There’s no doubt about it: if you want to get ahead on social media, the way to do it is through short-form videos.

We know what you’re thinking – “Each Reel/Short/TikTok takes ages to shoot, edit, and add captions. Who has time for that?”

Say no more, friend. We get it.

There is an overwhelming overabundance of overcomplicated media content out there for overstimulated audiences to consume! Creators who still produce content manually will find themselves drowning under the ever-increasing demand for quick, quality content. You need to get on the content-creation efficiency speedboat, and fast.

We are talking about apps that combine AI technology, such as automated captions and AI eye contact, as well as advanced, but easy-to-use, video and photo-editing tools. The best part? Anyone can pick up the necessary skills.

If you are not already familiar with these apps, let us introduce you to three GREAT options that we at WLI recommend to our clients and enjoy ourselves: SubMagic, Captions.ai, and CapCut. We’ll outline our likes and dislikes to help you figure out which app fits your needs best – but here’s a disclaimer: we like them all!

SubMagic

SubMagic is an AI-powered tool for adding accurate captions and dynamic emojis, keyword highlighting, and super-cool features like transcribing audio into 48 languages. It is well-loved by more than 30,000 creators, and it’s growing.

Pros:

1. Improved accessibility: offers precise captions and keyword highlighting to enhance accessibility and aid comprehension for diverse audiences, including the deaf, hard of hearing, and non-native speakers.
2. Increased engagement: includes dynamic emojis to enhance video appeal, grab viewer attention and promote interaction with the content.
3. Time saving: AI automates caption-generation, saving creators the time and effort of manually transcribing.
4. Professionalism boost: enhances video quality with polished captions and dynamic elements, lending a professional touch to content presentation.
5. Content optimization: the keyword-highlighting feature can help creators identify and emphasize important points in their videos, optimizing content for clarity and impact.

Cons:

1. Limited customization: customization options may not meet the needs of users seeking specific styling or branding.
2. Variable language support: caption accuracy and language support may differ, with some languages having lower accuracy or limited support.
3. Cost barrier: SubMagic’s full feature set may necessitate a subscription or payment, potentially dissuading budget-conscious users or those seeking free solutions. For a starter wanting limited features, you’ll pay $16 per month; for a pro wanting more features, you’ll pay $40 per month; for an agency needing full features, you’ll pay $120 per month.

Compatibility constraints: compatibility with video-editing platforms may be limited, requiring users to adjust workflows or invest in additional tools for integration.

Captions

Captions.ai is an all-in-one app for automatic transcription, captioning, and clipping of talking videos, with customizable features and seamless editing functions. It boasts over three million creators and one million monthly videos.

Pros:

1. Effortless transcription and captioning: generates synchronized captions without typing.
2. Enhanced viewer engagement: has built-in editors that can automatically remove dead space and combine clips into one seamless sequence. 
3. Social-media integration: save a video to your mobile device and even post it directly on social-media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and more.
4. Customization options: choose the style and coloring of your caption and add word-activated stickers.
5. Content optimization for engagement: use the eye-contact effect, correct speech in recorded or uploaded videos, and change your lip movements in post-production to match the content of your speech.
6. Multi-language support: supports over 28 languages, and users can choose from multiple languages as the app’s interface.

Cons:

1. Accuracy limitations: might not accurately recognize certain accents, dialects, or slang words.
2. Limited editing features: only allows for videos up to a minute long or clips recorded in short segments, doesn’t have a huge variety of styles and stickers, and has a limited ability to handle audio-quality issues.
3. Platform compatibility issues: might not be compatible with some platforms or devices.
4. Learning curve: some users may find Captions.ai’s features and interface challenging, especially if they are new to video editing or AI tools.

CapCut

CapCut is a free editing app with user-friendly features, including cutting, speed adjustments, and trendy templates. It boasts over 200 million monthly active users and is popular with brands for creating engaging promotional content.

Pros:

1. No cost: CapCut is a free editing app, which gives it an advantage over others.
2. Comprehensive editing features: has a wide range of useful editing tools, as well as speed curbs for seamless transitions and greenscreen effects.
3. Trendy templates: offers a categorized template library of professionally designed templates with different transitions, color schemes, soundtracks, and animations.
4. Wide compatibility: operates on all platforms, allowing easy device transitions, including desktops.
5. Suitable for various platforms: was initially designed for TikTok, but was updated to be compatible with longer videos on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.
6. Brand-friendly content creation: has a wide variety of filters and effects, allowing you to stay consistent with your branding.

Cons:

1. Limited advanced features: lacks advanced and consistent color grading, has a 15-minute video cap, and limited added track and video amount.
2. Learning curve: requires extra time to explore all its tools, asks users to often repeat steps, and is not always convenient.
3. Platform limitations: does not support landscape mode on mobile phones and iPads or set a frame rate higher than 60 FPS.
4. Limited language support: supports fewer languages than other editing apps, and, often, auto-cations are inaccurate in supported languages. It supports: English, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish, Indonesian, Russian, German, Arabic, French, and more.

The Trio You Didn’t Know You Needed

There are many new apps for short-form video editing and captioning, but these definitely stand out from the rest.

That said, how do you know which app is right for you? We think you can’t lose with any one of these, but here are some guidelines to help you choose wisely:

• For marketing agencies and content creators looking for a simpler tool, SubMagic is usually a great starting point.
• For marketing agencies and content creators looking for the best multi-language support, Captions.ai is likely the most suitable choice.
• For marketing agencies and content creators seeking the highest professional-quality video-editing capabilities and advanced customization options, we recommend using CapCut, which stands out with its comprehensive editing features and compatibility with various platforms.

Not only do all three of these tools offer unique benefits for short-form video creation, but also they will help you grow your social-media audiences in the most time-efficient and effective way – and they’ll potentially save you the cost of hiring a video editor!

We’ve Got Your Back

Whether you’re a marketing agency or an individual creator, there’s an ideal app to meet your needs and elevate your content-creation game. With any of these three apps, you can’t go wrong.

If you’re looking for a trusted digital-marketing agency to increase your growth on social media or YouTube and take the burden of creating your own content off your shoulders, don’t hesitate to get in touch!