How To Write Perfect Captions For Instagram Photos

Instagram has become the new cool ploy these days, almost everyone is on it. On Instagram you have a chance to ogle at your favorite celebrities, friends, and family. Posting photos on Instagram is easy. Coming up with amazing captions, now that’s a nickel!

When it comes to Instagram captions is tough to decide the kind of tone you need to use, whether the caption should be funny, or whether to use hashtags and emojis. However, the truth of the matter is Instagram captions shouldn’t be an afterthought if you want to be successful on the platform.

The captions matter because they are as much of a representation to your brand and account like the photos. Captions allow more people to see your photos. Captions influence high engagement which automatically reverts to likes and comments.

Captions create an opportunity for your photos to appear on the Explore page. The best way to inspire your followers to like and comment on your posts is by writing good captions with effective CTAs (call-to-action).

How to Write a Good Instagram Caption

1. Avoid writing the first thing that comes to find

To get the perfect photo with the perfect angle and lighting takes time. In fact it takes about 20 photos to achieve that. Once you get the perfect photo, you also spend time changing the brightness, exposure, adding a filer or two, saturation, and utilizing other tools.

However, the biggest mistake is you rush to post the photo immediately because you can’t wait for your followers to see it. You need to give the captions as much interest as much as you do the photos. Think of your captions like a blog and carefully consider what you write.

Write a draft, several drafts if need be and take time to edit them. Take time on them and make sure there are no spelling errors or any blunders. Try and avoid those careless mistakes beforehand even though Instagram allows you to edit the captions even after posting them.

2. Begin with the most crucial information

Always start with the most important information instead of trying to ease in with creative introduction. The secret is to be direct at the beginning because not everyone will read through the entire thing even though Instagram gives you 2200 characters leverage. Avoid leaving the most important content at the end.

Always keep in mind that your followers for instagram also have other people on their feed and so they are quickly skimming through their feed. This means that more often than not the followers don’t care enough to read the entire caption. So if you want to give them a reason to keep reading, you have to make sure you hook them with the first couple of lines.

3. Use hashtags wisely

Captions with hashtags create more engagement compared to those without hashtags. This is why it is important for you to use them and use them wisely. Make sure the hashtags are relevant to your posts and they target your followers.

However, using too many captions will make your caption look crowded. Crowded hashtags makes the caption difficult to read. Make sure you separate the hashtags from the caption by burying them under line breaks and periods.

In fact you should avoid adding the hashtags in the captions. What you need to do is put them below your post in the comment section. The hashtags cease to be viewable once people leave a few comments.

4. Include a CTAs

Call-to-action increases the engagement of your followers and it is wise to include one in your caption. You need to encourage people to do something rather than just let them passively scroll through your photos.

You can do this by using action verbs because they help generate more shares than adjectives and nouns, this is especially true on Twitter. For example, you can write, “share your story in the comment section below” or “if you find this funny, double-tap”.

You can also do so using questions. Questions encourage people to share their stories in the comment section. However, in this case, you also need to make sure you respond to those who engage with answers if you want to retain them as followers.

You can also call people to action by directing people to a link in a bio. If you have a blog and you want to revert people to it, you have to make sure that you mention the new link in your caption. The link is found in the website box in the bio. If you are well-crafted, you will have to make sure the caption is captivating enough.

5. Use Emojis

Most smartphone users know emojis. You know, those cartoon-like emoticons. Well, those emojis allow you to add more personality to your captions. You will notice that even the serious brands use emojis. There are so many different emojis which means you are spoilt for choice and it will be easy to find one that complements your photo and your caption. You can use emojis in the beginning, middle or at the end. 

6. Add mentions to your captions

If you want to give back to the Instagram community or share in the ‘insta-love’ you have to mention the handles of other users in your caption. This is also a great way to promote other users to your followers and also a great way to connect with other users.

If you post a photo of another brand or person, instead of just tagging them in the photo make sure you add their handle into the caption. This allows your followers to discover their profiles as well.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you need to make sure that the caption remains clean. It is crucial that your caption doesn’t look spammy otherwise it will steal the photo’s purpose. You also need to be clear, transparent, open, and direct. Avoid using any fake, annoying, useless, and pretentious words. Captions will help your followers to engage and connect with your posts and personality as well.