You know all about how to make a great Instagram post. The images, the videos, the hashtags, but do you know how important are good captions? Great Instagram captions for your post or image tells your audience what are they looking at, entertains and encourages them to take action.
In this post, I will guide you to make attention-grabbing captions that will grow your audience engagement by leaps and bounds. Let’s begin.
Why Are Instagram Captions Important?
An IG caption is a piece of text that explains or describes the image to the reader. It can have hashtags, mentions, and emojis. It is not the same posting a plain picture than to post one with a message.
Interesting, attention-seeker captions result in more engagement. You want to engage your audience so you get more likes and comments, and more people will see your photos.
Even more, did you know that engagement is one of the top criteria the Instagram algorithm uses to rank content in the users’ feeds?
What Is a Good Instagram Caption?
A great caption will add context, showcase your brand, and catches the attention of your audience. You can get fairly wild when crafting your captions: They can be up to 2200 characters. Add emojis and don’t skimp in the hashtags. You can add up to 30!.
That doesn’t mean you should #write your #instagramcaptions like this. Writing a long essay, full of hashtags and emojis, will make your post look like a modern version of an Egyptian hieroglyph. Too much of a thing can be tiresome. So make your Instagram caption not only attention-grabbing but easy to follow.
How to Craft the Perfect Instagram Captions
In this section, I will walk you step-by-step to create the ultimate captions for your Instagram posts with an easy formula you can follow over and over again.
Instead of giving you hundreds of great captions, you can copy+paste (don’t worry, I’ll give you some) I’ll show you how to craft great captions tailored to your brand.
So, without further ado, let’s start.
Step #1: Know your audience
Instagram has more than a billion users. Who of those is your target audience? The demographics of Instagram have changed, becoming broader in the last months. Now it is used for people of almost all ages, although more popular still with the 25-35 years old and is more popular among women than men.
Think about your target customers. Who are they? Why are they on Instagram? What’s their age and location? Use those questions to build your audience personas. The more detailed, the better.
When you have your personas defined and you know who are you talking to, it is time to deal with your captions strategy. Tailor your message to the audience. Adjust references to their interest. More in step two.
Step #2: Know your brand voice
Your captions should reflect your brand voice and tone. If you are still unsure, make a list of the values your brand embodies. For instance, note some adjectives that describe your business to find the tone for your messages. Keep in mind that Instagram is pretty informal. , so a dry, authoritative tone won’t do. A light tone may engage more followers. Check this example from Starbucks:
Step #3: Your text needs to add value
It is not enough that your caption is fun, or interesting. The content needs to add value to the reader. National Geographic, for example, is excellent at educating the reader and writing interesting captions. 
Step #4: Don’t forget the call to action.
Invite people to leave a comment, tag friends, or leave a comment. The content should be provocative enough for your audience to interact. For example, take the below post from Apartment Therapy. They engage with fun 90s references and ask their readers to click on bio for more tips.
You can always ramp up a notch by adding a call to action for a give-away or a contest.
Step #5: Plan Your Posts
Good content that engages is consistent. To grow your audience you should aim to post 1-2 times a day, every day. This requires planning your posts, monthly or weekly. When you do the work beforehand, you can think of the right caption without the pressure of coming up with something in a hurry. Using Uniclix Social Media Manager, you can plan and schedule an entire month of Instagram posts, schedule the times and relax. The app will post the content at the best times.
Tips for Instagram Captions that engage every time.
Check the length
Keep in mind that the mobile Instagram app only shows the first three lines of your caption. So plan wisely. That doesn’t discard long-form captions. Use long-form text to tell a story, give interesting information, something that gets your follower hooked. If you want your entire caption to be displayed, use up to 125 characters.
Hook the reader from the start
That being said since most of your audience only will see these first three sentences, hook them from the beginning. Put the most important content first. By giving them the goods right away, you create anticipation and they will want to know more.
Keep it concise, edit, rewrite, repeat
Planning your Instagram posts, as we mentioned above, will give you the time to work on your content. Don’t write just a blurb. Make every word count, by going through several versions of the captions. Edit ruthlessly until every word in your caption gives value to your reader.
Add hashtags sparingly
The hashtags dilemma. Use hashtags that resonate to your target audience. Check what keywords would your audience use to find this post? Besides, you have the issue of how many hashtags are too many? Well, if you don’t want your captions to look like gibberish, you can hide your hashtags:
- Don’t put hashtags on your captions. Add them in the comments section.
- Hide the hashtags after line breaks. For instance, after the first three lines.
@mention someone
If your post feature other users, tag them in the captions. That way, your followers will check out their profile but also the tagged user followers will check out your post too.
Many companies use this resource to tag the owners of the images or a celebrity featured in the post.
Use emojis
Should you use emojis in Instagram captions? Sure! The icons will catch your reader’s eye and also you can add emotions to your post that are hard to convey in text.
You can also substitute emojis for entire words, so your text is more lively.
Don’t be afraid to use quotes
Add quotes that are relevant to the post. For example, the creator of the content. You can also add a quote from the person featured in the post like Nike did with Cristiano Ronaldo in this video.
How to Add, Edit or Delete the Caption of an Instagram post?
Shared a photo or video and thought about a catchy caption afterwards? No problem. You can add a caption to an existing photo or video. Also, edit or delete the caption, so you can replace it with something even more attention-worthy. To add, edit, or delete a caption:
- Tap the three-dots menu icon above your photo or video.
- Tap Edit
- Replace, delete, or add a new caption to your post. When finished, tap
or Done (iPhone).
Instagram Captions Ideas
You should match the caption to the content and the audience. As I promised before, here you have some ideas for Instagram captions. Feel free to copy, paste, and share along.
Best captions for selfies
Every day is a good day to post a selfie. Whether you are sharing a new activity, doing something interesting or have a change of look, make sure to add the right caption. Take your pick:
- Get out and live
- A bit of color adds a lot of confidence
- I don’t know what I want, but I want it now
- Living my best life (at home)
- Sunday Funday
- You do you – I’ll do me
- Hey there, shiny morning
- Coffee is the fuel of life
- My body is at work, my mind is at the beach
What should you add as a caption on your bio?
Your Instagram Bio is your home page on Instagram. More often than not, people will look at your bio to decide if following you or not. Write a cool caption so you can catch the attention of your audience and get more followers. Be sure it matches what you do and what do you think is important. This is your tagline. Make it count.
- You are in or out. There is no in-between
- Style your life
- Fashion DNA
- Making history
- I’m a life form that runs on caffeine
- Play with love
Instagram Captions for Companies
Use your caption as your brand tag, link posts to the bio like in the below post by Nike Football
Here are some ideas to make the most of your IG captions for your business:
- Add captions that tell a story about a product
- Add a funny caption to draw attention to your campaign.
- Use a caption that is relevant to the times.
The Bottom Line
You have only three lines to hook your Instagram follower. By choosing your Instagram captions carefully and tailoring them to your target audience, you can engage them. Hopefully, the tips covered in this post will give you a headstart for winning at the Instagram game. In summary: make your captions related to your audience, show your brand voice, make them catchy and fun. Planning your posts with UniClix Social Media Manager will give you the peace of mind of being prepared. Start your free trial today.
Relevant articles: 9 Sure Ways to Grow Your Instagram Audience in 2020 , How to Find the Best Time to Post on Instagram , Instagram Reels- All that You Need to Know About the Tik Tok Competitor , Always Up-To-Date Guide to Instagram Dimensions for 2020
