Writing Instagram captions can be tricky.
But it's worth the effort, as a GREAT Instagram caption will stop a scroller in their tracks. And the longer someone reads your caption and engages with your post, the better your post will rank with the Instagram algorithm.
Captions are a powerful tool that can be used to encourage likes, comments, visits to your website and up-scribing. As we discussed in our last post, up-scribing is one step closer to the prospective client and then the client. And every step along the way matters.
The Current Trend.
Captions that champion story-telling and authenticity are driving great results, and a compelling call-to-action (CTA) is one of the best ways to inspire your followers to comment on your posts. That results in even more engagement on your account.
You can’t afford to leave your captions as an afterthought. Whilst creating beautiful content for your feed is essential if you want to get more engagement on your posts and maybe even reach new audiences, writing great Instagram captions to drive engagement is a great strategy.
Instagram captions are texts written under an Instagram post. A caption can have 2,000 characters and up to 30 different hashtags, but with the belief ‘less is more’, we have some tips for writing good captions and increasing traffic through your page as a result.
Know Your Audience.
This is Marketing 101, but it is so true.
Captions need to speak to your specific audience, so know your audience. Your Instagram captions represent your brand’s identity, but who is actually ‘buying’ your brand?
Do some surveying and get answers to the basics, such as:
What stage of life/business are they in?
What are their goals?
What are their struggles or ‘pain’ points?
Building a clear picture of your audience helps you speak to them natively and fluently, so do your research and identify with them.
Curate your message.
The message you convey should be an invitation.
Keep in mind the first 125 characters of your writing is visible without a click, so work those babies hard! Develop a ‘hook’ to grab attention, and consider how you can stop the scroll. Tell your audience what you’re offering. Try ‘Future-Pacing’ - describing changes and benefits when they engage your services/buy your product.
Use clever and considered copywriting to explain what they need that they don’t have and how you are the one to give it to them.
Create a Call To Action.
Write to encourage interaction.
There are plenty of technical reasons for this, but the main one involves the magic of the Instagram Algorithm. One method is to build an ‘urgency to act’ on behalf of the audience… think competitions, tagging friends, liking, commenting and otherwise interacting directions within the content.
Other triggers for interaction can be asking genuine goal-oriented questions, offering real-life backstory narration and just good, engaging copywriting.
Ask your audience to engage, give them something for free (think snippets of your ability), and tell them who you are in reflection of who you know them to be. Give them an insight into their future with you by their side.
At Brand Warrior, our goal is to promote yours. We want to help your business thrive. So get in touch www.brandwarrior.com.au