Captions are an important way to interact with your Instagram community. On a platform full of visual content, your captions can inspire visitors to act, tell a story, or connect in a deeper way.
As you work to better your captions, it's important that you think deeply as to what you are trying to accomplish with each post.
Is your goal to get them to buy something? Interact with your photos? Share with their friends?
The following will give you ideas for how to make captions drive your efforts to new heights.
5 tips for Creating Inspiring Captions
#1 - Tell a story
Your brand story matters in today's world. You simply can't expect the quality of your product to dictate how well you're going to do.
Every brand has an interesting story, and if you haven't shared yours with the world, you should definitely start now.
When was your brand founded? How was your product/services created? What problem were you trying to solve? Were there any road bumps along the way? Any interesting customer stories?
Decide on what you're going to share and then go there! Have fun with it!
Here's what Lego did to tell a bit about their brand story:
#2 Ask Questions
Believe it or not, your audience is craving for a chance to interact with the brands they love.
Dare to ask them questions and inspire them to leave answers within the comments section, or even ask for them to shoot you a direct message.
If you get some great comments, you can creatively share them in a story or in a new post.
The more your audience feels connected and cared for, the more likely they'll keep visiting your page and getting your posts in their feed.
Here's a great example of a brand asking questions:
#4 - Keep It Short and Sweet
A brief caption is a simple way to capture attention right off the bat. If you have an important message or announcement, place it right at the very front of the caption.
Captions only show 125 characters before you will have to click on the ‘more’ button, showing the rest of the post.
#5 - Maintain a Consistent Tone
Do you have a brand voice? Have you ever taken the time to figure out what your brand voice is? If your answer is "no," the time is now.
You should be consistent in the way you speak to your audience. It makes a huge difference.
# 6- Encourage Your Followers to Take Action
Don't be shy! Be direct with your followers and encourage them to take specific actions.
For example, if you have a new product. Don't just post a photo and hope they'll be proactive enough to go buy it. Tell them why they need to go now and make a purchase. You can even offer them a discount and/or discount code.
Phrases like "Buy Now", "Shop Now", and "Save 30% Now" can go a long way.
5 Ways to Add Helpful Text to Instagram Stories
Stories don't always have to be more about photos and videos. You have the power to take advantage of text as well, and it can be a super important tool for gaining the results you're looking for.
#1 - Experiment with Different Text Layout Options
Play with colors, creative arrangements, fonts, and sizes. Use different color blacks to make it all really pop.
#2 - Share Text-Only Stories
You don't always have to use images. If words tell the story more effectively, the more power to you!
Sometimes a personal story or explanation can be extremely powerful. As you experiment with this, make sure you use the designated Type Mode.
You can also consider mixing it up a bit. This brand nicely developed a story sequence that included text mainly at the beginning and ended with a full image:
#3 - Make Time-Sensitive Announcements
The beauty of stories is that you can post as many times as you'd like and create a storyline around a promotion or important event that's taking place.
Use it to your advantage, as it can help generate a sense of urgency that pushes people to buy or take action.
For example, say you have a sale that ends at 11:59 pm on a particular day. You have the power to create a narrative that runs each hour. This narrative can include a mix of inspiring videos, product shots, text-only messages, gifs and more.
#4 - Share Tips and Tutorials
Use captions to add text explaining step-by-step how to use your product. Tutorials are a great way to give your users helpful information and keep them coming back for more info.
Last Words...
Honestly, it's easy to freeze up when you're creating a caption. It can be hard to know exactly what to say, how to say it, and when.
The secret to your success here is to think out of the box. Have fun with your captions. Speak to your audience the way you'd like to be spoken to by one of your favorite brands.
Get poetic... adventurous... and BOLD!
You can do it!
Related Posts:
