5 Social Media Caption Tips
Although captions may not be the first thing you look at while scrolling through Instagram they are still very valuable and a good caption can make all the difference! We have a few tips we would like to share with you on what to include in a caption and how to create successful captions for your social media content!
01 Catchy Opening Statement
First, you need to draw your audience in with an opening statement that will capture their attention! Let’s face it, we are all busy and most of us have short attention spans, so it’s important to grab your audience's attention in the first few words. A good opening statement can vary; it could be a question, controversial statement, inspirational quote, or a pain point they might currently be feeling. You should make sure that the statement is something your target audience relates with and would peak their interest to read the caption further.
02 Break Up Your Captions With Emojis & Bullet Points
Once you get their attention with the opening statement you want to keep them enticed with a caption that is easy to read/skim, understand, and personal. Some things you can do to make your captions easy to read is break your captions with bullet points, when applicable. Bullet points make it easier for your readers to read quickly through your captions and comprehend the main points. Another way to break up your caption is to include emojis. Emojis are great as it gives the caption more personality!
03 End With A Call To Action
When your followers have taken the time to read through your caption, it is then time to bring value to you or your brand by ending with a call to action. Your call to actions should vary based upon your content. You do not want to repeat the same call to action every post as readers will get bored and not interact with your post. Whether you have a personal account or a business account selling a product or service, you should include a call to action in your caption. Some examples of call to actions include; how can I help you, want to learn more, share your experience, save this post for later, tag a friend, should I do x or y, or double tap if you relate. This encourages your target audience to engage with your content and will boost your engagement stats.
04 Test Short & Long Copy
It is important to A/B test short and long copy to see which caption your audience responds to more. There are many ways to test copy. One method is to post similar or the same images, then draft two different lengths of copy, and post them at the same time a week apart. This method ensures that the only variables changing are time span and caption length. To determine which copy length your audience prefers, analyze and compare the number of likes and engagement. This testing should be performed three to four times on different posts to get an accurate reading of which copy length your followers will most likely read.
05 Reread For Grammar & Punctuation
When you feel you have written the perfect caption it is important to reread or have another person check your content. You want to look over your copy for any grammar or punctuation mistakes and make sure it flows. Also, you want to make sure that the caption is easy to read and understand before posting it for others to see.
THE SKIM
In summary, when you're writing a caption make sure to start with an attention grabbing header, include emojis, and break up the text with bullet points. You should test short and long copy to see which your audience responds to more in addition to rereading your captions before posting it to your social media feed.
If you're having trouble writing captions or just don’t like caption writing in general we offer a variety of digital marketing services including copywriting. For further inquiries about our social media marketing services don't hesitate to contact us through the link in our bio!
