Hey, hey!! What’s going on? I hope your week is flying by and that you’ve had tons of coffee to accompany you.
It’s no secret that Instagram has had me down for the majority of this year. I have gone through stages of excitement for new strategies to discouragement from Instagram’s new algorithms. If I’m being completely honest with you, I’m not even sure where my emotions are at with Instagram right now. Somedays I’m over it and others I wish Instagram would stop messing with its users.
While Instagram can be a total bummer somedays, today I’m choosing to focus on the positives! I may not be where I wish I was with Instagram, but I do know that I’m doing one thing right in all of this messiness. The one thing that I know that I know I’m doing right is this: I know how to write great Instagram captions.
Today, I want to share with you some of the methods I use to create kick-butt Instagram captions. Captions for the longest time used to be a struggle for me to come up with, but after implementing these simple strategies and tips, they’re not a struggle for me anymore.
HOW TO CRAFT THE PERFECT INSTAGRAM CAPTION:
1. Keep Your Brand’s Voice Consistent // Let’s start with one of the most important things you need to do in order to create awesome Instagram captions that will draw in your audience. You’ve got to keep your brand’s voice consistent at all times. Your brand’s voice is essentially the overall tone that you want to be reflected in and through all of your content. Once you find your brand’s voice, stick to it. Don’t change up how you talk – that will only confuse your followers. Find your voice and learn how to echo it.
Related Reading: How To Find Your Brand’s Voice
2. Pay Attention To Length // Many of you have asked me before what the perfect length is for an Instagram caption. The answer is: there is no perfect length. There’s a time to keep it short and sweet, and there’s a time to just let your heart out. You don’t want too much of one or the other. Instead, you should be looking for a balance between both lengths. While it’s good to play around with different lengths, remember that for longer captions, only the first 3 lines will show. If you’re wanting people to click down to read the entire caption, you’ve really got to grab their attention in the first 3 lines.
[bctt tweet=”Pro tip: Include your most important points in the first 3 lines of your IG captions.” username=”SummerTelban”]
3. Add Value To The Photo // Instagram started out as a place to connect with each other over experiences and everyday life. In order to keep the original heart of Instagram alive, we’ve got to add value to the photos we’re posting with our words. Adding value can mean a couple different things:
- Making sure your caption relates to the photo you’re posting
- Sharing words that will be of value to your readers (even more so than the photo)
Do you want to provide value to your followers? Give them something worth reading.
[bctt tweet=”You want to provide value to your followers? Give them something worth reading.” username=”SummerTelban”]
4. Play Around With Emojis // Emojis are a really good thing to play around with to see how your followers will react! Emojis add extra flare into your captions! I’d encourage you to include a couple in longer captions to break up all of the text. People are naturally more visual and that’s where a simple emoji could help catch someone’s eye. Now, don’t go over the top with emojis. Use them only when they’re necessary. Depending on the length of your caption, I’d say the “sweet” amount of emojis would be 2-5 per caption. Again, that’s hugely dependent on the length of your caption.
PRO TIP: Don’t add in emojis while you’re writing your caption. Instead, when you’re editing your caption, add them in then.
5. Grammar Matters // Grammar matters, people! It really does. I don’t really need to dig too deep into this point. Simple things like proper spelling and grammar go a long way. It’s okay to include your personality into your caption. There are exceptions from time to time, but you still need to stick to the basics. You want your captions to be legible.
6. Experience With Wit & Humor // Adding in wit and humor is a great way to show your personal quirks and quickness to your followers. I’m not really a funny person, but I am quite sarcastic and I have an appreciation for some wit. Some of my favorite captions to read from other people are witty ones. I think humor is something that everyone can connect to. Experiment with it!
[bctt tweet=”Humor is something that everyone can connect to, so experience with it in your IG captions!” username=”SummerTelban”]
7. Hashtags Are Needed (Sometimes) // When it comes to hashtags, I always encourage others to include their hashtags in the first comment after their initial caption. If you’re using all 30 available spots for hashtags, this is the best thing to do. But, there are cases where you should include hashtags in your caption. When you do include them in your caption, only use 1-3 hashtags. Too many hashtags can be very, very overwhelming and distracting. Whenever you include hashtags in your caption, make sure they’re 100% necessary and relevant to the entire caption.
Update!! Instagram has said the only way to remain “searchable” with hashtags is to put them all in your CAPTION. This could change in the future (again), which is why I added this update here – but it’s important to know the history.
Related Reading: 9 Ways To Get Creative With Instagram Stories
8. Ask Questions & Include A CTA // If you’re a blogger or social media influencer, chances are you’re always trying to improve the engagement that your posts receive. Two of the best ways you can encourage others to interact with your posts are to ask questions and include call-to-actions in your posts. You don’t need to include both in each caption, but try your best to include at least one of them in each caption. Here are some call-to-actions you can play around with:
- Double tap if you…
- Go click the link in my bio
- Want in on this goodness? Go here…
Have fun coming up with personal and creative questions & call-to-actions. Remember: you don’t always have to have something creative or witty. Sometimes all you need to include is a question asking about their day.
[bctt tweet=”Call-to-actions are MUST-haves if you’re wanting to grow your engagement.” username=”SummerTelban”]
MY PRO TIP FOR DEVELOPING INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS:
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my fair share of times where I needed to write an Instagram caption, but I had major writer’s block. Times like these would really limit the number of times I’d post on Instagram until I figured out one simple trick.
Do you want in on my secret pro tip for avoiding this?
[bctt tweet=”Want in on my secret to writing the best Instagram captions? READ HERE!” username=”SummerTelban”]
SET A TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULE TO BRAINSTORM CAPTIONS
I set aside about 10-15 minutes at least twice a week to simply write out Instagram captions. This helps me a TON! If I have sponsored posts coming up, I always write the captions ahead of time, rather than on a whim. I’ll even write captions that are general and can be used for more than just one photo.
What I typically do during these 10-15 minutes is set a timer, jot everything down that comes to mind, and then refine. Writing everything down that comes to my mind is huge for me. I don’t use everything I write, but it helps me to get all of my thoughts out. I use a notebook to jot down ideas and then after choosing the finalized captions, I write them into the notes app on my phone.
Not all of my captions are planned. While planning out captions can be hugely productive, you don’t want all of your captions to be planned out. When everything is planned, there is no room for spontaneous words from your heart. Plan, but save room for the spontaneous. You don’t want everything to be scripted, because that’s when you can start to compromise your authenticity.
[bctt tweet=”8 Tips To Crafting The Perfect Instagram Captions” username=”SummerTelban”]
So, my friends! What tips are you going to be implementing to spice up your Instagram caption game? Do you write ahead like me? Do you want to try to write ahead? Let’s chat!!
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