How to Add Text to a Video – Top Styles and Best Practices

Did you know that adding text to your video can increase your video engagement? In fact, according to a study done by Publicis Media and Verizon, 80% of US viewers are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available. 

Small businesses and different populations globally are engaging with content constantly, and you don’t want to miss out on such a vital part of scaling your business to a broader audience – or even just getting your message heard online.

Today, adding text is essential, and you can opt-in on many of the benefits. In this article, we are digging into how to add text to a video so you don’t miss out.

How to Add Text to Your Video with Promo.com

Enhance any video with your choice of text, subtitles, and captions with our easy-to-use online video editor – here is how to add text to a video, it’s easy and fast.

1. Upload a Video or Create One from Scratch 

Upload your footage to Promo or choose footage from millions of videos in our visual library. You can easily find any subject by using the search bar to find that perfect clip. Then, simply hover over the clip of your choice and click “USE” to load it into the editor timeline. If you want to upload your own footage directly from your computer, just use the blue “Upload” on the right. 

2. Add Text to Your Video

After your clip is loaded into the editor, click on the pink plus (+) sign to the left of the video timeline. Next, click on “Add Caption”  and a text box will appear. 

3. Choose Your Text Style, Font, and Placement

You can easily add “text video effects” by exploring the text design tools and choosing from fonts and colors that suit your style or match your brand.  You can add words to videos and edit the text you want by double-clicking on the text style to edit the captions.

4. Publish, Download & Share

Once you’ve finished adding text to your video, click on Save & Preview and then on Publish to download straight to your social, create a GIF, and more! You can also preview your video, share a link with a friend before publishing, and even go back and re-edit if you need to change anything.

Five Creative Text Styles to Add Text to Videos

Animated text styles are text templates that animate your text in the text overlay on your video. They add a creative yet professional flavor to your video messaging. From very basic to high contrast to big and bold, text styles give your video a creative flair while maintaining a professional presentation that helps increase the engagement and accessibility of your videos.

When you are designing your text with the text style, some things to consider are that your font colors and styles are consistent throughout the video and align with the overall theme. For instance, if you’re presenting a video for an office presentation, you probably would not want to use an overly flashy text style. 

Placement of the text style is also essential. It is crucial to consider the main elements of your video are not being obstructed by the textile, and its placement brings balance to the visual aspects. Here are just a few examples of Promo.com’s unique text styles.

Label Maker Text Style

Meme Text Style

Brush Stroke Text Style

Slip-N-Slide Text Style

Stamp It Up Text Style

Six Great Fonts for Text Overlay

In today’s digital climate, when it comes to scaling your business and understanding visual branding, there are often many commonly misunderstood details.

One of those details is your font style. Whether you’re making a video intro for YouTube, adding text overlay to a TikTok video, or editing your Instagram video – there is a difference between the conventional design, your brand design, and the common designs on social media today.

It really boils down to size, shape, and visual clarity regarding where you want to post your video. So here we take a look at some popular fonts used today (actually quite common ones) on Social Media platforms. 

Helvetica

In the world of design, Helvetica is the queen! Helvetica is truly the favorite of many designers globally because it works well with almost any other font and is considered the queen of fonts. Helvetica is known for its readability in almost any dimension and size, and it possesses a multifaceted use. However, it is not considered a great font for logos despite its popularity.

This royal lady comes in different flavors with “Helvetica Light, Helvetica Black,” and more. Here is a look at this amazing font that is well used when adding text to videos. 

Merriweather

This font happens to be a regular staple for digital formats. Merriweather is true to her name when you talk about being “merry” through whatever “weather” comes your way. In any context, this font is highly readable in many formats and is a favorite because of that – here is a sneak peek. 

Montserrat

If you don’t know the difference between a Serif and a Sans Serif font, check out this article. Otherwise, stick to using Montserrat because you’ve got the best of both worlds. Among the common folk in the kingdom of fonts, one of our recent additions (meaning in the 20th century) is “Montserrat.” 

Montserrat is an open-source typeface that came into being in 2010; however, don’t be fooled because she was modeled after the 1920s-1950s Buenos Aires’s historic Monserrat neighborhood in Argentina. 

This font is what is called a hybrid font (meaning it’s neutral and easy to combine) and works in almost every case needed, which ain’t easy today – take a look.

Open Sans

Like the queen of fonts, Helvetica, the Open Sans font is utilized by many web designers and has become just as famous because of mobile devices. Open Sans is considered a true italic font and is commonly used in web design and can be found on Google’s web pages and different online advertisements. This beauty is effortless to read on mobile devices or smaller screens, and it’s because of this feature she is a popular choice. 

Playfair Display

This is a super friendly Serif font that most designers and video content creators don’t think is boring. It’s a nice Serif font that you can easily combine and works great for ad headlines. Check it out!

PT Sans

PT Sans is a Serif font that is very rounded and considered to have a touch of sophistication if you will. This classy font is often used in the world of academia and literary projects but can also be seen quite regularly on social channels. Here is a glimpse of the “narrow bold” version.

Four Reasons to Use Text Overlay

Adding text to a video is also called adding “text overlay or video text overlay.” Basically, it refers to adding a text style or text element over a video file so you can see the text as it appears on your screen while watching a video. 

