Fast, Affordable, Accurate: How to Get Online Transcriptions in a Snap 

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The digital world is filled with videos. In fact, about one billion hours of video content are viewed on YouTube every single day. And, that’s just one digital platform!

While people enjoy watching videos, others are looking for a more complete viewing experience: videos with transcripts.
That’s right, we’re talking about good old fashioned words on a page, ink to paper, speech to text online transcriptions.

Why? Online transcriptions enhance videos by adding to the viewer’s comprehension, providing a new way to view a video, and increasing engagement. And, that’s just the start of how beneficial they are!

Interested in learning how to get fast, affordable, and accurate transcriptions online? Here’s how:

4 Ways to Get Online Transcriptions in a Snap

First things first, an audio transcription is the process of transcribing an audio file or video into written text. Many different industries utilize online transcriptions as they can be used for way more than just video captions or social media posts. They can be very beneficial for conferences, lectures, and even sermons.

Think of it this way: transcripts can be used to distribute information to an even wider audience both online and offline.

Okay, so how can you get online transcriptions fast? There are actually a few different ways, but here are some of the most popular options:

1. Do-It-Yourself

While you may have transcribed this way in the past, we have a few tips to help speed things up.

First, make sure your audio file is either on your smartphone or a separate recording device so you can easily rewind the audio, and not waste time flipping back and forth between tabs on your computer.

Then, find your shorthand. Certain words, phrases, and names can occur often in an audio recording. For example, ‘in my opinion’ can be shortened to ‘imo’. Shorthand will allow you to type up your transcription even faster than before.

When editing your transcript, use online tools such as Grammarly to help you easily find spelling and grammatical mistakes.

2. Social Media Platforms

Don’t have time to dedicate completely to DIY video transcription? Use an automatic captioning software like YouTube’s speech recognition technology. This software uses machine learning algorithms to automatically transcribe audio. Simply go to the YouTube Video Manager by clicking on your account in the top right > Creator Studio > Video Manager > Videos.

Find the video you want to add captions to, and click on the drop-down menu to the edit button. Next, click on subtitles and CC. Wait a few minutes, and voila – your captions will automatically appear. Just make sure you review and edit them for accuracy before publishing them live.

Facebook is another social media site that supports automatic captioning for videos and ads. In using Facebook’s automated captions, you can also edit captions to ensure their accuracy.

3. Voice-to-Text Apps

Voice-to-text phone apps can be especially useful for busy professionals who want to record an important meeting. These apps will help to increase efficiency and will store online transcriptions safely on the cloud.

Each app will have a different interface, but most will allow you to easily record a meeting with just a few simple taps.
While there are a variety of apps out there, make sure to consider one that has superior sound quality and user-friendly functionality like the Rev Voice Recorder.

4. Professional Online Services

You can also partner with a professional service such as Rev. How does that work?

  • Step 1: Upload your English audio or video file from either your computer or a URL.
  • Step 2: The 50,000+ vetted English-speaking (and human) experts work to transcribe your file 24/7.
  • Step 3: You’ll receive your audio transcription in a document that you can easily edit using Rev’s online tools. Once you’re satisfied, you can share it with anyone.

Plus, the price won’t break your bank! With $1 per audio minute, you’ll receive a 12-hour delivery time with a file that’s 99%+ accurate, 100% guaranteed.

What Transcription Option is Best for You?

It all comes down to your audio transcription goals, budget, and time. For example, if you want to learn a new skill and don’t have a tight deadline, doing it yourself could be the best route. It will also lead to a more accurate transcript than using AI technology.

If you’re limited on budget, an AI software is a great solution. While you will have to spend up to a few hours editing the transcript for contextual, spelling, and grammatical mistakes, most AI software is free or very inexpensive.

Do you have a tight deadline? If so, opting for a voice-to-speech app with built-in transcription services will allow you to receive a transcript within minutes, not hours. While there is a price associated with this option, it’s a great cost-effective solution that will lead to accurate results.

Is your time extremely limited? Using an online transcription service will give you the most accurate transcript possible while freeing up your time. Professional transcriptionists can transcribe one hour of audio in 3-4 hours while it takes the average person 6 hours. Plus, you can even place a rush order to receive transcripts even faster than the rate we normally offer at Rev.

The Final Word on Online Transcriptions

Finding the best and most efficient way for you to get fast, affordable, and accurate transcriptions is up to you and the demands of your project. Click here to learn more about our online transcription services.