Have you ever pulled up Instagram
with a photo you’re ready to share but have no idea what to write as the
caption?
I have. And as blogger who shares
at least one Instagram post a day, writing
great captions is one of my priorities. While some people may argue that
people don’t even read captions anymore, I would argue that some people still
do. I’ve found that followers who truly care about what you do and what content
you create will take the time read what you’ve written.
If you’re focused on building your
Instagram profile up as a small business, content creator, or blogger, captions
matter. So today I’m sharing a few tips to help you write great Instagram
captions.
7 Tips You Can Use to Write Great Instagram Captions
Great Instagram Captions Tip #1:
Use captions to build your relationship with your audience
One of the most important reasons why you shouldn’t take your captions for granted is because every caption is an opportunity to build a relationship with your followers. A few Instagram caption ideas you could try on your account are:
Introduction type captions
In these types of posts, you share with your followers a little bit of who you are, what you do, where you live, etc.
2 Truths and a Lie
Personally, I remember playing 2 truths and a lie as an ice breaker in group events. This is also a great ice breaker between you and your audience. It gives your followers a chance to engage by trying to identify which is the lie.
Asking for recommendations captions
I’ve learned over the years that people genuinely enjoy sharing what they know or how they could help you. Every time I visit a new city, I always ask my audience what I see/eat/or should do in the city.
Great Instagram Captions Tip #2:
Share a teaser of your blog post or video
If you’ve taken the time to write
a blog post, share a teaser of that blog
post in your Instagram caption. My Instagram posts that include one tip
from my blog post perform drastically better than my other types of captions.
Sharing a preview to your audience will level set their expectations. Your
audience will know what they’re going to see when they click the link in the
bio to read your blog post.
Here is an example of a previous Instagram post where I share a teaser of my blog post: How to Build an Engaged Audience on Instagram
Great Instagram Captions Tip #3:
Talk about the specifics of your photo
Not every caption has to share your life story or be super lengthy. Sometimes the best captions simply call out something specific in your photo. On @emmasedition, I’ll sometimes call out the trends I’m wearing in the photo.
Here’s an example of when I highlighted my teddy coat and snakeskin boots:
Great Instagram Captions Tip #4:
Improve Instagram caption readability by adding spaces and emojis
If you want someone to completely
gloss over your caption, write a giant piece of text that doesn’t have line
spaces or emojis to break it up. You
have to make consuming your caption easy for your reader. People are
typically skimming through captions so when they see a massive block of text,
they usually just keep scrolling.
My personal tip is to write your captions out in your Notes folder on your phone. You can add line spaces and emojis in your notes and then copy and paste the caption over when you’re ready to publish.
Great Instagram Captions Tip #5:
Embrace a consistent tone and writing style
Do you like writing in all caps or adding lots of emojis? Do you prefer writing in complete sentences or in bullet style? How do you usually greet your followers: “hey girl HEY!” or “Hello friends”?
Whether you prefer a casual
writing style or a formal tone, just
make sure you’re consistent. When people read your captions, they expect
the same type of tone/words/and style over and over again. People like
familiarity and people like to feel like they know you.
When you change up your writing style with every caption, like writing in all caps with emojis in one caption and then no emojis and no caps in the next Instagram caption, you confuse people.
When you use the same types of words and level of formality consistently, people will know what to expect from you and it’ll make reading your captions easier.
Great Instagram Captions Tip #6:
Drive Value by either educating or inspiring
If you’re feeling stuck about
writing your next Instagram caption, ask yourself:
What can I educate my audience with? How can I inspire my audience today?
I tend to write more educational
types of Instagram captions. I’m in graduate school, I work full time, and I
like sharing the lessons I’ve learned on my blogging journey. So sharing my
tips and how-tos on Instagram come really naturally for me.
If you’ve recently made a life change or traveled somewhere new, can you inspire your audience to do the same? Can you share a few reasons why your adventure was worth it?
Great Instagram Captions Tip #7:
Include ONE clear Call to Action
One mistake I see people do over
and over again is having too many questions in one Instagram post. If you’re
trying to get to know your audience better, ask them one question today and the
next question tomorrow. If you’re trying to get them to read a blog post, let
them know to click the link in the bio.
Too many questions is confusing for people. One question is typically enough.
Then on the flip side, I see people writing no captions at all. If you don’t write a caption, what do you want people to do with your content? Do you want them to see it? Do you want them to engage with it? No direction can also lead people to be disengaged and uninterested.
There you have it friends! 7 tips to help you write your next Instagram caption.
What are your tips for writing great Instagram captions?
Thank you for reading!
For more blogging advice and Instagram tips, you can also check out:
My Biggest Blogging Insecurities + How I’m working to overcome them
Thinking about starting a blog? Here are 7 tips to start a blog today
Instagram Story Questions & Answers
Love,
Emma
Photos: Karya Schanilec
I seriously needed these ideas!
Briana
https://beyoutifulbrunette.com
I don’t post that much on IG but have found creating captions to be daunting. I also agree that people do still read captions. I feel like that is the one major way in getting to know the person. A picture can only say so much you know. The one thing I do, do that you mentioned are spaces. I do type it up in my word doc or somewhere else before copying and pasting but somehow my spaces seem to disappear once I paste over to IG. I love your fuzzy sweater Emma. The colors has me going ga-ga over here!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com