtitles to your LinkedIn videos, while requiring extra effort, provides many benefits that make it worthwhile:
Increased Accessibility
Subtitles make your videos accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. This opens your content to millions of additional potential viewers.
Better Viewability
Subtitles allow your videos to be understood even without sound turned on. This is useful in workplaces or public settings where audio may be disruptive or unavailable.
Higher Engagement
Studies show that subtitles increase engagement and information retention for online video content. Viewers are more likely to watch and understand your video.
SEO Value
Subtitles allow search engines to index the spoken words in your videos, making it more findable through keyword searches.
Multilingual Support
Subtitles can be provided in multiple languages, widening your global reach and audience.
Benefit | Description |
---|---|
Increased Accessibility | Subtitles make videos accessible for deaf/hard of hearing viewers |
Better Viewability | Subtitles allow videos to be watched without audio when needed |
Higher Engagement | Studies show subtitles increase engagement and information retention |
SEO Value | Subtitles allow spoken words to be indexed for better search visibility |
Multilingual Support | Subtitles can be provided in multiple languages |
LinkedIn’s Support for Video Subtitles
While LinkedIn doesn’t auto-generate subtitles, their platform is fully supportive of uploading videos with subtitles included:
– **Subtitle formats:** LinkedIn supports common subtitle file formats like SRT, VTT, and TTML. These contain the text and timestamps for syncing to video.
– **Burned-in or embedded:** Subtitles can either be burned into the video file or uploaded as a separate subtitle file to embed/overlay. Both work on LinkedIn.
– **Closed captioning:** In addition to basic subtitles, LinkedIn also supports closed caption files (CC) with positioning and styling for deaf/hard of hearing accessibility.
– **Languages:** LinkedIn allows uploading multiple subtitle files in different languages to provide multilingual subtitles on a single video.
– **Interactive subtitles:** Viewers can toggle subtitle tracks on/off and select different language tracks (when available).
– **Analytics:** LinkedIn provides subtitle metrics in video analytics, including subtitle clicks, language usage, and more.
So in summary, while LinkedIn doesn’t auto-generate subtitles, their platform is fully equipped to support high-quality, customized subtitle implementations for your videos. The capabilities are there if you’re willing to put in the work to create subtitles.
LinkedIn’s Subtitle Specifications
If you do choose to add subtitles to LinkedIn videos, it’s good to be aware of their technical specifications:
Supported File Formats
– SRT (SubRip Subtitle) – most common format, simple text formatting
– VTT (WebVTT) – similar to SRT but with additional web video support
– TTML (Timed Text Markup Language) – XML-based format
Maximum File Size
– Subtitle files must be under 10MB in size
Recommended Styling
– Font: Arial, Helvetica, Calibri or sans-serif
– Size: Minimum of 16px (18-24px optimal for readability)
– Color: White or yellow text with solid black outline
Maximum Characters Per Line
– Subtitle lines should try to remain under 70 characters per line
Number of Lines
– A maximum of 2 lines per subtitle is recommended
Keeping your subtitles within these specs will ensure maximum compatibility and readability across LinkedIn. Sticking to conventional styling also helps maintain professionalism.
Pro Tips for Better LinkedIn Video Subtitles
To take your LinkedIn subtitles to the next level, keep these pro tips in mind:
– **Transcribe carefully** – Accuracy is key. Every word must match the audio.
– **Time subtitles well** – Sync subtitles closely to the pace of the speech. Don’t let them linger too long.
– **Position well** – Keep subtitles bottom-centered and avoid overlapping key onscreen elements.
– **Break up dialogue** – Use a new subtitle line for each different speaker. Makes it easier to follow conversations.
– **Re-time for cuts** – If you edit the video, double check the timings remain synced up.
– **Adapt vocabulary** – Avoid jargon and adapt vocabulary for clarity based on your target audience.
– **Review in context** – Watch back the entire video with subs before publishing to catch any errors.
Tools for Adding Subtitles
To assist with manually creating, formatting, and adding subtitles to videos, here are some useful tools:
Transcription Software
– Descript – Automated transcription and editing software. Can export subtitle files.
– Temi – Voice-to-text transcription service with editing features.
– Simon Says – AI transcription tool specifically tuned for video.
