Running a simple search on Google for “Instagram Caption Template” produces around 2,22,00,000 results. This only shows how seriously people take Instagram, their feed and the content they put up. And chances are, you are already a part of this crowd which likes to put real thought into Instagram captions. You’re absolutely right to do so because irrelevant content isn’t going to help your brand in any way.
So What is an Instagram Caption and Why is it Important?
A picture tells your audience a story, but are your audience members receiving the same story you want to tell them? Using Instagram captions for your pictures ensures that your audience receives the message you’re trying to convey. For instance, in the following picture, the caption explains why Pinterest India randomly posted this picture of muffins. The caption reiterates their vision of empowering people and helping them discover things they love.
We understand, coming up with a great caption that intrigues your audience and telling them an engaging story at the same time takes a lot of effort. But it does not always have to be that difficult. Here are 3 easy ways you could think of some good Instagram captions.
Keep it Simple and Set the Tone
First and foremost, the general theme and captions you use have to be in tune with your brand’s style. You cannot keep juggling between tones and styles. Second, you have a character limit of 2200 on Instagram but that doesn’t mean you have to write a novel. Keep it as brief as possible and try to pique the interest of your readers. Also, remember a good caption isn’t always neutral. Set a clever, humorous or sentimental tone to your caption. This will encourage consumers to interact with and respond to the post. If yours is a travel page for instance, one funny caption could go “I need a six-month-long vacation, twice a year”.
Use Emojis
We have a whole post dedicated to why emojis are fun to use. Even if you’ve missed that, we all know Instagram is a fun place. Even giant brands like Pepsico and Netflix are busy making their content fun, informal and friendly. One sure-shot way of doing that is using emojis. You don’t even have to put much thought into it. Say you are posting a big announcement, use this icon of a megaphone ?. Just one small icon helps you create a cool caption and makes your audience recognize you for the friendly hip brand you are.
Call to Action!
Your ultimate goal is to increase the engagement rate on your posts. Once the engagement level goes up, Instagram’s algorithm pushes your content to be more visible. More visibility means more business revenue. This means you’ve reached your goal, but you’ll need to put in the effort to keep your audience engaged. A good caption has a clear call to action. Do not hesitate to ask your audience members to follow a link. Or if you’re trying something funny ask them to tag a buddy, or comment on some popular theme, song or tweet. Anything that strikes up a conversation is good for you.
The Instagram generation loves confident content which exudes a sense of playfulness. It doesn’t always have to be a pre-planned, pre-approved string of words. A picture of a cake with a couple of hearts as the caption can also win the Internet over. Be aware of your audience’s sentiments, keep listening to their comments and you will know how to build on your Instagram reputation. ?