Instagram marketing is gaining immense popularity these days. The quality of your content can be a differentiating factor when it comes to having Instagram followers, getting them involved with your brand and what it’s all about, and displaying the human side of your business.
However, the hard work doesn’t end until you’ve taken the stunning shot and edited it to excellence. The description of your post is where you can give a platform to the visual content.
A strong Instagram caption demonstrates what the picture is about, advises your followers to take measures, or cracks a joke that makes your post much more delightful and posted.
Tips to write better content for Instagram
If you think of writing content for your Instagram post as an unnecessary distraction, you’re missing the chance to connect and entertain your followers in ways you can’t the only picture. Here are a few ideas to make you compose decent Instagram content.
1. Put the Important Information First
Instagram is designed for the experience of mobile viewing. This means that only the first 125 characters of the caption appear in the feed of the recipient. The user needs to press further to see the remainder of the caption. Remember, you battle for user interest with any single site they follow, branded or not. You’re trying to grab their attention fast before they click past to look at a more fascinating message.
2. Take Care of the Structure of the Caption
You may know that a person has to press more to display a caption longer than 125 characters, but that doesn’t mean that you can ignore long captions. Since Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters in a caption, you should use an average of about 400 words! Formatting is the secret to creating a longer caption. Break your content into smaller chunks to make it readable.
3. Include Relevant Hashtags
Increasing interaction is significant, but your posts must also expand the reach and draw new followers. Hashtags are one way to do this. According to research, posts with at least one hashtag earn more views and feedback than posts with no hashtags. Increased hashtags reach exponentially so that users on Instagram will adopt a particular hashtag. This means that if you use the hashtag in your message, you can hit users who follow the hashtag as well as users who follow you directly.
4. Keep a Lighthearted Tone
Each social network has a different sound that fits best. If an extreme, buzzword copy will work well on LinkedIn, for example, the same copy will not work as well on Instagram. The best Instagram posts seem to have a light-hearted, enjoyable feel, showcasing the most genuine, human, and friendly side of the brand.
5. Boost Engagement with CTAs
Want to push interaction? Ask for it by encouraging individuals with a perspective to leave a message, tag their mates, or weigh in. Of course, for them to agree to do so the substance of the post would have to be convincing. But before you put your hand out, make sure to put your best foot forward. If you attempt to elicit interaction but gain only silence in return, it will reflect negatively on your brand. Instead, you could find your call to action too sweet to ignore. With a cool prize run a comment-to-win contest.
6. Use Emojis
An Instagram caption can add some personality to Emojis, the cartoon-like emoticons available to most smartphone users. That’s so many companies use them even the more “serious” brands in their captions. In your tweets, there are a number of distinct ways to use emojis.
Studies have found that posts with emojis on Instagram currently have higher response rates than posts without emojis. Emojis can also be used to split up long text lines, and the posts add extra personality.
7. Use Only Four Hashtags
A hashtag acts the same way on Instagram as it does on Twitter and Facebook: it connects various users’ conversations into one tube. Anyone who does a search for that hashtag can find your Instagram post as long as your account is public. Hashtags are useful for linking users who are not otherwise related to each other, but in the same subjects, activities, brands, and so on who are talking about – and involved. They’re also a perfect way to introduce to your posts some friendly and cute humour.
Using hashtags sparingly, though. Quite a lot of hashtags are used by some Instagram users as a way to get more followers. But the fact is the followers you have to look spammy then. People will note that you use a bunch of hashtags, and they will think it’s boring. Limit three or four, max, of the hashtags. And mind, if you do not want to, you do not have to include any at all. To have an amazing Instagram caption, you do not need a hashtag.
8. Make Sure to Use Hashtags at the End of the Caption
Don’t mention any hashtags before the very end of the caption, unless the hashtagged word blends naturally into a sentence. That way first comes the part of your caption that is most pleasing to humans, making it more user-friendly. Plus, the hashtags that are there to bind users (as opposed to delight people) will be obscured if your caption is long enough to be cut off.
9. Use @ Mentions to Increase Reach
You may have heard about influencers on Instagram. This social media stars have enormous followings and have an active influence on their followers ‘purchasing decisions.
Now imagine that you will communicate with these influencers and meet both their fans and your own. They get a message anytime you use the ‘@ mention’ feature to tag someone on Instagram. The article will appear in the feeds of their followers whether they comment on or retweet the post. In the case of an Instagram influencer, your post could appear in the feeds of thousands of individuals you wouldn’t have reached otherwise.
Of course, an influencer isn’t going to connect with a random message, but tagging them is a perfect way to expand your exposure if you collaborate with another Instagram user or post content specifically relevant to them.
10. Analyze Your Competitors
Checking the posts and engagement of your rivals is still important. Your fans share the same demographics, after all. Analyzing their actions will lead to a consensus regarding their captions on Instagram and determine if the brand needs to adopt the same style. It is also easy to see their flaws and correct your own posts based on their mistakes. But note that the study and copying of rivals aren’t the same. Only draw assumptions and rely on the sound of speech, your own branding.
11. Ask Questions
You let your supporters believe you are referring to them by posing a question. “If you present two or more similar items or images and ask them, “What one do you want,” questions usually perform better. Another best caption is to end the caption with “…and how about you?”
People enjoy expressing their opinions and feelings. They feel important, their perspective is respected, and just reflecting about what choice they want, how they feel, won’t be complicated, and won’t think twice if it’s worth expressing their views. They know it’s not just a tactic you are using to get more feedback, particularly when you respond to comments. So if your fans like your brand, they would be more likely to answer your questions and share their opinions with you.
12. Organise Contests
Deep down, both of us like to win, being the first. So if you cause the crowd to be the first to respond, the first to answer a question, even if there is no medal for it at the end, everybody would want to win the game.
Let’s see “who knows me/our brand best,” “who’s going to be the first to recall” captions provoke interest and a desire to act.”
Another good concept is a caption for a giveaway, which can be achieved by a draw. Say the rules and conditions to the viewers and wait for their responses.
Alternatively, you might arrange a competition for a question-me-anything, and the question you liked the most becomes the winner.
But note that you need a bigger audience for the approaches above or at least one with active followers who like your posts and vote on them.
Final Thoughts
Instagram captions provide the post with meaning while highlighting the individuality of your brand and presenting your fans with an opportunity to connect with you.
For your company, even a brief caption will work hard, raising your post above what a picture or even a video might achieve on its own. You will expand your scope, optimise participation, and prevent common caption pitfalls if you use these tips as guidance.
Of course, Instagram is special to any company, and you have to find a look that fits for your brand and your clients. Try these tips, either individually or in combination, in your Instagram captions, and report the results. You will adapt your posts and your captions to engage your existing clients and draw new ones until you know what your followers react to.
ⓘ LAFFAZ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Users are required to read and abide by our Terms & Conditions.
