The Benefits of Transcription Software for Video Conferences and Webinars
Accessibility is an important part of any media you put online or give to those who will benefit from it. When it comes to video conferences and webinars, these are key learning events that can be useful to many of those taking part, live and in the moment. However, it’s also useful to have saved for reference to refer back to whenever it’s needed.
In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of transcription software for video conferences and webinars. There’s also a bonus section on how you can help elevate your video conferencing and webinar skills in 2022 and beyond. You’re welcome!
The importance of video conferences and webinars in 2022
Transcribing video conferences and webinars can be extremely helpful for those who perhaps would benefit from it in a different format.
Alternatively, it may be beneficial in scenarios where they can’t view the video content or would prefer to digest it via a transcript. In fact, 58% of webinar hosts will use both live and on-demand webinar capture for those who need to replay the content after the event has finished.
Both video conferences and webinars have become a popular activity for businesses to hold in order to provide a learning opportunity to those attending. Whether that’s clients, internal staff, or as a large-scale event to those who’ve paid to join.
Many business leaders benefit from the advancements in video conferencing software that has grown in recent years.
7 benefits of transcription software for video conferences and webinars
If your business is conducting webinars or video conferences in 2022, taking advantage of transcription software is a must, as well as other tools and online resources. Providing a user-centric experience is important to help maximize engagement of the content you’re providing.
With more engagement, it means the content you’re delivering is likely to provide a better payoff for both your business and those who are fortunate enough to receive it. Here are several benefits that come with transcription software for conferencing and webinar events.
1. Being able to transcribe audio to text is beneficial to those with disabilities.
With transcription software, you contribute positively to an ongoing problem that the internet still has when it comes to accessibility.
The lack of accessible-friendly websites is just one contributor to the lack of content that’s available to all users, regardless of what disability they have and whether they have one or not. As of 2022, according to Applause, only 30.30% of businesses surveyed were compliant with WCAG 2.1 standards for website accessibility.
Transcribing audio to text can be helpful for those that are hard of hearing or have other restrictive needs that require this software in order to better their experience and engagement.
When you transcribe audio to text with Happy Scribe, you help ensure all of your audience are getting the best experience and access to the content you’re providing.
2. It provides a point of reference to stay on track with what’s being discussed.
When attendees are listening to what’s being discussed, the mind can naturally wonder. At the same time, whether it be a remote scenario at home or in the office, things can crop up that might mean the user has to step away from their desk whilst the webinar or conference is ongoing.
With a transcript in place, users can quickly pick up on what’s being discussed and can later look back at saved content to see what they missed. It gives users a point of reference instead of having to listen intently to understand where they are within the webinar or conference itself.
3. Gives hosts and speakers guidance whilst presenting.
For attendees, understanding where they are when they get distracted or drift off from what’s being discussed is something that can happen to the hosts/speakers too. This is mainly in the case where the webinar or conference is one that goes on for a considerable amount of time.
Even guest speakers and hosts can get lost in what they’re discussing. That’s where transcripts can be handy to have within the presentation so that those conducting the session or speaking in it, can find points of reference as and when they need to.
4. Provides you as a business with additional content opportunities.
For businesses, a great benefit of organizing these video conferences and webinars is that it provides you with additional content. In a digital age where content is king online, it’s important that you’re pulling as much resource from the content you’re delivering, especially when it’s intended for your target audience or prospective clients.
You can take these transcripts and use them in many different formats. It can be used as marketing materials across online platforms, as well as offline too. The more content you have to work with, the easier it is to stay within the public eye – something that’s important for many businesses nowadays.
5. It’s a backup, should the video content get lost or compromised.
Mistakes happen and at times, valuable data can be deleted or compromised. When it comes to video conferences and webinars, having transcribed versions of these presentations can be helpful to avoid the fallout that comes if the video has been compromised or lost somewhere in the digital realm.
Just like your confidential data, a backup is a great way of preventing good content and investment from being lost. A lot of video conferencing and webinar costs time and money, so when you have a backup in the form of written content, it provides security should it be required.
6. Avoids attendees from having to take notes and getting distracted.
For any attendees, note-taking can be a multi-tasking job that not everyone is good at. With that being said, having a transcript to follow can be great for those who like note-taking as it offers a reference to refer to once the webinar or conference is over.
This can be helpful when attendees are watching it live and in the moment. There’s no need to note-take and therefore they are able to get more from it than previously gained if every few minutes they were busy scribbling down helpful insight and then missing the next chunk of information in the process.
At least with a transcript in place, they can always take down their own notes from the transcript provided for use after the event is over.
7. Helps in scenarios where WIFI and sound problems become an issue.
Technology doesn’t always go to plan when we want it to. It’s useful until it stops working and unfortunately, webinars and video conferencing rely on a strong WIFI and sound system setup to work properly.
Random occurrences though can also influence the performance and quality of the video content, which is why it’s good to have a transcript in place. By having this as a backup, it can help those attendees who lost their feed to the conference or webinar and missed out on valuable information.
Even with the best setup possible, you can’t guarantee that your attendees are going to have the same quality setup needed to stream the conference or webinar.
Tips to improve your organization’s conferencing and webinar events
Now that you understand the full benefit that comes with organizing video conferencing and webinars for your business, what could you do to improve them? Improving upon these events is only going to benefit your business further in promoting the organization and hopefully achieving whatever it is you set to achieve with it in the first place.
Understand the type of content that your desired target market requires
To provide the right content, it’s important to understand the type of content that your target market is after. Whether it’s a video conference for your internal workforce or you’re running a webinar for the general public, do the research needed. By knowing what your audience needs, you’re more likely to nail the objectives on the head.
Promote your webinars and video conferencing early
Promotion is key because just like all forms of social media content if you’re not marketing your video conference or webinar early enough, it’s not going to get a lot of sign-ups.
By targeting those who would be interested in it earlier on, the better returns you’ll get on what you spend creating this content for them.
Make it fun and interactive
It’s important to remember that video conferences or webinars don’t need to just involve a lot of information that’s spewed out by the speakers or host. Instead, try to provide some fun and interactive interludes that will keep your attendees engaged.
Don’t forget to collect feedback
Finally, don’t forget to collect feedback. Understanding how your attendees have experienced the event is important and it can help you action the right changes needed to improve upon future webinars and conferences!
Using transcription software has its benefits for your business
When it comes to maximizing the potential that video conferencing and webinars can have for your business, it’s worthwhile investing in transcription software. It’s easily accessible for businesses to utilize and it doesn’t cost the earth either.
Contributing author bio: Natalie Redman (LinkedIn)
Freelance writer for many clients across multiple industries. Natalie has two years of copywriting experience. Natalie has a wide range of experience copywriting for web pages for businesses across many industries. She’s also an owner of two blog websites and a Youtube content creator.
About the Author / Akeem Okunola
