Since the start of this year, we’ve been paying more attention to Instagram, and I must admit – the ever-growing social media channel is now my guilty pleasure!
Creating unique, fun, vibrant images has become something of an obsession for us as well as millions of other businesses. Yes, Instagram is obviously image-based, but you cannot forget about the captions that go along with your photos.
Let’s be honest, getting a few likes from some random people across the world is engagement, but is it good engagement? Especially when your services are based locally.
As much as Instagram is fun, you need to remember the sole reason why your business is on it – to generate quality engagement leading to new leads.
Your image grabs the user’s attention. Your caption is the point-of-sale. In this article I am going to give you 5 tips on how to create the perfect Instagram captions.
Add a call-to-action.
Call-to-actions are the best way to increase your Instagram engagement.
Research has shown that literally telling somebody to do something, in your captions, works a lot more than just expecting them to take action. We found that actionable verbs in your caption can help push your audience to engage. Here is an example below:
Go Long.
The average Instragrammer tends to stick to short and snappy captions, which is all well and good, but long well written captions can make your account truly stand out.
You may find that the engagement you receive is totally different to what your usual short-captioned posts receive. Write a few drafts before posting to ensure you’ve got your long caption nailed down to a tee.
The next time you post on Instagram, give yourself a little extra caption-writing time. What could you add to your caption that will help you build a relationship and have people take more interest in your business and services?
Important Stuff first!
In relation to the above tip, the maximum character count for an Instagram caption is quite long (2,200 characters in fact).
But before you begin writing away, you need to remember that captions cut off after three or four lines.
For maximum engagement, you want to ensure the important details in your caption (call-to-actions, important content etc.)
This will allow you to still generate engagement without relying on users clicking the ‘Read More’ button.
Here is an example of a long-form caption with the important bits first:
Direct people to a link in your bio.
Unfortunately, Clickable URLs aren’t allowed in your Instagram captions, yet we still see businesses adding them! This is pointless, even if a user wanted to click it – they simply cannot. And I very much doubt that anybody will memorise the URL link and enter it into their browser – they will just move on.
There is actually a clever alternative to this. Many businesses use their ‘website link’ on their bio the promote links. You may have seen businesses do this before, from YouTube videos to offer landing pages.
If you want to direct people to a landing page, video, blog etc. then simply update your bio URL link and then write in your captions “Click Link in Bio.”
Encourage tags!
A great way to drive engagement to your Instagram posts is by inviting people to tag their friends in your posts. This not only helps with brand awareness, it can also help boost your following. Here is an example:
This is a common technique used in the fitness industry, with businesses posting pictures with captions like “Tag somebody who lifts” or “Tag a friend who never skips leg day.”
Use this well and you will see engagement increase tenfold.
Final Thought
We’d love to keep the conversation going – both in the comments below and on Instagram! Please share your Instagram tips and any other thoughts you have on Instagram marketing!
