Do you use Instagram as part of your marketing?

Are you comfortable with the visual side of things but find writing the captions stressful?

In this blog post, I am going to provide you with my top tips for how to make writing your captions enjoyable – no, seriously! Here’s how:

1. Less is more – and as we all know, time is precious. Social media can be a time zapper so it is really important to give your audience what they need quickly and succinctly. Use as few words as possible to get your message across.

2. Start with your most important message – more often than not, most people will only read the first couple of lines of your caption and then will either scroll on, or if you’ve successfully managed to capture their attention they might read to the end. The best way to combat this is to start with your main message and then expand on it.

3. Think about your audience – it’s very easy to use your caption as a way to vent or to discuss what you would like to discuss but will it appeal to your audience?

4. Spell check – it is so easy to type out your caption and not proof-read it, especially if you post direct from the app and don’t use a scheduler. However, it is so important to ensure that any material you put out is spelt properly and grammatically correct.

5. Include a call to action – the whole point of your caption is to try and engage with your audience. Provide details for how your audience can communicate with you – be it to purchase your product or services or to express their opinions on a particular topic.

6. Don’t forget your emojis – there are so many emojis available to help convey your message. As a visual platform, using emojis can help your audience to get the gist of your message without having to read the full caption.

7. Write like you speak - your audience will engage more with posts that are consistent with you and your brand. Don’t try to be someone you’re not as it will leave your audience confused and disconnected.

8. Include hashtags – Instagram limits your hashtags to 30 per post. Each hashtag provides a new opportunity to appeal to a different audience so pick them wisely and make sure you use 30 every time.

9. Don’t waffle – stick to one of two themes in your caption. This helps to keep the message clear and also succinct.

10. Don’t overthink it – it’s a sad reality that you are the only person who sees all of your content so the most important thing when it comes to posting on Instagram is get the content out there and not stress over every word.

If you find your Instagram a drag, get in touch today to find out how I can help manage it for you.