What Is Audio Accessibility?

Digital multimedia content is often overwhelming us from every angle, whether it’s on our phones, computers, tablets, or TVs. There’s so much content to consume, yet when you are immersed in a world of noise and visuals that you can’t hear or understand, the content can be so much more overwhelming. For many individuals who experience these difficulties, audio accessibility can be a saving grace.

Audio accessibility is the practice of making multimedia content usable by everyone, especially for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Audio transcription is a key component of accessibility. Content creators want their information to be consumed, but the task of making audio-visual content audio accessible through time-consuming transcription is daunting. Thankfully, with the help of a transcription service, you don’t need to worry about doing the heavy lifting of audio transcription. Instead, you can focus on creating content and operating your business while removing barriers to audiences.

How Does Audio Accessibility Help Your Business?

As a professional, much of your time is spent managing your business, so transcribing audiovisual media can be easily overlooked or deemed too time-consuming. However, practicing audio accessibility has so many benefits for your business and audience, including:

• Reaching broader audiences. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 430 million people worldwide require rehabilitation to address their ‘disabling’ hearing loss. This is a whole population of people your business can reach by making your content audio accessible.
• Encouraging ethical distribution and marketing practices. Audibly accessible content helps make your business more inclusive, protecting you from discrimination liabilities and improving audience perception.
• Improving website SEO. Many search engines have difficulty pulling information from non-text media, like pictures, videos, or podcasts. Transcribing, subtitling, and other accessibility methods make it easier for computer algorithms to pull up your business in a search.

How Can Your Business Practice Audio Accessibility?

There are a few different ways that businesses can use audio transcription to make their media content more accessible to people with disabilities.

Use Subtitles and Captions

Subtitles and captions are lines of text used to describe what is happening in multimedia content. They are often synchronized with the video to help members of the public who are deaf, hard of hearing, or non-native English speakers to better understand the content. Further, those with auditory-processing disorders can benefit from being able to read subtitles and captions while also listening to audio.

Create Transcripts

A transcript is a verbatim text version of media content such as podcasts or videos. A proper transcript will accurately capture all the spoken audio, on-screen text, and descriptions of visual information. Transcripts help your business reach broader audiences, create content that is accessible to everyone, and increase views and web traffic.

Follow Global Guidelines

There are some guidelines that everyone is expected to follow when producing accessible commercial and professional media materials. The World Wide Web Consortium created the Web Accessibility Initiative that sets the global standard for media accessibility. It can only benefit your business to follow these guidelines, so setting up a system for efficiently creating audio-accessible content is key.

Hire a Transcription Service with Media Industry Experience

Creating audio-accessible content is important for any business, and it helps to work with experienced media transcriptionists who are familiar with best practices. Outsourcing your media transcription services will ensure you receive accurate and timely transcriptions for any of your commercial or professional needs. As an added benefit, your staff will be freed from the time-consuming task of transcription, ensuring your administrative workflows remain efficient.

At Preferred Transcriptions, we provide services for a wide array of individuals, businesses, and organizations. We are proud to offer 24-hour turnaround times for both small and large projects. Our best-in-class, 100% USA-based transcriptionists prioritize accuracy, so you can trust that your transcription will be returned to you with unparalleled attention to detail. By working with a personal transcription team and a dedicated account manager, you can count on consistency and quality.

Learn more about audio accessibility, our services, or contact us today to speak to an expert and get a quote.