How to write the perfect Instagram caption

Give context

The main role of an Instagram caption is to give context to what the photo or video is about. This can be done clearly or more creatively. It depends on your tone of voice and the context. For example, if you are posting a video of your latest product you might want to be quite clear in your caption. Whereas if you are posting a lifestyle or “inspo” image, a more creative caption may work better.

As well as describing the image, you will boost your engagement if you tag relevant people or add a location to your post. It not only will add context, but it will also help your post appear in front of more people.

All in the content

Your Instagram caption doesn’t just have to be descriptive of the image. There are many types of captions that prove popular and drive engagement. You could use a quote, either inspirational or from a customer review. You could pose a question to your followers, be informative about a product or your business. Or you could keep it minimal and open to interpretation with a short phrase.

Whatever type you choose, make sure you don’t sound too salesey! This will completely put customers off. Your followers want to connect with your brand in a relatable, friendly way to show some personality.

Know your audience/tone of voice

A key thing to always keep in mind when writing your caption is your audience. On all social channels, you should have created a tone of voice that your audience can connect with and recognise your brand by.

You should also be listening to what is going on around you, not within your industry, but what your customers are talking about and sharing online. Simply going on twitter and doing a search, clicking on popular hashtags your followers and competitors are using, or clicking on your followers’ profiles are very simple strategies you can use to find new ways to connect with your audience and inspire both your captions and content.

Hashtag? Or not to hashtag?

Last but not least. The hashtag! How many hashtags should you use? What hashtags should you use? Well, it’s simple really, Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post. These can be placed either in the caption or in the comments, it doesn’t really matter in terms of engagement. Although you are allowed to use 30 hashtags, you probably shouldn’t as posts with loads of hashtags can look spammy, especially the use of #likeforlike or #followback as these attract lots of irrelevant traffic and will put people off.

The best advice is to use up to about 4-5 hashtags per post. Make sure they are super relevant to your image and your brand as well as being popular enough that you will gain more impressions. You can use more if you want, if you are going to use more it’s better to post them in the comments as they will most likely remain hidden to most users which will prevent your posts from looking spammy.

Hashtags are a great way for new people to find your page, so don’t be afraid to use them. Just make sure you do your research first to find the best ones to use.

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