Regardless of the country, people listen to podcasts because they allow you to constantly follow updates on topics of interest and learn something new. Sometimes people want to fill the time with something or listen to something other than music. Digital tools have allowed podcasts to compete with newspapers or websites for audience attention on public transport and have made routine tasks like walking the dog or exercising at the gym less tedious and more productive. Since podcasts are an audio format, many people still cannot listen to them. The question arises: is it worth investing in transcripts for the sake of other people, and is there a personal benefit in it? We’ve highlighted five reasons why you should invest in transcripts.
Transcripts Increase Recognition And Discoverability
By deciding to transcribe audio to text, you will significantly increase your podcast’s visibility and search experience on the Internet. Thanks to the Internet, many people can extract useful information from there in a matter of seconds, classify the data and even store it. In addition, online articles tend to attract readers’ attention – audio formats have not yet found such popularity as texts, even though 144 million people in the United States have listened to podcasts at least once in their lives.
Today, search engines not can still identify information from audio and deliver useful podcasts in search queries. Consequently, the search for audio remains very low. This means that even if the podcast is relevant to the user’s topic, Google will give out articles in the first place since they contain more textual information and are much easier to retrieve. However, if you convert audio to text, you can increase the discoverability of podcasts. Yes, you can attach an audio file, but the text version will attract more audiences. Search engines will extract useful information from the text, and you may take leading positions in user queries. What’s more, you can improve your SEO by creating small but valuable notes from podcasts.
Transcripts Promote Inclusivity
As you know, podcasts are geared towards audio listeners. According to the WHO, more than 5% of the world’s population – 466 million people – suffer from disabling hearing loss. Consequently, such a massive number of people will not be able to hear your fascinating content and enjoy your voice. If you care about the fate of these people and you sincerely want to help them, transcribe your podcasts! All you need to do is hire transcribers or use apps, and you can open up a new world to deaf people. When you transcribe audio, you will also make them equal to Internet users – they will not be an exception to the digital world, and you will allow them to feel how podcasters work.
When your content is available in multiple formats, it will also attract new audiences. In turn, people will mark your brand as inclusive – when anyone can access content, service, the product without obstacles. Thus, working on creating convenience for a limited circle of users, you change the situation for an extensive process of people – this is a plus in karma and beneficial for promoting a personal brand.
Transcripts Expands Reach
Are you looking to expand the reach of your podcast views? A transcript can help. Indeed you, like many other podcasters, publish audio files on unique sites. However, if you create your blog, it will lead to passive income. You post text content, people read it, share it with friends, come back – the coverage of the site increases. In the future, you can receive money for viewing your website.
There is informational content, and sometimes it is selling, entertaining and engaging. Each of these types serves a different purpose and is applied at various stages of the sales funnel. Don’t get hung up on just one look – make different ones, mix as you see fit. Also, motivate customers to create custom content. You can then collect and publish the most interesting.
Podcasts can also increase the reach of your podcast’s social media views. By audio transcription, you can highlight quotes that many readers will share – by creating a hashtag with your intelligent thoughts, you will find yourself in the top results of exciting pages. You will also be able to attract the attention of book writers – perhaps they will see your talent in interestingly presenting information and take advantage of your statements. Isn’t this the best way to increase your reach?
Transcripts Enhance User Experience
By deciding to transcribe the recording, you provide your audience with new opportunities and conveniences. Sometimes listening to podcasts is inconvenient: there are too many people, and the recording bothers them, a person has forgotten their headphones, or there are problems with playing an audio file. By decoding audio, you will satisfy various content consumption preferences: both visibility and audibility. Some people like to listen to podcasts and follow the text simultaneously – they don’t have to rewind the recording to understand the essence of the sentence. It is enough to re-read the text version. Some people like your reasoning, but they don’t like listening to audio – the text alternative is the best option.
In addition, the transcript will allow the reader to quickly analyze the information and understand if there is essential data or it does not match their needs. The transcript will become like a business card – the new visitor will get acquainted with the content of the podcasts and may become your regular listener. People value their time and hardly listen to everything – the text format will give them a choice.
Transcripts Attracts Backlinks
Do you have interesting facts, statistics, examples in your podcast? Can people share them? Most likely not – the information will be reliable when there is a text version. Many readers will not listen to a podcast to make sure the data is actual. Therefore, the transcript is needed to attract backlinks. Backlinks are links that direct users to your site from other relevant websites. Getting backlinks is an essential aspect of improving your site’s Google rankings. Backlinks are like recommendations for your website. The more such offers you get from well-established websites, the higher your podcast will rank in the SERPs.