The Importance of Audio Accessibility

You could have the most compelling audio content as a business, but it’s ineffective if some people can’t hear or understand it. More than 5% of the world’s population experience hearing difficulties and can’t access audio. That’s why it’s crucial to incorporate audio accessibility into your digital content. It’s the key to closing the gap in providing useful content for all consumers, making it immeasurably important. 

On top of that, from a business perspective, ensuring your audio content is accessible to everybody who needs it is an ethical and legal requirement. It can even positively impact your business’s bottom line as an added bonus. So, from every angle, providing accessible audio is a worthwhile endeavor. 

Learn more about enhancing accessibility in your content and the impact it can have on your business. Concerned about it being a complicated and time-consuming venture? You’ll be relieved to discover how to leverage an automated transcription service to alleviate the tedious work so you can focus on your business goals.

What Is Audio Accessibility?

Audio accessibility encompasses a group of features that make audio content of all kinds usable by everyone. This includes people with hearing loss, low vision, learning disabilities, or any other perceived impairment. That’s why it’s important for businesses to consider all types of accessibility — audio, visual, cognitive, and more. However, the benefits of accessibility features are not limited to those with disabilities — they serve all consumers in various ways. We’re focusing on audio accessibility specifically, which has many unique advantages for various consumers.

Why Is Audio Accessibility Important For Your Business?

Making audio accessible and inclusive for diverse audiences matters now more than ever because people are consuming audio content in a volume we’ve never seen. There are currently over five million podcasts worldwide that consumers depend on for news, entertainment, marketing, education, and more. With these statistics in mind, it’s prudent for people and businesses to make audio more accessible and readily available for all communities. 

Accessible content is essential to reaching those with hearing loss. It’s also handy for users in noisy settings, those with poor network connectivity, or people consuming a video not in their native language. Accessible audio is also helpful for individuals who want to watch a video in public without disrupting others in their background. Using captions can provide a way for viewers to consume content discreetly without attracting attention. And the list goes on. 

The benefits of accessible audio are vast for both consumers and companies. As a business, it’s important to prioritize audio accessibility for the following reasons. 

Increase Inclusivity

Employers that use accessible audio internally are more likely to harness their team’s full potential. Accessibility audio features should be available to enable access at work to all audio-based communication, training, and presentations. Employers who make audio content accessible encourage equal participation, which signals to all employees that they are valued. 

Externally, it’s an advantage to your business when anybody can access products and services through accessible audio formats. Implementing accessible audio features that are inclusive of a larger audience can lead to increased customer loyalty from the positive experience.

Reach a Larger Audience

The Hearing Loss Association of America estimates that 48 million Americans have some form of hearing impairment — a staggering number of people who can benefit from businesses providing audio accessibility. With audio descriptions in your marketing strategies, you can broaden the reach of your target audiences. Provide transcripts or audio descriptions for your audio-only ads to expand your consumer base. Before adding quality content to your website, ensure it’s accessible and easy to navigate. This way, more visitors will engage with your brand and spread the word, potentially even increasing conversion rates as a result.  

Improve SEO

While some aspects of a website’s SEO tactics can function without audio accessibility, sites prioritizing accessibility may rank higher over time. With Google’s goal of satisfying user intent, accessibility supports the search engines’ goals of delivering the most valuable results to all users. Transcriptions also provide more text that search engine crawlers can read, creating more SEO value on the page. Consequently, accessible website content can help users and improve search rankings.

Boost Brand Reputation

Incorporating audio accessibility features into your business can strengthen your brand image and reputation. Demonstrating consideration for employees, customers, and clients across all demographics shows that you care, are committed, and are at the forefront of inclusivity.

Microsoft is a great example of a brand known for empowering people through technology. For its history of pioneering accessibility features like StickyKeys and Seeing AI, Microsoft has received recognition and awards. Other companies prioritizing accessibility features as an integral part of their customer experience are Apple, Google, Starbucks, and Tesco. 

It’s simple. The more people who can benefit from your brand, the more positive experiences consumers will have with it, leading to increased brand reputation.

5 Elements of Audio Accessibility 

Companies must consider certain offerings if they want to ensure full access to audio content for all consumers. The elements below are simple but meaningful features that aim to make audio more inclusive and functional for users.

1. Transcriptions

Transcripts are written versions of audio content — an essential resource for people who are hard of hearing or deaf. Transcribed text also offers a private alternative for audio consumers in noisy environments where listening is distracting or not feasible. 

Fortunately, you can quickly transform your sound recordings into error-free transcripts with Sonix, the leading online transcription platform. Forget about manual transcription, which is time-consuming and compromises accuracy. Our automated and NLP-enabled audio-to-text converter produces accurate and remarkable transcriptions in minutes.

2. Captions for Video Content 

According to the World Health Organization, hearing problems are expected to rise. This makes accessibility features like video captions more relevant than ever. Captions are lines of text displayed on a video that contain dialogue and descriptions of important non-speech sounds. One universal benefit of captions is helping users focus and remember the information being shared.

Captions should sync with the audio, keeping pace with the dialogue, to avoid confusion and enhance effectiveness. Use our automated subtitles and captions at Sonix to reach a wider audience and hold their attention. 

3. Adjustable Playback Speed

Adjustable playback speed accommodates different processing abilities by allowing users to control the pace at which they consume audiovisual content. This benefits individuals who experience difficulties processing spoken language at average speeds. Controlling playback can be helpful, as it allows users to follow along at their own speed and therefore, be more likely to retain the information.

4. Clear Audio Quality

Excellent quality enhances how people access audio by increasing their ability to understand what they’re engaging with. Unclear or distorted audio can make content inaccessible, especially for specific groups of people. For instance, background noise or muffled voices can interfere with hearing aids or cochlear implants. Struggling to process audio can make the process exhausting and frustrating for such individuals, leading to diminished engagement.

5. Sign Language Interpretation

Sign language interpretation is a prime accessibility feature. It provides deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences access to audio content in the language they may understand best. Sign language allows people to communicate using gestures, facial expressions, and body movements instead of sound. Website sign language can provide greater access to information and a smoother experience for individuals engaging with digital content. 

Enhance Your Audio Accessibility with Sonix

Audio accessibility is an effective strategy for reaching wider audiences and making content more straightforward. Implementing accessible audio into your digital content is a simple process with powerful benefits for your consumers and business alike.Leverage Sonix transcription services to reach your largest audience yet. Our cutting-edge technology will enable your content to reach people in more than 40 different languages. Sign up for your free trial today to get started.