COPYWRITING: HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE IG CAPTION
As you know Instagram these days is all about finding ways to beat the algorithm. Just about everything you do on Instagram can either help or hurt you. In today’s post, we get in detail about what you should be doing more of in your captions.
CAPTIONS FOR THE ALGORITHM
1. LONGER CAPTIONS PERFORM BETTER
The reason for this is IG looks for text that they can recommend to other users that they currently like. It’s basically SEO. Instagram can’t necessarily see exactly what your photo is, but they can breakdown your caption.
Example. Let’s say you have a photo of a girl in a new floral dress your shop is offering.
Bad caption:
NEW 🌸💐
Good caption:
Our babe Lauren is rocking our brand-new floral dress 🌸 The*cute style name* is sustainably made, uses 100% cotton and natural dyes.
Launches this Friday with the *blank campaign* for $55.
What’s your favorite piece from the collection so far?
See how much more information there is to go off of. Now, this is just one example. Your brand might be more personable, less personable or it might be your personal page.
2. CALL TO ACTION
Encourage your followers to engage with your posts. Taking the example from above, asking a question like “What’s your favorite piece from the collection so far?” gives followers a chance to interact with this post. Regardless of if they like this specific dress, maybe they loved another piece from the collection, either way, it got them to interact with this post.
If you’re wondering why interactions or engagement matters, let us explain.
Engagement is the main focus of the algorithm. When followers interact with a post in any way, it shows Instagram that they want to see your page often. We are all basically battling this algorithm.
3. ALT TEXT
Alternate text allows for people with visual impairments to understand what you posted a photo of. So while this helps you in terms of the algorithm it is obviously an amazing way to be inclusive.
This is similar to your SEO on a caption, it adds more descriptive visuals of what is going on in the photo.
FINDING A BALANCE TO PLEASE YOUR AUDIENCE AS WELL:
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN WRITING A CAPTION:
1. Your target market
2. Make sure the message conveys back to your branding
- Consistency. You want your followers to know what they can expect from you. Don’t start posting funny memes and weird captions just for followers and engagement if that doesn’t align with your branding and your target audience.
3. Is it something your audience would share?
4. What’s the purpose of the post?
- informational, brand-related, relatable, etc.
5. What’s currently trending?
- Current events, social trends
6. What information are you trying to spread?
- Launch of a new product
It can get rough trying to balance these two things. Pleasing the algorithm and pleasing your followers. The biggest thing is remaining true to your brand and staying genuine with your followers. If you feel your presence is decreasing drastically, be real with your audience (if you have that connection). Don’t fall to gimmicks and annoying giveaways where your followers have to follow eight people to enter.
Remember people do this as their entire job. It’s okay to feel lost, stuck, or overwhelmed. Wishing y’all the best of luck on your copywriting journey. Don’t hesitate to email us or set up a consultation here.