A great Instagram caption can lead you or your business to more engagement. JC Sweet & Co. wanted to share these tips we found from Hootsuite. Let us know what worked for you!
How to Write Good Instagram Captions
As with any piece of good web writing, your Instagram caption should be attention-grabbing and easy to read and follow. It should also speak to the content and the audience.
Here’s how to write your own captions to boost engagement.
1. Know your audience
To know who your audience is, ask yourself some simple questions:
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What sorts of jobs do they have?
- What do they do outside of work?
Hootsuite recommends creating an audience persona and provides an outline of how to do this.
Once you know who you’re speaking to, you can answer questions that will inform what you put in your captions:
- Will my audience understand this reference?
- Are emojis and netspeak appropriate to use here? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Do I need to add more context to this post?
Answer those questions, and actioning on the next step will be much easier.
2. Identify your brand voice
To identify your brand’s voice, ask yourself: ‘What are the qualities and values I want my brand to embody?’ Make a list and use it to shape your voice.
You might also try jotting down a few adjectives that describe your business and use those to find the right tone. “Bold,” “curious,” and “authoritative” might make sense for a travel brand, for example.
3. Consider length
Remember that most people scroll through their Instagram feeds at a brisk pace. If there’s any doubt as to how long your caption should be, keep it brief. Give context where you need to, but if the post speaks for itself, let it.
That said, if there’s an interesting story to tell behind the photo, take the time (and the generous character limit) to tell it.
4. Place the most important words at the beginning of the caption
Again, captions are cut off in users’ feeds after a few lines of text, so you need to convey your key point or call to action right away. Put any @mentions and hashtags (more on those later) at the end.
Also, leading with the most important words is just good writing. Hook the reader in and give them a reason to tap “More.”
5. Edit and rewrite
Take your time and don’t be afraid to go through several drafts, especially if your captions are more than a few lines long. Great writing—whether you’re aiming humor or education—takes multiple drafts and edits.
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More Resources from Kicksta
Crafting good Instagram captions can be very, very difficult. It’s no longer all about the perfectly staged and filtered photos, Instagram captions hold just as much importance in your content strategy.
Deciding if your captions for pictures should be witty, serious, inspirational, or include a call-to-action only adds to the pressure. If you want to be successful on Instagram, writing Instagram captions that will leave a lasting impression on your audience is crucial.
To help you get the ball rolling and create the best Insta captions for your pictures, Kicksta has created this guide with tips, tricks, and examples from industry experts. Click here to view their article.