How to Write Instagram Captions That Drive Engagement, What to Know!

Summary

• Engage with your Instagram users by asking questions
• Remember who your intended viewer is
• Don’t overcrowd your Instagram captions
• Be a dynamic storyteller
• Create a branded hashtag that is unique to your business

According to Instagram, 200 million of the platform’s users visit at least one business profile per day. Companies are now tapping into the power of Instagram, and that includes your competition.

Posting aesthetically pleasing images and posting consistently is essential to use Instagram as a useful marketing tool for your business. To truly stand out from the crowd, your posts have to resonate with followers and provide direction. Writing actionable Instagram captions is an effective way to accomplish this.

Are you ready to write Instagram captions that drive engagement? 

Here are the dos and don’ts for creating actionable Instagram captions:

-Do Engage with Your Instagram Users by Asking Questions

Do you carry a product that comes in several flavors or colors? Then, you should post a photo featuring all the options and ask viewers to weigh in on their favorite. 

By asking questions that get your audience’s opinions, you demonstrate that you care about their preferences while gaining a more definite sense of what products are going to be best sellers down the road. Captions with questions also strengthen your connection to users by encouraging an open dialogue with them. 

Pro tip: Remember to engage with your audience once they’ve shared answers to your questions!

-Don’t Forget Who Your Intended Viewer Is

When crafting Instagram captions, don’t forget who your intended viewer is. Think about the aspects of your brand that solicit the most significant response from your audience. 

Don’t just pay attention to what service or product gets the most likes among viewers. Keep in mind how that translates into sales too. 

Additionally, consider what content might be appealing to your viewers in 2020, and write captions that complement relevant photos and videos.

-Don’t Overcrowd Your Instagram Captions

While it’s tempting to load your captions with details, be selective about what you include to hold your audience’s attention. Tell your followers where the photo was taken by using Instagram’s “Add Location” tag.

To drive traffic to your website, be strategic about where you include URLs. Since Instagram doesn’t allow linking to a website from the captions, it is best not to share them there. 

Use free tools like Linktree in your brand’s Instagram bio instead. Just add a “Link in bio” sentence in your caption that directs users to click on your custom Linktree link, opening a page with links that you want to share. 

-Do Be a Dynamic Storyteller

To effectively market your brand, tell an extraordinary story by pairing visual content that pops with captions that viewers connect with and reshare. Encourage further resharing by including “Tag someone who would love this” or similar wording in posts. 

-Don’t Underestimate the Power of Branded Hashtags

Branded hashtags can have a positive impact on your business by exposing your content to new viewers, improving your SEO, expanding your brand’s content reach, and targeting your market.

Create and include a branded hashtag that is unique to your business, tying your product to what your audience is already sharing on their profiles. Then, watch that hashtag take off as users include it in their own Instagram posts. 

Your hashtag should be your company name or a tagline that people will associate with your business. The hashtag should not be one that is already being used by another company, so search for any hashtag you’re considering on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter before using it.

An effective Instagram hashtag is one that your customers can easily remember. You want a hashtag that is unique to your business, short and sweet and is usable across all your social sites. If it is hard to spell or too long to type, it’s not the hashtag for you.

When it comes to Instagram captions, remember that well-crafted posts that include captions with a clear message and a call to action will drive engagement and in turn, convert likes to leads.

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