Tips to Write the Perfect Instagram Caption

Part of posting engaging content on Instagram is coming up with the perfect caption. You want to craft captions that grab a viewer’s attention and incorporate hashtags, making it easy to find. Still, you don’t want the caption to be too long.

We’ve gathered the most important tips to keep in mind when writing Instagram captions. With these tips, you should notice improved engagement and reach for your posts.

Think About Your Goals

When writing an Instagram caption, think about your overall goals for your social media campaign. Do you want to boost brand visibility? Do you want to gather user-generated content? Do you want to boost sales of a new product?

Your goal will influence your caption to some extent. At the very least, it will help you decide on a call to action.

Focus on the First Sentence

As you craft your Instagram caption, remember that the first sentence is the most important part. After all, only the first few lines of text are displayed on Instagram without clicking “more.”

For this reason, you want this first sentence to be a hook that will either get your point across or encourage viewers to keep reading the caption.

Not sure how to make that first sentence interesting? Consider the following:

• Make an intriguing statement that sparks curiosity.

• Share an interesting statistic or fact.

• Share an exclusive offer.

• Trigger an emotional response.

There Is No Golden Rule About Length

If you expect a golden rule such as “keep your captions short,” you are out of luck. Sometimes, a shorter caption will make the most sense. Other times, a longer caption is more effective.

That said, make sure your caption adds value, whether short or long. If you aren’t positive that it adds value, shorten it and remove excess information.

Importantly, you will have to recognize that every situation and brand voice is unique. Think back to your goals and decide what makes the most sense for this particular post and your audience.

If your caption is lengthy, use the tips above to make the first sentence appealing enough to encourage people to click “More.”

As a best practice, you should always break up longer captions into paragraphs or by using emojis.

Include a CTA or Next Step

Every effective Instagram caption should include a call-to-action even as simple as a next step for your followers to do. The call to action can be an invitation to visit your website, buy a specific product, or sign up for your newsletter.

Your CTA can also be a request to answer a question in a comment or share user-generated content with your hashtag. Another great option is to encourage people to tag someone in the comments.

If you post a product, you can encourage sharing with a statement like, “Tag a friend who needs this outfit!” If you share an interesting fact, try a caption that goes, “Tag someone who will be shocked to learn this!” Get creative with the CTA to make it work for your post.

Your goal when including a CTA is to encourage engagement, which will make your profile part of a community.

As a bonus, high engagement boosts your post’s position in the Instagram algorithm. That, in turn, increases your chances of appearing as recommendations and in feeds.

Running a contest that requires commenting, sharing, or tagging is also an excellent and exciting way to encourage this type of engagement.

Be Authentic

Do your best to be authentic and interact like a real person in your Instagram captions. Your wording should seem natural, as this makes you seem like a friend, encouraging a connection and a feeling of community.

Use Sensory Words and Phrases

In addition to being authentic, try to craft your captions to include words and phrases that appeal to your audience’s senses. Play on taste, sound, sight, emotion, or touch.

Include Emojis

Emojis help make captions interesting and fun, as well as relatable. You can use them creatively to bookend text or break up long strings of content.

Just be sure to choose your emojis carefully so as not to overdo it. Your chosen emojis should match your branding and voice.

Offer Value in Your Caption

Like any other type of content you create, your Instagram captions will get more attention if they provide value to your followers or anyone coming across the post. The most common example is to include tips or hacks for using your products or services.

Don’t Forget Hashtags

Hashtags are among the most important features of your Instagram captions, as they help new people discover your content.

When choosing your hashtags, don’t go overboard. You should also combine more general, trending hashtags with niche or branded hashtags. This will give you the extended reach of trending hashtags and the reduced competition of niche hashtags.

Plan the Captions

Taking the time to plan your captions along with your Instagram content lets you optimize your profile. Creating a detailed plan helps you stay strategic about what to include and how your content will help you meet your goals.

For most people, planning the captions in a separate platform, such as a blank word document, can be helpful. With a documented plan, you can plot out multiple posts and captions for the future. With new features, you can even schedule posts as you plan them.

When creating captions, try to come up with two or three options and gather input from other members of your team. With more options, you never run out of appropriate content to post with your images or videos.

Choose Two or Three Themes

Planning your captions also lets you develop a theme for future captions. With a theme for a specific season, you deliver a consistent brand voice and aesthetic.

For example, your captions can focus on sustainability or transparency at the start of the week. In the latter part of the week, your captions can focus on your products.

As you plan your content, you can even have rotating themes for different days of the week. For example, post about sustainability on Monday, customer testimonials on Tuesday, and so on.

Conclusion

With these tips, you should be on your way to writing engaging captions that encourage interactions and shares. Just remember to keep your goals in mind, include CTAs, and create a plan for your posts, including captions.