How to Make Social Media Videos with Text

Adding text to your social media videos isn't just a stylish choice anymore, it’s a direct way to hold your audience's attention in a crowded feed. With many people scrolling with the sound off, static text, headlines, and captions transform your video from a silent movie into a message that gets across instantly. This guide breaks down exactly how to do it, from the simplest tools on your phone to the best practices that distinguish professional content from the rest.

Why Adding Text to Your Videos Is a Non-Negotiable Strategy

Before getting into the "how," it's worth understanding the "why." Putting text on your videos solves some of the biggest challenges of social media marketing in one simple step. If you're on the fence, consider this:

• Sound-Off Viewing Is the Norm: Reports consistently show that a majority of users on platforms like Facebook and Instagram watch videos without sound. If your message relies entirely on a voiceover or someone talking to the camera, most of your audience will miss it entirely. Captions and text overlays make your content understandable for everyone, with sound on or off.
• It Grabs Attention Faster: The first three seconds are everything. A bold text headline acts as an immediate hook, telling the viewer exactly what the video is about and why they should stop scrolling to watch it. It’s a visual signal that there’s value to be found.
• Improves Accessibility: Text makes your content accessible to the hard-of-hearing community and for those who speak different languages and rely on translated captions. It’s an inclusive practice that widens your potential audience.
• Boosts Comprehension and Recall: When people both see and read a message, they are far more likely to remember it. Text reinforces your key points, numbers, or calls-to-action, driving your message home more effectively than video alone.

The Best Tools for Adding Text to Your Social Media Videos

You don't need a fancy film degree or expensive software to start adding text to your videos. Many of the best tools are already on your phone and are incredibly straightforward to use.

For Quick Edits on Your Phone

These apps are perfect for creating content on the fly. They're built for social media and have all the foundational features you need.

• Instagram Reels &, Stories Editor: The native editor within Instagram is surprisingly powerful. You can add multiple text boxes, customize fonts and colors, and set the duration for when each piece of text appears and disappears. The auto-captions sticker is a simple way to transcribe a voiceover instantly.
• TikTok Editor: TikTok's text tools are excellent and have set the standard for many text-on-video trends. You can add text overlays, choose from hundreds of popular fonts, use text-to-speech to have a voice read your text aloud, and easily generate and edit auto-captions.
• CapCut: Owned by the same parent company as TikTok, CapCut is a free, full-featured mobile video editor that has become a go-to for creators. Its standout feature is the "Auto-Captions" function, which creates animated, word-by-word captions that are incredibly engaging. You get tons of control over fonts, styles, and animations, far beyond what the native apps offer.

For More Control on Your Desktop

When you want to maintain brand consistency or need more refined control over your text, a desktop-based tool is the way to go.

• Canva: Long a favorite for static graphics, Canva has a robust video editor. It’s perfect for using your specific brand fonts and colors. You can upload your video, add text overlays from a massive library of pre-designed styles, and even animate the text to make it more dynamic.
• Veed.io: Veed is an online video editor that specializes in making social media content easier to create. Its auto-subtitle tool is incredibly accurate and offers tons of customization options - from classic captions to modern, animated word-by-word text. You can also add static headlines and other text overlays.
• Adobe Express: A lighter, more accessible version of Adobe’s professional suite, Adobe Express is another excellent online tool. It provides video templates specifically for social media and makes it simple to add text, use branded assets, and get a polished final product without a steep learning curve.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Video with Text

While every app is slightly different, the fundamental workflow is the same. Here’s the general process you’ll follow, regardless of which tool you choose:

Step 1: Get Your Visuals Ready

Start with your video clip. Film something new or find existing footage from your camera roll. Keep it short and impactful, for social media, anything from 5 to 30 seconds works well. It’s also helpful to have your message planned out. What is the one thing you want to communicate? Jot down the key points you want to turn into text overlays.

Step 2: Add and Style Your Text

Import your video into your editor of choice (like CapCut or Instagram Reels). Look for a "Text" icon, usually represented by "T" or "Aa." Tap it to add a text box. Type your headline or first point.

Now, think about styling. This is where you can make your video look professional.

• Choose a Font: Pick a clean, bold, easy-to-read font. Avoid busy script fonts unless it’s for a single, stylized word.
• Pick Colors: Make sure your text color has high contrast with the video background. White text with a black shadow or on a semi-transparent black background is a classic, readable choice.
• Check Alignment: Center your text or left-align it for easy reading.

Step 3: Time and Animate Your Text

A static block of text that stays on screen for the whole video is fine, but timed text tells a better story. In your editor, you should be able to select a text box and adjust its duration. A timeline view will let you drag the beginning and end of the text clip to match the action or your voiceover. Make words appear as you say them or have bullet points pop up one by one. Many apps also offer simple animations like "fade in" or "slide up" to give your text a little life.

Step 4: Generate Your Captions

If your video has a voiceover, now is the time for captions. Find the "Captions" or "Auto-Captions" sticker or button. The app will automatically transcribe your audio into timed text. Play it back and review the text carefully - auto-transcription is good but not perfect. You’ll almost always need to fix a word, add punctuation, or adjust the timing. A few minutes of cleanup here makes a huge difference.

Step 5: Export and Share

Give your video one final watch. Pay attention to "safe zones" - leave a margin around the edges so platform user interface elements (like usernames, like buttons, or bottom description bars) don't cover up your text. Once you're happy with it, export the video in the highest quality available and it's ready to post.

From Good to Great: 5 Best Practices for Text Overlays

Following a few simple rules will elevate your videos and make them significantly more effective at stopping the scroll.

1. Start with a Bold Headline Hook

The first line of text your viewer sees should be a powerful hook. Don't waste it on a simple "Hello." Instead, present a problem, state a benefit, or spark curiosity.

Examples: "3 mistakes you're making with your coffee," "The one thing nobody tells you about starting a business," or "How to look your best on camera."

2. Use Dynamic Pop-up Captions

The most engaging captions today are animated to appear one or a few words at a time. This keeps the viewer’s eyes moving and focused on the screen, encouraging them to watch until the end. Apps like CapCut and Veed make this style easy to achieve automatically.

3. Keep Your Text Readable and On-Brand

Consistency is memorable. If you can, use your brand's fonts and colors. But readability is the top priority. If your brand font is hard to read quickly on video, choose a simple, bold sans-serif font like Poppins, Montserrat, or Arial Black instead. Always test your text against various backgrounds in your video to ensure it stands out.

4. Don't Just Transcribe - Summarize

Your on-screen text doesn't always have to be a word-for-word transcript. Think of it as a helpful summary. Use text overlays to pull out the most important phrases, list recipe ingredients, or number the steps in a tutorial. This makes your content skimmable and delivers value quickly.

5. Be Mindful of Placement

Remember that platforms cover parts of the screen with their interface. The bottom fifth of a Reel or TikTok is often obscured by the caption and menu icons. The top and sides can also have overlays. Place your most important text in the center of the screen to ensure it’s always visible on any device.

Final Thoughts

Creating social media videos with text is one of the most learnable and highest-impact skills you can develop as a creator or brand. By combining clear visuals with well-timed, readable text, you craft content that works in any viewing environment and makes your message more powerful, accessible, and memorable.

We know how much effort goes into creating quality short-form video. Once you’ve edited your content and added the perfect text and captions, you still need to publish it across your channels. That's why we built Postbase - it’s designed for the video-first world we live in. You can upload your finished Reel or TikTok once and schedule it across multiple accounts with reliable performance. Our visual calendar allows you to plan your entire video strategy, so you can spend less time managing posts and more time creating.