How transcribing podcasts improves their inclusivity

The growth of podcasts has been astounding over the last few years, going from 274.8 million users in 2019 to a predicted 424.2 million users in 2022. Furthermore, podcasting is projected to become a $94.88 billion industry by 2028.

You can pretty much find a podcast on anything these days; news, sports, health and wellbeing, food, comedy, the list goes on! However, a significant proportion of the population is excluded from this excellent audio content: deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals. Furthermore, those listening in their second language may also struggle, especially if the podcasts are in a chatty format, where speakers may over-talk one another or speak at a faster pace.

By offering a transcript, these podcasts become much more inclusive and accessible to a broader audience. We explore what is involved when transcribing a podcast and what benefits it can offer.

What is transcription?

テープ起こし is the process of converting speech, often in an audio file, such as a podcast or recorded interview, or in a video file, to text. Transcripts can also include time-stamps to help you locate specific words or phrases in the audio.

There are three standard types of transcription, each useful in different scenarios: verbatim transcription, intelligent transcription and edited transcription. Verbatim transcription includes every single word and sound, whereas intelligent and edited transcription processes evaluate what’s important and remove any meaningless noises to create a ‘clean’ read. You can read more about the different types of transcription and their uses in our blog.

What are the benefits of transcribing a podcast?

Alongside the inclusivity and accessibility benefits of transcribing a podcast discussed at the start of this blog, there are other advantages to investing in this process.

For example:

• Your episodes become more shareable across social and online platforms, as written quotes or highlights can be used to capture attention.

• Your podcast will be more search engine-friendly, enabling Google and other search engine crawlers to rank your content on search results.

• Your transcript can be repurposed and used to engage your audience in other ways, such as a blog or news item.

• They enable your audience to refer to your content again more easily without having to listen to your whole episode.

• If the audio recording of the podcast is poor quality, a transcript can be used to clarify any uncertainties.

How can transcripts be used with podcasts?

Many podcasters upload their episodes to platforms, such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify, for audiences to access. They may also appear on their website. Apple does provide transcripts for some of its podcasts, but if you are not one of these lucky ones, you can get the transcript created and uploaded alongside the episode yourself. Read on below to find out the options for transcribing your audio. You can then add it to your website or any other places where your audience accesses your podcast.

Alternatively, if you have created a video podcast for use on platforms such as YouTube, your transcript can be converted to subtitles and integrated into your video, further enhancing its accessibility.

If you want to engage a wider global audience, you could also consider translating your transcript. The translation could then be used as a full transcript on your platforms or for video subtitles, as described above.

What are the options for transcribing podcasts?

There are two main options to consider when transcribing your podcasts: automated transcription or ASR (automated speech recognition) or manual (human) transcription.

While ASR offers a faster and more cost-effective service, it cannot guarantee a faultless transcription, and therefore your transcript could contain inaccuracies. If you opt for manual transcription, we highly recommend using a professional transcription service. They will work with experienced transcribers and use technology, such as audio enhancement software, to deliver a high-quality transcript turned around in a much shorter time than someone without this expertise.

At Mission Translate, we have extensive experience in providing transcription services for both English and foreign-language content. We can also translate your transcript or convert it into subtitles and integrate it into your videos.

To speak to us about your next project, please get in touch with our team.