The video has subtitles, but viewers cannot finish a sentence in time, interface controls cover the bottom line, and a professional term is transcribed incorrectly. Text is technically present without helping explain the offer.
Review the finished video at its displayed size on a phone. Check meaning, timing, readability and correspondence with the footage, beyond a separate text file.
Subtitles help people understand speech when sound is unavailable. Accessible captions may also require speaker identification and meaningful sounds: W3C describes synchronised text for speech and necessary non-speech information in its captions and subtitles guide.
Do not treat short advertising headlines as a substitute for subtitles. They emphasise a point but may omit explanations and conditions conveyed in speech.
Agree whether text is in the spoken language or translated. The article on Reels subtitles, voiceovers and separate filming covers language versions.
Treat automatic transcription as a draft. Listen and check terminology, names, numbers, units, currencies and negatives.
Illustrative example. The speaker says “the price is not fixed”, but the subtitles omit “not”. This changes the offer's conditions and must be corrected regardless of presentation quality.
Preserve meaning and essential qualifications when shortening. If a sentence does not fit, refine wording or editing pace first, rather than shrinking the text until it is unreadable.
A block should appear with the corresponding speech and stay long enough to read. Do not move an explanation onto another shot that already shows the next action.
Start with short blocks of one or two lines and check them at normal playback speed. This is a working guideline, not a universal rule for every language and font.
Avoid separating connected words, numbers from units or product names. Divide a long sentence into successive meaningful blocks. Individual-word animation must not hinder reading or distract from an important action.
Choose a font with distinguishable characters and support for required languages. Check text against light, dark and changing backgrounds; use an agreed backing panel if needed.
Check positioning with the interface of the actual placement. Captions, buttons and other controls can obscure text. One fixed margin does not establish readiness for every publication.
Subtitles should not cover hands, product details, a screen demonstration or the speaker's face. If space is insufficient, revise the composition or prepare a separate version. The article on Reels for advertising and organic posts discusses placement differences.
Text can be embedded in the video or delivered as a separate subtitle file where the selected channel supports it. Embedded subtitles become part of the image; separate files and display settings need their own checks.
If the platform also displays automatic captions, check for duplicate text. After editing changes, review synchronisation again even if the words remain unchanged.
Save the editing project, approved text and language versions. Open the final export on a phone with sound, then without it. The Reels editing checklist complements acceptance.
When discussing Reels production, provide terminology, languages and placements. Include transcription, editing, presentation and finished-subtitle checks in the agreed scope, beyond automatic generation alone.