Instagram captions are almost as important as the photo itself. It’s the very thing that will get people talking under your Instagram post, so if you want to boost your engagement, you’ll need to reel people in with a clever, funny, or awesome caption.
The Instagram algorithm favors those who have great engagement. That’s why it’s so important to put effort and time into your Instagram caption.
Your caption is the perfect opportunity to get your followers to engage with you. It’s your chance to show them your personality, thoughts, feelings, story behind your photos.
Of course, once your followers have a better idea who you are, they will be more invested in your posts and Instagram stories, therefore increasing your engagement all round! It’s definitely a win-win situation we have here.
For example, @isthatchami uses a funny, Strangers Thing related, Instagram caption here to engage with her followers. If you can think of something funny like that, you’re on the right track!
So with those things in mind, it’s time to ditch the emoji only Instagram captions that you were too lazy to put any thought into and start writing killer, engagement boosting, Instagram captions.
Have A Great Opening
When scrolling through Instagram, you’ll notice only the first two lines of a caption appears unless you click to read more.
Those first two lines need to be absolutely awesome to reel your audience in. You definitely don’t want them to be all emojis or a vague start to some long story.
Make sure you utilize those first two lines to grab your audience’s attention. Ask a question, tell a short story, use a funny pun, or even use a beautiful quote that relates to your image.
This is the perfect example of a great Instagram caption. It’s short, sweet, to the point. However, it’s also funny. She used a funny pun for being in Malibu, but also she managed to promote her new YouTube video at the same time!
The caption is quick and short enough to read while scrolling through but long enough to fit in a self-promotion, humor and a little bit about herself.
If you want to create a longer Instagram caption, don’t be shy! Just make sure the opening two lines are eye-catching and reel your audience in.
For example, this is a great example of a long Instagram caption that still captures people’s attention. The first line is caption enough for the photo, so people can engage with the photo without reading the full thing.
However, @waitingforalice continued her Instagram caption on the theme of August, which was included in her opening line. She also asked a question for her audience to relate to, while still using beautiful details to show off more of her personality and preferences in terms of weather.
So grab your audience’s attention with a great opening liner, and be sure to pack it with as much content as possible for great results.
Draft Your Instagram Captions
It’s a good idea to draft your Instagram captions. Yes, we said draft.
Take time to write, and edit, your captions before you post them. Just like you would add filters and adjust exposure before uploading a photo, you need to edit your captions.
In your phone’s notes app, write the first draft of your Instagram caption. Revisit it a few hours later to check for typos, add emojis, humor, and of course, a question of the day.
It’s so easy to mess up an Instagram caption if you’re going straight from the app and uploading it within 30 seconds. But if you take time on your captions, and draft them, then they will be top quality!
Don’t let your captions be an afterthought.
It’s also a great idea to make a list of potential caption ideas or topics! Maybe you think of things to talk about on Instagram as you go about your daily life, but they don’t necessarily match the photo you’re going to post later.
Well, make a note of it on your phone or in your notebook to discuss later on Instagram when you have the perfect photo to go with it.
Let yourself always be inspired and write down those fleeting thoughts, because they might, one day, make the perfect Instagram caption.
Ask Questions in Your Instagram Captions
We’ve already touched on this a bit but it has its own section because it’s that important! Asking questions in your Instagram captions is the best way to increase engagement on your individual posts.
Your audience likes to feel important and have their opinions taken into consideration. There’s no better way to do that than with a question of the day (QOTD).
You might have seen that floating around on Instagram, but it really does make such a difference. If you can get it in your opening two lines, even better!
In this post, @the_readers_nook asked a question right away. She’s straight to the point and of course, gave her own opinion afterward, too. There’s no point in asking a question if you’re not going to share your answer!
Plus, this is the perfect opportunity to share more of who you are. The questions and answers you give is an opportunity to give more of an insight into your personality online.
So, as you get to know your followers, ask deeper questions. Just like you would with a friend.
Be Yourself
It’s important to be yourself in Instagram captions. Write them as if you were talking to a friend because that’s how your followers want to feel.
The Instagram caption is the perfect place to express yourself, especially once you’ve built up a better relationship with your audience.
For example, @frombeewithlove talks a lot about periods on her Instagram account and in her captions. She did this after building a great relationship with her audience. Now, when she does it, her followers respond really well because she has created a safe space to talk about these personal things.
Plus, she creates amazing photos to go along with it!
Use your Instagram captions to go into detail about matters of your personal lives, opinions, thoughts – if you want. It really does help create engagement on Instagram.
@sophie.elrae is the queen of insightful, driven and eye-catching Instagram posts. She does everything we’ve talked about before: great opening line, it’s clearly been drafted, and she shows off her personality and opinions in her captions.
Her captions are super easy to read and well structured, too. So even though it’s long, it doesn’t feel too long.
Experiment With Instagram Caption Length
We’ve talked about writing long and short Instagram captions and both of them being okay. They both work really well if done right! But you need to find what works for you and your audience.
Like attracts like so if you don’t like to read long captions, it’s quite possible your followers won’t either, and vice versa. So, make sure you are writing Instagram captions that you like to read, too.
If you notice that people aren’t engaging with your long Instagram captions, try and shorten them. Same with the other way around.
In fact, mix it up! Keep your audience on their toes. Sometimes throwing in a one-liner instead of a long paragraph can help boost engagement because your followers aren’t used to it.
If you want to go down the short Instagram caption route, then take a leaf out of Ariana Grande’s book. She is amazing at the short snappy Instagram captions. She can use the perfect emoji and still get thousands and thousands of comments!
Let yourself be inspired by different accounts on Instagram who are nailing the caption game. But always be sure that captions are the holy grail to engagement on Instagram, so draft, redraft, be funny, but most of all, be yourself.