This article was co-authored by Brian Honigman and by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA. Brian Honigman is a Marketing Consultant and the Owner of Honigman Media LLC. With over a decade of marketing experience, he specializes in consulting with organizations about digital marketing, social media, and content marketing. Brian holds BA in Political Science and Journalism from The University of Pittsburgh. In addition to being a Consultant, Brian is an Adjunct Marketing Professor at New York University and Francisco Marroquín University. His work providing consulting services, training workshops, and coaching programs led to him being named “Digital Marketing Expert” by Entrepreneur and a “Top Social Media Pro” by Social Media Examiner. Brian’s notable clients include The United Nations Development Programme, Thomson Reuters, NATO, and People Magazine.
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Do you want to add captions to videos on Instagram? You're in the right place! Studies show that the average person prefers watching subtitled videos so they can keep the sound off. Plus, captions also make videos accessible to viewers who are Deaf or hard of hearing. In this article, we’ll talk you through the easiest methods for captioning your Instagram videos using the mobile app on iPhone or Android.
Steps
Using a Sticker
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Upload a video. To use the caption sticker, tap the + button at the bottom of the Instagram app, then select Story, Reel, or Post.
- This isn't possible on a computer, so you'll have to use a smartphone or tablet.
- Once you upload a video from your gallery or photo library or record a new video, tap Next to continue to the editing screen.
- This is the easiest and best method to ensure that viewers see the captions on every video you upload or share via Instagram.
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Tap the sticker button. It looks like a smiley face.
- If you're creating a Reel or Story, the icon is in the top right corner.
- If you're creating a video post, the icon is in the lower left corner.
- If you’re creating a reel, you’ll need to hit the Preview button at the bottom of the screen before you can add captions.
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Tap the "CAPTIONS" sticker. Tap the icons at the bottom and top of the preview to change how the font looks.
- Watch the preview to make sure the text is the same as the audio. If it automatically transcribed a word incorrectly, tap on the wrong word to edit it.[1]
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Publish the video like you normally would. Tap Done or Next to continue to the next screen, then tap Share or Publish.
Using Advanced Settings
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Create a Reel. Tap the + icon or swipe right to open the camera. Select Reel from the menu dial at the bottom of your screen, then upload or record a video.
- This option will only show captions on your video if the person watching has captions visible. In that case, your video can be seen without captions.
- Tap Next or → to continue to editing your Reel.
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Tap More options (Android) or Advanced Settings (iPhone). It's next to a gear icon at the bottom of the menu.
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Tap the toggle next to "Enable closed captions" to enable it. If the switch is colored and pointing right, the feature is on.
- In this case, any viewers who have captions enabled will see an automatic transcription of the audio in your Reel. However, you cannot edit any words that are incorrectly transcribed.
Enabling Captions on Already Published Videos
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Navigate to the video post. You can find videos that you've published by going to your profile page and looking at your grid. Easily find a video by clicking the Reels tab, which is in the middle of the three icons on your profile.
- Use this method to change settings so your already published video has captions available.
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Tap ⋮ (Android) or … (iPhone). These three dots are in the top right corner if you're looking through your grid or in the bottom right corner if you're looking through the Reels tab.
- If you're scrolling through the Reels tab, tap Manage to see more options.
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Tap Edit. It's next to an icon of a pencil.
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Tap Advanced Settings/More options. It's next to a gear icon at the bottom of the menu.[2]
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Tap the toggle next to "Enable closed captions" to enable it. If the switch is colored and pointing right, the feature is on.
- In this case, any viewers who have captions enabled will see an automatic transcription of the audio in your Reel. However, you cannot edit any words that are incorrectly transcribed.
Enabling Captions for Viewing
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Tap your profile picture. It's in the lower right corner of your screen.
- Use this method to turn on captions permanently so you can see them in every Instagram video.
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Tap ☰. This three-line menu icon is in the top right corner of your screen.
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Tap Accessibility. It's under the "Your app and media" header near the bottom of the menu.
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Tap Captions. It's usually the first option in the menu.
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Tap the toggle next to "Captions" to enable it. If the switch is colored and pointing right, the feature is on.[3]
- To only enable captions on specific videos, tap the three-dot menu when you're watching the video, then tap Manage captions and turn the toggle on or off. You'll need to do that for every video on Instagram to see or hide captions.
Expert Q&A
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QuestionShould you put hashtags on Instagram videos?Ramin AhmariRamin Ahmari is the CEO & Co-Founder of FINESSE, an AI-led fashion house using machine learning on social media to forecast trends & eliminate fashion's problem of overproduction. Before his time at FINESSE, he worked with influencers on growth and sponsorships and has worked with major brands on implementing influencer & marketing strategy by leveraging his expertise in data science & artificial intelligence on social data.
Social Media ExpertDefinitely—just focus on using specific, creative hashtags that will bring you traffic, rather than using broad, popular tags like "#beauty" or "#fashion." Within seconds, your post will fall thousands of pictures down unless you're already popular on the platform.
Tips
References
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/151273688993748
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/225479678901832/?cms_platform=iphone-app&helpref=platform_switcher
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/225479678901832/?cms_platform=iphone-app&helpref=platform_switcher
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/236245819849257
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/1490745927855762