Keep reading this guide, we’ll provide you with some Instagram captions tips to write compelling captions of your own.
6 helpful Instagram captions tips
Here are interesting tips you need to know to write your own unique compelling Instagram captions that work.
1. Know your audience
The better you understand your viewers, the easier it is to tailor your Instagram marketing strategy to their needs and expectations.
Instagram demographics tell us that the biggest group of users is 25 to 34 years old and that women very slightly outnumber me on the network. However, those are the broad strokes. To create the perfect Instagram captions for your audience, you should know who’s following you and scrolling down your content.
How old are they? Where do they live? What kinds of jobs do they have? What do they do outside of work? This post on social media audience research may help you discover this out.
To further define your audience, it’s a good suggestion to create audience personas. This helps ensure you think of your audience as real people with real preferences you’ll be able to speak to.
Once you know who you’re talking to, you’ll be able to answer questions that will inform what you put in your captions:
- Will my audience understand this reference?
- Are emojis and netspeak appropriate to use here? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Do I need to add extra context to this post?
- What hashtags does my audience follow?
This instance from bidet producer Tushy showcases the brand’s good understanding of its following. This kind of edgy humor wouldn’t necessarily sit well with different audiences:
2. Identify your brand voice
If you haven’t recognized your brand voice as part of a broader social media marketing strategy, ask yourself: ‘What are the qualities and values I want my brand to embody?’ Make a list and make use of it to shape your voice.
You might also attempt jotting down a few adjectives describing your business and using those to seek out the right tone. “Bold,” “curious,” and “authoritative” might make sense for a travel brand, for instance.
In general, Instagram users don’t need a formal or serious tone. In fact, it depends on the industry and audience, however, you must strive to keep things light, use humor where appropriate, and show personality.
3. Write the most important words at the beginning of the caption
If you want your complete caption to display “above the fold,” stick to 125 characters or fewer. After that, audiences will need to click More to see the rest of your text.
So, don’t bury the lead. If you’re going to make use of a longer caption, ensure to put the most important and attention-grabbing info right upfront. Put any @mentions and hashtags at the end.
In this instance, it only makes sense that information about the giveaway is front and center. After all, that’s what this post is all about, and the bold intro helps grab the audience’s attention.
4. Use hashtags wisely
Use hashtags that are relevant to your post and target audience. Don’t use so many that they crowd your copy and make it tough to read.
If you want to use several hashtags but don’t need to clutter your caption, group your hashtags in one “paragraph” at the end of your post.
5. Ask a question
Asking a question in your Instagram caption is a certain strategy to spark engagement with your post. Engagement is a key element of the Instagram algorithm. It also creates an amazing opportunity to interact with your audience.
You won’t likely need to ask a question in every Instagram caption, but this is a good strategy to employ from time to time. Just make sure that you monitor your comments and get engaged in the discussion your question sparks.
6. Use a call to action
If you want people to take a specific action after viewing your post, don’t be afraid to say so. If you want people to visit your website, direct them to the link in your bio.
In this example from clothing brands Frank and Oak, the caption includes a call to action asking the brand’s followers to post pictures using a branded hashtag.
Interesting note: We recently ran an experiment and found Instagram posts that included the phrase “link in bio” in the caption slightly outperformed other posts.
Or if your post is shoppable, encourage users to take a look at the featured products.
Your call to action may be the most important essential part of your Instagram captions, so write it carefully, give it an edit, and maybe even do some testing to see what works best.