What was once an accessibility feature is no longer merely an assistive tool. These days, the World Wide Web has shown that closed captions are essential not only for those with auditory disabilities but for everyone else too. In addition, they’ve been demonstrated to improve engagement, enhance information retention, promote diverse and inclusive cultures, and accommodate the diverse needs and lifestyles of their audience.

Every business wants its content, events, and meetings to succeed in today’s online landscape, and the use of closed captioning services can go a long way in enabling brands and companies to do just that. With that said, here are a few ways in which it can elevate your entrepreneurial venture to new heights.

Improve productivity and engagement

The flexibility of a working environment has been shown to be conducive to productivity, revenue generation, and professional engagement as a whole. And having flexible meetings is an integral component in the creation of this kind of environment. By captioning these sessions, your employees and professional contacts will have the freedom to participate and engage with their meetings, no matter what they’re currently doing or where they are.

Whether they’re doing house chores or on a commute, this ability can help boost their productivity and performance in the company. As a result, they deliver much better results.

Boosts the retention of information

Another benefit of closed captions is that they can significantly boost your employees’ ability to retain information. With a text form of any meeting, conference, or conversation you have, everyone involved can better commit all the content to their memory. Additionally, they can reference all the information later on when needed. This can be especially useful for high-value discussions that may require any specific information to recollect later on.

Promotes inclusivity

The level of accessibiliThe way people consume content varies. For example, some people may prefer to read a written piece, while others would rather watch a video. But that isn’t all. Those who suffer from specific disabilities won’t be able to interact with the published material in the same way as everyone else. You can give people with auditory limitations the means to understand any multimedia content and promote inclusivity in your business through closed captions.ty that this provides will also enable your brand to remain compliant with the WCAG and the guidelines set by the ADA. In doing so, you’ll avoid any potential legal ramifications that may arise due to non-compliance.

Stay competitive online

There’s no denying that many of us have fairly busy lives, and there’s a lot of online content that regularly competes for attention. If streams or videos lack closed captions, it can be a lot more challenging to access them in specific environments. This can make them much easier to ignore. Conversely, those that do are more likely to attract an audience and keep users engaged.

Conclusion

Accessibility will always be beneficial to any business, and the use of closed captions can give a company an edge over its competitors. So make sure that you incorporate this accessibility feature into your digital content. It will make a difference.

• Bio

Sandeep

John Bierman is a senior writer at WIRED, where he covers climate, food, and biodiversity. Before that, he was a technology journalist at New Scientist magazine. His first book, The Future of Food: How to Feed the Planet Without Destroying It, was published in 2020. Reynolds is an Oxford University alumnus who now calls London home.