– Scribie – Affordable human transcription services.
Subtitle Editors
– Rev.com Caption Editor – Online SRT editor and caption timing tool. Has collaboration features.
– Subtitle Edit – Free open source tool for editing/converting subtitle files.
– Kapwing – Browser-based video editor for adding/positioning subtitles.
– Adobe Premiere Pro – Professional video editor with full subtitle creation capabilities.
Interactive Subtitle Tools
– 3Play Media – Paid software for captioning, transcription, and interactive subtitles. Integrates with LinkedIn.
– Speechmatics – Machine learning powered automated subtitling and captioning. Web and NLE integrations.
– CaptionHub – Subtitle platform supporting positioning, styling, and interactivity.
Leveraging tools like these can automate parts of the subtitling process to make it more efficient while still ensuring accuracy.
How LinkedIn’s Subtitle Support Compares
Compared to other major social video platforms, how does LinkedIn’s subtitle capabilities stack up? Here’s a quick comparison:
Platform | Auto Captions | Manual Upload | Formatting | Analytics |
---|---|---|---|---|
YouTube | Yes | Yes | Full | Yes |
Yes | Yes | Minimal | Limited | |
No | Yes | No | No | |
No | Yes | No | No | |
No | Yes | Full | Yes |
As we can see, LinkedIn is on par with most platforms in terms of supporting manually uploaded subtitles. And it provides better analytics and formatting than competitors like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
However, platforms like YouTube and Facebook do stand out for offering auto-captioning. This is an area where LinkedIn lags behind. But other than lacking auto-captions, LinkedIn provides quite robust subtitle options.
The Future of Subtitles on LinkedIn
Looking ahead, will LinkedIn ever add auto-captioning capabilities? It seems likely that they eventually will, given how powerful the technology has become.
Here are some predictions for how LinkedIn could integrate auto-captions in the future:
– **Pilot testing** – LinkedIn may pilot test auto-captioning with a small group of pages/users and refine the technology before rolling out widely.
– **Language limitations** – Auto-captions may only be supported for English videos initially, with other languages to follow.
– **Member preferences** – Users may be able to opt in/out of auto-captions and set language preferences.
– **Selective auto-captioning** – Only specific partner accounts or paid packages may have access to auto-captioning services.
– **Editing capabilities** – Members may be able to manually edit auto-generated captions before finalizing.
– **Advanced formatting** – Auto-captions could automatically incorporate positioning, styling and responsiveness best practices.
For now, auto-captioning remains a hypothetical possibility rather than reality on LinkedIn. But they can likely only hold out so long before needing to match competitors who are quickly adopting AI transcription.
In the meantime, investing the effort into properly manually subtitling your LinkedIn videos will ensure you reap the benefits – higher viewership, engagement and accessibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does LinkedIn auto-caption for all users?
No, LinkedIn does not currently offer any automated captioning or subtitling capabilities. All users must add captions manually for their videos.
Can I request LinkedIn to auto-caption my video?
There are no options to request that LinkedIn automatically caption or subtitle a video you have uploaded. This functionality does not currently exist, so users must add their own captions.
Do interactive subtitles count toward caption requirements?
Yes, interactive subtitles implemented via the LinkedIn API meet captioning requirements and provide equal accessibility to burned-in or embedded captions.
What are the approvals required for auto-captioning on LinkedIn?
As LinkedIn does not have auto-captioning capabilities, there is no approval process at this time. Users simply need to upload their own properly captioned video files.
Does LinkedIn charge for auto-captioning services?
LinkedIn does not currently offer any automated captioning services that incur charges. The platform relies entirely on user-uploaded caption files for subtitled video support.
Conclusion
In summary, while LinkedIn does not automatically add captions to videos at the present time, the platform is fully supportive of user-uploaded subtitle tracks. There are clear benefits to taking the time to manually add subtitles – increased accessibility, engagement, SEO value, and more.
A range of tools and services can assist with the transcript creation and subtitling process. Following LinkedIn’s publishing specs will ensure your subtitles display optimally.
We can likely expect LinkedIn to add auto-captioning functionality at some point to match competitors. But for now, manually created subtitles enable you to maximize the impact of video content on LinkedIn.