If social media managers had a dollar for every time they couldn’t think of a caption for their social posts — well, they could retire. Coming up with the perfect line to capture the product or service you’re offering, amplify your brand’s voice, and engage with your audience is no easy feat. However, there are a few tactics you can always rely on to write a great caption, even when you get writer's block. In this blog, we’ll discuss different strategies you can use to knock your next social calendar out of the park, like:
With the fast-paced nature of social media and our ever-shortening attention spans, your posts can be scrolled past without a second thought. To avoid this, find a way to make your posts pop off the screen and stand out from the rest of your target audience’s feed. There are several ways you can accomplish this through your social media captions:
Have a Good Opener
Nothing beats a good first impression. Grab your audience’s attention with your very first line of copy. Whether you’re launching a new product, promoting an event, or hosting a giveaway, the first sentence of your caption should make your followers want to keep reading and see what all the excitement is about.
Keep It Short
Because the average social media consumer only spends about three seconds on each post in their feed, it’s important that you get to the point quickly in your captions. Content that’s short and to the point takes less effort to read and remember, which means your followers are more likely to engage with it than a long, intimidating paragraph. Generally, you should keep your captions between 150-250 characters — depending on the platform, of course.
Humor Is Always In
If your brand voice allows for it, humor is one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Adding a pun (as long as it’s well done) or a joke into your caption can enhance your brand’s personality, as well as encourage users to comment and share with their friends.
Community engagement is a crucial aspect of growing your social media presence — in fact, some businesses even have specific roles dedicated to community management. An easy way to get your followers engaging with your social media posts is to ask questions and encourage responses with your captions.
For example, if you’re a barbecue brand that’s promoting your best-selling seasoning, you could ask the following questions to get your community engaged:
- What’s your favorite recipe that uses [seasoning name]?
- What have you tried [seasoning name] on?
- What’s your favorite way to use [seasoning name]?
- Have you combined [seasoning name] with other seasonings?
By asking questions and inviting your followers to share their personal experiences with you, you’re creating a sense of dialogue and conversation within your online community.
Emojis have had a tight grasp on the marketing industry since the rise of the iPhone, and with new additions coming to the emoji world every few months, their stronghold is likely to continue. However, while these little guys are popular among millennials and Gen Z, they’re not always beneficial to include in your social media captions. If emojis do not fit your brand’s voice, there is no need to try and incorporate them into your social strategy.
For example, if you're running socials for a bank or law firm that prides itself on expertise, using emojis might take away from the image of professionalism that they have worked so hard to create and maintain. Or, if your business often deals with sensitive topics, like funerals or divorce, using emojis in your social media captions can come across as insensitive due to their humorous and playful nature. All in all, emojis are great engagement tools — but only if they fit your brand’s voice and message.
With their ability to boost brand awareness and connect you with your target audience, hashtags are one of the most valuable aspects of social media captions. However, the ability to put hashtags in the first comment of your post, rather than in the caption, has changed the social media game. This allows you to include as many hashtags as your heart desires, without cluttering up your caption. Placing hashtags in the first comment keeps your caption readable and concise, without losing any brand awareness opportunities.
Much like blogs, social media captions can greatly benefit from including a call-to-action, or CTA. If you’re wanting to achieve a certain goal from your post, like getting your followers to visit your website or share your post with friends, a CTA will prompt them to do just that. Some common CTAs that are used in social captions include:
- Shop now
- Visit now
- Learn more
- Book now
- Schedule a consultation
Not only will these little blurbs help you achieve the goal you have in mind, but they will increase your overall engagement. Because Instagram’s algorithm looks at engagement to decide which posts it will promote, the more engagement you have, the more likely your posts will be recommended to others.
Speak Can Help
Whether you’re looking to amp up your social presence or start it off on the right foot, the Speak team can help. We’ll discuss your social media needs, wants, and goals in order to create a strategy that works best for your business. No matter where you are on your social media journey, Speak Creative can help you grow.
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