When creating video content for TikTok, you’ll want to make it as accessible to as many people as possible in order to grow your audience quickly. That means as well as creating great quality content you should consider how and where your audience is watching your videos, and adjust your content accordingly. In order to make your videos accessible one easy method is to add captions to your TikTok videos. But what is a caption and how do you edit it?

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What is a caption for a TikTok video?

Very simply, a caption is a piece of text that appears in the video. When watching films you will likely have come across subtitles, or closed captioning, which is essentially text written at the bottom of the screen that says what is being spoken in the film. This is intended for people who are hard of hearing, and the same applies to audiences watching your TikTok videos.

Captions in videos help people who cannot hear the audio still enjoy the video, including people who might be watching your video mute because they are on the bus, in line at a store, or anywhere else they can’t play audio on their phone out loud.

TikTok makes it easy to add captions to your videos directly within the app, and even includes an automatic generated captions feature. Essentially this lets an AI automatically transcribe what is spoken in the video into text which appears on screen. It’s not always perfect, but it is very easy to edit captions in a TikTok video before it has been posted.

How to edit the caption of a TikTok video

Editing the caption of a TikTok video can be done before the video has been posted, while you are still in the edit stage. The first thing to do is to use the text tool in the app to create the caption which will sit on the video. Use the TikTok text tools to change the font and the colors and generally design it however you like. If you want to edit the text once you’ve written it, simply tap on the text and adjust it within the edit box that pops up.

But what if you’re using automatically generated captions? That’s easy too. Once the captions have been created, press the Edit icon on the bottom right of the screen. This will bring you into the edit subtitles box and from there you will be able to adjust typos and mistakes within the text before tapping Save. Preview the results to make sure you’re happy with it then go ahead and post.

Be warned, though: you will not be able to edit TikTok captions after the video has been posted. The only way to do this within TikTok is to delete video and repost it again which is irritating and time-consuming. However, by originally creating your video using video editing software like VideoStudio Pro you will have much more control over your creations.

Use VideoStudio Pro to edit your TikTok videos

Rather than using TikTok to create and edit captions on your video, consider editing the entire video in video editing software like VideoStudio Pro. Editing software gives you complete control to customize your videos however you like, including designing the captions in a bespoke way.

Once you have created something that you are happy with, even including things like filters, effects and transitions, you can post it. But because you have the original project feel, if you see a mistake and you want to delete the video and repost it again, it’s easy to go back into VideoStudio Pro, adjust any text you like, export a new version and post it on TikTok again.

In summary

By adding captions to your TikTok videos you will make them more accessible to a larger audience including those who might be hard of hearing, but also people who are watching video content muted while they travel around. Although TikTok’s subtitle tools are useful, consider using VideoStudio Pro to edit your videos from the beginning as it will be much easier to go back into the project feel and adjust it later on. Download a free trial today!

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