Steps to writing great captions for your social media posts
Creating good content can be really difficult, I’ve been there and it is frustrating 🤦♀ 🙄.
While a picture is worth a thousand words, a good caption is key to encouraging users to take actions; like engaging with your post, purchasing your product or even visiting your website.
A caption is great because it actually adds additional information or it creates a CTA (Call to Action), whether it was originally intended for fun or business.
When creating your content remember your goals are to inform, educate, or entertain your audience.
But what really makes a great a caption? According to an article by Hootesuite, A great caption will add context, show off your brands personality, entertain the audience, and/or compel people to take action. Depending on the social media platform, there are different limits to the number of characters you can write, but the best practice is to keep it short and simple.
Now that the bases have been established, let’s get down to business, here are several ways to creating a great Instagram caption.
- Draft your ideas as they come
Have you ever been on the go and suddenly, you get stuck with a wonderful idea? And then you try so hard to remember but the thought never came back? We’ve all been there.
When it comes next time, write it down somewhere because no matter how fantastic your memory is, you have a limitation by default, you are bound to forget.
Here are some tools to help you take down those thoughts on the go-
a. Evernote app
This right here is actually my favourite
Evernote is actually great for taking notes, organizing task list and also archiving. Which is perfect for you while on the go and in your comfort.
b. Google keep
You can also use google keep to note of ideas and it also allows you to add images, audio, you can even colour your texts (in the form of a highlight). Awesome right?
c. Apple Note
Although this is just limited to IOS users only, Apple note is also a great note app. It contains nice features that are great for organizing sake.
There are so many wonderful apps for taking note, the point is you can put your thoughts down while on the go to avoid forgetting that great idea of yours.
2. Create A Content Calendar
Making a list of the things you actually want to talk about can help a great deal. A content calendar helps you stay organized, keeps your content in-line with your overall strategy, keeps you ahead
If you are not sure what your content calendar should look like, there are tons of examples you’ll discover when you search online, some of very simple to design and depending on your business, others may be more complex, but when you get this right, it makes your work easier to follow through.
With the content calendar, you already have an idea of what you want to talk about. Researching on it wouldn’t be difficult, that way you won’t be stuck.
3. Use Emojis
I love emojis a lot, everybody kinda does, they give us a fun and easy way out to express how we feel without saying too much, not even a word. They are not just fancy things you use in your personal chats, they add personality and fun to captions across all social media platforms.
You can use them at the beginning of a post to catch the attention of your audience. Emojis can also be used in the middle of a sentence or at the end of a post. Mind you using too many emojis can be confusing and your goal is definitely not to confuse your audience so keep it light and simple.
4. Be Consistent
While having fun with your captions, remember to maintain a consistent brand voice all across your social media posts and channels. Having a light-hearted tone, fun tone, show a more authentic human and personable side of a brand. The goal of social media is to be social, nobody wants to relate with a brand that is too stiff in their communication. A great way to get this right is to draw your own brand persona. For brands with a more serious brand voice find the balance between sincerity and relatability.
5. Use Strategic Hashtags
Including hashtags in your captions can actually help, although it isn’t mandatory. Not only can hashtags help you gain more followers, they are a great way to connect with your audience. A wonderful example is using hashtags like #MondayMotivation, #TuesdayTips etc.
Unless the hashtagged phrase fits into the sentence naturally, don’t list any hashtag till the end of the caption. It’s best to also use a healthy amount of hashtag. Some platforms set limits to how many hashtags you can use on a post — Instagrammers can only use up to 30 in one post.
- Let your caption expand on the story your image is telling.
It is a lot easier to understand the message you are trying to pass across to your audience when you write captions that can further explain or broaden the story you are trying to tell them. A good rule of thumb write a caption that can be linked to what your image is saying, let there be a connection between your caption and your image.
For some the problem is always having creative block whenever they feel like writing, I feel it too and here are a few quick fixes that have worked for me
- Taking a walk
- Listening to music that calms me, depending on your preference you can listen to about anything.
- Relax, don’t overthink things
- Explore
If you love this read, remember that great satisfaction comes from sharing with others.
