How to start writing better Instagram Captions: Tips, ideas and methods
The world of Instagram, yes it is FULL of content. So how do you stand out above the rest? Our number one tip when it comes to IG, be yourself.
Yes, I know what you are thinking, being me doesn’t sell. Well, it kind of does. You just have to be smart about it!
For one, don’t try and sell all the time - it isn’t authentic. That is why I spoke to Instagram Guru, Ela from Ela Muzar Creative, to talk all things social media!
You can listen to her speak at the end of the blog! But, I have summarised what we spoke about to make it easier for you to start creating killer Instagram captions to gain great engagement.
Firstly, what you need to learn, there are different types of Instagram captions, think of them as pillars.
Why do I need to have different types of IG captions?
When it comes to Instagram captions, you want variety, so you aren’t just sharing the same thing.
You want a combination of shorter posts, longer posts, ones that call for comments, ones that call for sales.
You want to have different call to actions in your posts and some you just want to share for the sake of sharing without asking for people to buy from you.
Educational posts are key, as are the fun behind the scenes posts. It brings diversity to your business and always gives people insight without feeling you are just posting to sell.
The different forms of Instagram posts
Now you want to produce different types of content for your Instagram posts. What do we mean by this?
Entertaining
Educational
Inspirational
Storyteller
Promotion
Very similar to my content pillars, these forms of posts allows you to have variety and diversity in your content. Also, it will ensure you never run out of things to say. Plan you content ahead and schedule the different types of content you will be posting on certain days!
Once you have the pillars, it makes it easy to write the killer captions.
The different content pillars
Or you can look at it like this:
Inform: this is information around yourself, your business and your offers
Educate: the tips and tricks you provide to add value
Engage: the conversations and two-way posts you provide so your target audience can join in on the conversation
Fun: this is your entertaining posts and your behind the scenes
Both provide you with the ability to continually create content as part of your business!
Writing posts for IG
Okay, so how do you write these captions so they just catch people’s attention. What I recommend is you follow these simple tips:
Make a plan on when you will post on IG (consistency looks different for everyone)
Start strategising the themes you will be posting on (also the topics for each week. Make sure your posts tell a story along the way! Look at my IG for example, I have a topic I discuss during the week, but I also share info about my business and myself)
Use a combination of informative, educational, fun and engaging posts to balance out your content - (read more about these elements here)
Set your dates and themes in a calendar to keep you accountable (I use a calendar like this)
Start writing!! Do it ahead of time so you can review and add as much value as possible! Practice makes perfect.
Now, I’m sure you have some questions following this:
How long do my Instagram captions need to be?
This depends on how much offer you want to deliver, but remember, IG allows you 2,200 characters. Now if every post you do is SUPER long, people might disengage. Have a mixture of long and short captions throughout the week! But do what feels aligned to your business and your target audience - ask your clients what they want.
How to write catchy headlines for your posts
It’s your lucky day, Ela shared on the pod an amazing little hack to start writing catchy headlines for your IG captions (or any social media post), that is to use a verb and then the word “you” or “your”, then a noun!
This means the caption is always about your audience! Try it out and let me know how it works for you!
How do I generate my topics?
Now you are probably thinking, yes those themes listed above, but how am I meant to generate the topics to go with the themes? ASK!! Use Facebook groups, your IG story polls, your current clients to see what they want to know more about!!
Message people, get a spreadsheet of topics and start planning them for each week!!
Remember - we recommend having a topic of the week that you use to discuss across all your platforms.
Be consistent
If you take anything away from this blog, or the podcast, it is BE CONSISTENT!! Don’t give up on posting or consistently because you’re not getting the engagement another entrepreneur is getting.
You need to show up consistently so your audience are constantly seeing what you’re doing, so you are at the front on their mind! This way they will know what you have to offer!
LISTEN TO THE POD for more!