You can use overlay text on videos to announce new products or services, add captions of meaningful dialogues or main points, share sale prices, and more – to name a few benefits. 

Surveys already show that adding text to video heightens engagement. But let’s take a deeper look into why text overlay can be so meaningful for your videos. 

Boosts Your Audience’s Comprehension 

Capturing your viewer’s attention quickly is the main objective in the game of video content marketing. Captions boost comprehension and extend video view time for several reasons. First, your audience can see your video anywhere without the audio. Second, your text makes your content communicative to diverse audiences who may not fully understand the video’s native language. Finally, adding text to videos helps viewers connect the messaging they are reading to the visual footage in the video.  

Demands Attention 

In today’s working climate, customers and clients are usually always on-the-go! The result is that users cansers quickly scroll over content that might prove helpful to them just because nothing about it catches their attention. The right caption or text regarding a subject of interest in your video will often make the viewer stop and pay attention to what you have to say.

Furthermore, video consumers can’t always listen to video content with the audio engaged. Adding text to your video allows your content to be understood when your video is on mute. According to a study on the connection between using captions and engagement,  29% of viewers reported that they could fully watch captioned videos with the audio off because the text helped them understand the context of the messaging.

Showcases or Highlights Important Information

The captions will generally highlight each frame’s important message when adding text to a video. In addition, every video segment within its clip usually has essential takeaways of the video’s message. For example, if you are publishing a sale video during a memorable holiday, the sale amount is displayed in the text overlay through the clip or in designated time frames.

Another example is instructional how-to videos. The text overlay in the video tells the viewer the essential steps that correlate to the visual images appearing on each clip, explaining what the viewer is seeing. 

Increases Accessibility 

We can’t discuss the commonality of muted videos without mentioning the hearing impaired. For those individuals, a part of the world’s hearing-impaired population, not having access to the audio is a way of living. Indeed, you want your video content accessible to include this large population in your messaging. So either way you dice it – adding captions is a win-win for video content creation.

Why Adding Text to Video Optimizes Your Social Channels

Small businesses today generally understand the need for a successful social presence. Instagram alone is a testament to how vivid imagery can stop us in our tracks. What is overlooked many times are the captions that provide context. 

The power of the pen is behind the success of adding text to visual content, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what words and images combined can do? With all the digital tools available today, the call for inspiration is at our fingertips to create those perfect videos with scaleable messaging across different platforms. 

With these ideas in mind, let’s look at how adding text to your videos can help with your digital video marketing.

Adding Text Cultivates a Connection with Followers

When you add text to your social media videos, you speak directly to your audience. It’s a direct line of communication with your viewers. Your combined images and text bring more substance and value to your messaging by helping your audience get to know you better, remember your brand, and become familiar with your style – as they see your videos on social platforms regularly.

When you take the time to speak with your audience rather than just showing them images, it can go a long way in building a relationship with your followers.  

Adding Text Boosts Engagement

There have been many changes in the social media algorithms in the last two years, not to mention Google. One thing we know is Instagram, and Facebook definitely favor videos. My Stories have grown very popular, and while the visual content is critical, the added text is also essential. 

You can promote interaction by utilizing question-and-answer formats, utilizing hashtags, creating longer captions to encourage longer viewing times, and using the description features on social media platforms to add your key caption words for SEO. 

Adding Text Provides Context for CTA’s

Captions can be used as a powerful tool to encourage likes, comments, and visits to your website. Adding text to videos provides the context for strategic calls-to-action (CTAs) that will guide your viewers through your messaging to ask for that action and provoke them to follow through. 

A compelling CTA can impact your conversion rates and do wonders at getting viewers’ attention. 

In Closing

Adding text to your videos helps get your message across and clues your viewers on what is going on. The benefits are worth the effort, and the impact can be far-reaching for your brand if given just a little thought.  

By now, you should have a real grasp of the scope of the importance of adding text to your video. Adding text provides an inclusive viewing experience for your audience and provides the needed context through their viewing journey of your content. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Add Text to Video for Free?

Promo.com’s Text to Video has made adding text to video easy and creative. You can improve any video immediately with endless creative options, including custom-created animated text styles and beautiful fonts. Simple create a free account with Promo.com and add your text – Here’s how:

Upload a video

Upload your footage to Promo or choose footage from millions of videos in our visual library.

Add Text to Your Video

Click on “Add Caption.” Write in your content and choose a font and color that suits your style.

Publish & Download

Once you’ve finished adding text to your video, click on Save & Preview and then on Publish. Just like that, your video is ready to captivate your audience.

How do I Add Text to YouTube Video at Specific Times?

Adding text to your video for a specific frame in your video timeline is easy. You can use Promo’s online video editor to edit any YouTube video in a few easy steps. First, upload your video to the timeline, click on the pink plus (+) to the left and select “Add Caption.” Then just slide the text box over the piece of footage you want on the timeline. It’s that simple! 

How to Put Text on TikTok Videos at Different Times

Adding text to your video for a specific frame for your TikTok video is effortless with Promo’s TikTok Video editor. You can add text to your video in a few easy steps. First, simply upload your video to the timeline, click on the pink plus (+) to the left and select “Add Caption.” Then just slide the text box over the piece of footage you want on the timeline. It’s that simple! You can use Promo’s publish options to share directly to your social channels when you’re finished.