The rise of digital communication has given rise to a new breed of user: the visual-literate. With more and more people consuming news and information digitally, the visual-literary user has emerged. With the emphasis on reading and comprehension as well as visual appeal, the visual-literate user has emerged who is more interested in visuals than in text. Read on for 6 things you should know about image to text transcriptions.
Table of Contents
1. What is an Image to Text (or ITT) Service?
An image to text or TTS service converts pictures into audio transcription or text in real time.
2. Different Types of Image to Text Systems
There are different types of image to text systems. One is animated GIFs. Animated GIFs are a type of image that loops, or plays continuously and they are able to convey information in a way that static images can’t. This is especially useful for web-based presentations and PowerPoint slides where you may want to include visual cues to enhance the presentation.
Another type of system is more like captions on a video, these are called closed captions and they have become very popular on YouTube for example. These transcription services will provide an instant transcript for your video in real time as someone watches it. You can also use any translation later as subtitles if you need them for another language or other reasons.
They’re also an excellent reference tool for people who may not be able to hear what is being said in the video or need help understanding it because they didn’t understand it the first time around.
A third type of system is searchable transcripts–these transcripts can be searched by words so that you can jump right to the part of the text that you’re looking for without having to scroll through all the text on the page looking for it yourself.
3. Popularity of Image to Text Transcription
One of the most popular services that companies utilize is image to text transcription. You see this service pop up all over the internet, including on social media sites like Twitter. There are many benefits to using this type of service, including it being more convenient and quicker than traditional transcripts. To learn more about the benefits of a service like this, keep reading below!
4. Pros of Having an Image to Text Service
Some of the pros include:
- Providing a way to make sure your content is accessible to everyone. In a world where nearly every piece of content is consumed digitally, it’s important that everyone has access to your information.
- ITT provides a way for users to see and hear the information you provide while they’re reading on the web or on their mobile device.
- Helps improve the user experience of your website or app by making it more inclusive.
- Can help your business create an equal and enjoyable experience for all users, which will only improve the overall user experience.
- Makes marketing efforts more effective by giving companies more ways to reach their customers. With more ways for users to connect with their favorite brands, businesses now have more opportunities than ever before. For example, if you want your ads displayed in front of people who are deaf or hard of hearing, you can use ITT to make sure those people are still able to enjoy what’s being advertised.
- ITT is one of the least expensive methods for creating digital content at 21 cents per minute as opposed to $1-2 per word depending on whether you’re using an agency or freelancer. This means that it’s easy and affordable to get high quality videos translated into text so they can be used in any type of visual-literate marketing campaign.
5. Cons of Having an Image to Text Service
Image to text translation services are a great way to create a captivating infographic or blog post. However, there are some disadvantages you should be aware of:
- An image-to-text service doesn’t typically have the capacity to transcribe every language. So, unless your business only has text in one language (or you’re really lucky), then this may not be the right service for you.
- If your product is interactive and requires more than just written text, then this may not be the right type of digital marketing for you.
- An image-to-text service requires time to produce content. It’s not instantaneous so it will take a little bit of time before it’s ready.
Final Words: Is an ITT Right for You?
So, do you need an ITT service? If your company publishes content with lots of images and videos, or if many of your readers consume content digitally and prefer it in that format, then you might. When considering whether using an image to text transcription is right for you, think about what type of content you publish and how well the visual-literary consumer responds to it.