Voice transcription has become big business, especially now that social media websites are moving to a video-first marketing strategy. The problem with transcribing, however, is twofold. First, there is a small pool of professional transcriptionists. Second, clients who are not aware of the intricacies of transcription often misunderstand what it can and cannot do for them as a brand.
The Changing Face Of Media
With the average length of a Facebook Live video at two hours, and YouTube videos ranging anywhere from 3-10 minutes in length, it’s becoming necessary for companies to make the most of transcriptions. However, as stated above, it cannot always be easy to do so. Therefore, when you are looking to turn these your videos into clean transcripts with ease, here are five tips for getting the best results out of your voice transcription:
Invest in Quality Transcription Software
Voice transcription software has made the process of creating clean transcripts of voice and speech much easier. It’s important to invest in good voice transcription software. These programs should produce high-quality transcripts and offer many features needed to transcribe effectively. One highly effective voice to text transcription service you can use is Verbit. They can transcribe voice and create captions where needed, both for prerecorded and live videos, so you won’t be limited in what you can achieve.
Set Your Expectations
Create ‘transcription expectations’ and enforce them. One way to do this is to require clients or stakeholders to sign disclaimers. These disclaimers can go as far as indicating whether a transcriptionist will transcribe “as is” or replace certain words. Clearer guidelines and disclaimers will help to assure clients that the transcriptionist is not playing with words.
An important addition to all disclaimers is to make it clear that there can be no comeback on the company or employee should the transcription be wrong and cause issues for the client or stakeholder. The final check-over should lie with the client or stakeholder in this case.
Invest in Good Scripting
Scripts, scripts, and more scripts! The best way to achieve a good transcription is to have your narrators speak from a book or a written script. Even if it’s an excessively detailed script, reading from a script will create a clearer and more concise recording. Investing in a script is a step that is often overlooked.
Use Voice Transcription as a Compliment, Not an Alternative
One of the biggest mistakes a company can make is to use voice transcription as an alternative to text. It’s possible to use voice transcription software and services to create transcripts for a video or live stream, but avoid using voice transcription as a stand-alone alternative to written text materials.
Maximize Audio Quality
The cleaner the recording, the easier it will be to transcribe. Phone calls can be recorded with an in-built voice recorder, and other recordings can be done on-site using high-quality microphones and tools.
At the very minimum, close the doors and windows of the room where the audio will be made. You don’t want sound from other people or traffic noise and other background noise to interfere with your voice transcription.
