5 Benefits of Adding Captions to Every Video

Did you know that the use of captions in videos has skyrocketed by 572% since 2021? It’s no wonder, because captions make videos more accessible and watchable — and they’ve become pretty easy to add.

Not only that, but captions also benefit your business in several important ways:

1. Broader audience reach

Captions open up your videos to more people, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, not fluent in the language, or watching without sound.

With 92% of mobile viewers keeping the volume off — and more than half expecting captions — you’re missing out if your videos rely on sound alone.

When your videos are captioned, more people can (and will) watch them, no matter where they are or how they’re tuning in.

2. Increased engagement

In our recent video accessibility webinar, 3Play Media’s Chief Growth Officer Lily Bond shared that adding captions can lead to a 12% boost in engagement.

Captions make your content easier to follow, which means fewer drop-offs and longer watch times. They also help viewers remember more, which is especially useful if your video is teaching something.

“The University of South Florida St. Petersburg found a 28% increase in transferability of knowledge when there are captions or transcripts on a video. That means that people are able to take the information in your video and apply it to their job, life, or conversations in the future in a more effective way.”

Lily Bond, Chief Growth Officer at 3Play Media

3. Easier repurposing

For social clips, burned-in captions are the way to go. Even though some social platforms auto-caption videos, you still get more control over accuracy, style, and visibility when you burn them in yourself.

The thing is, burning captions into every single social clip can eat up a lot of your time. But the good news is there’s a much easier approach: Caption your full video, burn them in, and then pull social clips. This way, you only do the work once, your captions stay consistent, and every clip is ready to go.

4. Better performance on social media

Social platforms reward engaging content. The more people watch, like, and share your videos, the more the algorithm pushes your content to new viewers. Captions can help you get there.

Since most platforms autoplay videos without sound, you risk losing your audience in the first few seconds if your videos rely on audio to make sense. Captions keep people watching, which leads to more engagement — and more reach.

5. Compliance with accessibility laws

About 430 million people around the world have disabling hearing loss, and many laws require you to make your content accessible to them. Here are a few examples:

• The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (2010) requires accessible online video content for programming shown on TV in the U.S.
• The Federal Communications Commission enforces captioning requirements for broadcast and online videos.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) supports equal access, which increasingly includes accessible digital media.
• The European Accessibility Act (2025) requires business videos to have accurate and synchronized captions.

Just by making captions a core part of your workflow, you’ll be complying with those laws right out of the gate!