High quality photos will draw people into your Instagram page, but engaging captions will make them stay. You want people to not only like your posts, but comment, share, and tag a friend too. Here are some tips for writing engaging captions for Instagram, as well as some examples to get you started!
We’re all friends here.
When you are writing your caption, imagine that you are talking to a friend. This will make your words flow more naturally and casually. Even if you are running a business account, you don’t want your captions to be too stiff or formal. Keep it friendly and positive.
(Don’t) Keep it Short
The longer your caption, the longer people will have to spend on your post reading the entire thing. This makes the Instagram algorithm go, “Hey, people are really loving her content. I’ll make sure they see more of it!” This boost in engagement makes your posts more visible to current followers and makes your page more visible on the explore page. Quick tip: when using longer captions, make sure to break it up with spaces or lines every 2-3 sentences to make it easier to read and more appealing to the eye. One large paragraph could discourage people from actually reading the whole thing.
Tell A Story
It’s easy to write a caption and just describe what’s going on in the picture. It’s BETTER to tell a story behind the picture, or talk about what’s happening behind the scenes that the viewer can’t see.
Include a Call to Action
A call to action is asking your followers to do something. This could be: comment below, tag a friend, click the link in bio, or subscribe to our newsletter. You’ll be surprised how many people will participate when you simply ask.
Know Your Audience
Do you know who your target customer is? What are their wants and needs? What problems are they currently facing? How can your product or service solve those problems? What are they interested in? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you write your captions while keeping your target customer in mind. You can’t appeal to everyone, which is okay. Having a few loyal, engaged followers is better than having thousands of followers who couldn’t care less about your business.
Share a Tip/Lesson
Share a tip related to your industry, or teach your followers how to do something. You can also share a lesson that you’ve learned that has helped you along the way. Encourage your followers to share lessons they’ve learned as well. This way, you’re adding value and encouraging a supportive community around your social profile.
Now that you have learned some tips on how to write engaging captions, here are a few examples to get you started:
- Introduce Yourself- Who are you? What are you obsessed with? Where are you from? What do you love? What are your goals? What keeps you motivated? Your audience wants to know!
- Answer frequently asked questions about your product or service.
- Share your workspace/office.
- End of the week. Hurray!
- Share a quote.
- Share your favorite books, articles, podcasts, etc.
- Give a sneak peek of something you are working on.
- Repost someone else’s content. (Be sure to give them credit!)
- Share a behind the scenes look at a day in your life, or a project you’re working on.
- Share a testimonial about your product or service.
- Ask a question/feedback.
- Share a quick tip.
- Thank your followers/customers.
- Share your story- How did you get into this business? How did you start? What makes you keep going?
- Talk about a trending topic in your industry and give your opinion or advice.
By: Denecia Graham