Much like losing weight, saving money, and cutting down on wasted Netflix hours, writing good captions on Instagram is one of those things that’s easier said than done. Yes, Instagram allows for up to 2,200 character captions, but rarely are they ever that lengthy, intricate, or complex.
As such, what makes them so difficult to create for brands looking to use Instagram as one of their top lead-generation tools in the social sphere? Chalk it up to pressure, writer’s block, or a lack of creativity, they often keep businesses from making the most of Instagram.
That is, until today—below, you’ll find five tried-and-true hacks for writing good captions. Though by no means a comprehensive analysis of everything that’s needed, when combined with a bit of brainstorming, they promise to deliver. But first, check out this infographic material that sums up the article:
1) Concision Can’t Be Overlooked When Writing Good Captions On Instagram
Don’t get us wrong—there are moments when you and your business might need to test the boundaries of Instagram’s 2,2000-character caption limit. For example, if you work in the food industry, it’s a good idea to provide value to your followers by posting a recipe or two. For the food businesses, it is important to use some delicious foodie captions.
More often than not, though, a few sentences will get the job done.
Instead of making your captions wordy, get straight to the point, allowing most of the marketing to be conducted visually through the image you’ve shared. Instagram is about viewing—not reading.
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2) Front-Load What Matters Most
This second hack is joined at the hip with the one that precedes it—front-load your Instagram captions with the most important information. Seeing as how concise writing calls for as few words as possible, this makes it easy to use.
That said, there’s a second reason you’ll want to front-load your captions with what users must see. Instagram cuts off captions in its users’ feeds after three to four lines of text. Because of this, key content and invitations to act should always be given prime positioning when writing.
3) Want Something? Ask for It!
Those “invitations to act” which were briefly mentioned in the previous point?
You don’t need us to tell you, but there’s a fancy-schmancy marketing term for them—calls to action (CTAs). Allow us to make ourselves clear, here—good Instagram captions include them.
Why are they so important? Well, the best way for you to increase brand engagement on Instagram is to ask for it. Urge users to “double-tap,” “like” or comment on your posts. Take things a step further, inviting followers to click on a landing page link in your profile bio, too.
4) Hashtags—Don’t Forget About Them
If you’re at least somewhat familiar with Twitter, you already know that using too many hashtags is greatly frowned upon—one or two of them get the job done just about every time. Things are different on Instagram, though—feel free to use up to 30 of them in a post’s caption.
However many you decide to use, make certain that you’re using the right ones.
While an excellent tool for up-and-coming brand fans, the wrong hashtags attract the kinds of users who won’t take a genuine interest in the products and services you offer.
* Note: For help finding the right hashtags for your Instagram account, you should conduct hashtag research.
5) Use Emojis to Spice Things Up a Bit When Writing Good Captions
You didn’t expect this one, did you?
No, Kicksta isn’t a company composed of emoji-obsessed middle-schoolers. To be honest, as far as good Instagram captions are concerned, these things play a pretty useful role.
For starters, they’re great at catching people’s attention at the beginning of a post. On top of that, they can be used to replace entire words in the middle of posts, keeping your captions even more short-form. Lastly, they’re fun—after all, this is what Instagrammers are looking for.
What Are You Waiting For?
It was well-known humorist Don Marquis who once famously said, “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” And while his words were likely not intended for Instagram marketers, he makes a valid point regarding your brand’s growth.
Today, Instagram is huge, and writing good captions is so important.
Laying claim to upwards of 2.4 billion active monthly users who share an average of 95 million photos and videos per day, needless to say, there are several industry-specific conversations your brand’s Instagram account could benefit from joining.
That is where Instagram captions are key to standing out in today’s competitive social media landscape. With these tips, your captions will not only catch attention but also drive engagement and boost your brand’s voice. If you want to read more about captions and how to turn them into great Instagram captions you can read more in our blog.
The first step to having your voice heard is? Yup, you guessed it—good Instagram captions!
