Instagram places a strong emphasis on visual content, considering it a primary aspect of the platform. If your photos and videos are not appealing enough, your chances of achieving success may be hindered. However, even if your visuals are exceptional, they may fall short if your captions don’t meet the expected standards. The most outstanding Instagram captions serve the purpose of providing context, showcasing your brand’s personality, entertaining your audience, and encouraging action. We won’t dictate what you should post on Instagram—that’s entirely up to your creativity and strategic direction. Nonetheless, having a little inspiration for your Instagram captions can always be useful. Here, we have summed up some helpful tips that you can rely on when you’re unsure about what to write or create for the captions of your Instagram posts.
What’re you waiting for? Ready? Go!
1. Understand your audience
Having a deep understanding of your audience makes it easier to customize your Instagram marketing strategy to meet their needs and expectations.
When it comes to Instagram demographics, the largest user group falls within the 25 to 34 age range, with women slightly outnumbering men on the platform. However, these are general statistics. To create captivating Instagram captions for your audience, it’s important to grasp who follows you and actively seeks your content.
How old are they? Where do they reside? What occupations do they hold? What are their interests outside of work? Conducting social media audience research, as discussed in our previous post, can assist you in answering these questions.
To further define your audience, consider creating audience personas. This ensures that you view your audience as real individuals with specific preferences to cater to.
Once you have a clear understanding of your audience, you can address important questions that will guide your caption creation:
Will my audience comprehend this reference? Are emojis and informal language appropriate for this context? Do I need to provide additional context for this post? Which hashtags are popular among my audience?
Take a look at this example from Tushy, a bidet producer, showcasing their clever understanding of their followers. It’s worth noting that this type of edgy humor may not resonate well with other audiences.
2. Define your brand’s voice
If you haven’t established your brand’s voice as part of your broader social media marketing strategy, take a moment to consider the qualities and values you want your brand to embody. Create a list and utilize it to shape your brand’s voice.
To find the right tone, you can also jot down a few descriptive adjectives that align with your business. For instance, a travel brand might aim for a “bold,” “curious,” and “authoritative” voice.
In general, Instagram users don’t anticipate a formal or serious tone. While it depends on your industry and audience, it’s advisable to maintain a light-hearted approach, incorporate humor when appropriate, and showcase your brand’s personality.
3. Put the most important words at the top of the caption
If you want your entire caption to be visible without requiring followers to click “More,” limit it to 125 characters or less. Beyond that, additional text will be hidden until expended.
Therefore, it’s crucial not to bury the key message. When using a longer caption, ensure that the most important and attention-grabbing information is placed upfront. Reserve any @mentions and hashtags for the end.
In the provided example, it’s logical to prioritize the giveaway details and place them front and center. After all, the post revolves around the giveaway, and the bold introduction effectively captures the audience’s attention.
4. Optimize hashtag usage
Select hashtags that are relevant to your post and target audience. Avoid using an excessive number of hashtags that overcrowd your caption and hinder readability.
To maintain a clean caption appearance while using multiple hashtags, consider grouping them in a single “paragraph” at the end of your post.
5. Engage through questions
Incorporating a question within your Instagram caption is a reliable method to foster engagement with your post. Engagement plays a vital role in the Instagram algorithm and presents an excellent opportunity to interact with your audience.
While it’s not necessary to pose a question in every caption, employing this strategy occasionally can be effective. Remember to actively monitor and participate in the resulting discussion prompted by your question.
6. Include a call to action
If you want your audience to take a specific action after viewing your post, don’t hesitate to express it directly. For instance, if you want people to visit your website, guide them to the link provided in your bio.
In the showcased example from clothing brand Frank and Oak, the caption includes a call to action urging the brand’s followers to share pictures using a branded hashtag.
Note: In a recent experiment, we discovered that if you create Instagram posts containing the phrase “link in bio” in the captions exhibited slightly better performance compared to other posts.
Alternatively, if your post showcases shoppable items, encourage users to explore the featured products.
Your call to action holds significant importance within your Instagram captions, so craft it thoughtfully, revise it diligently, and consider conducting tests to determine the most effective approach.