How to write instagram posts

How To Write Short Instagram Captions in 2023 [+Examples]

You may already post stunning photos and videos on your business’ Instagram and IGTV feeds, but if you’re not giving proper attention to your social media marketing copy, especially your Instagram captions, you could be losing out on a key opportunity.

Instagram captions can be used to serve your business by:

Increasing your website traffic
Helping you get more Instagram followers
Growing your sales

A strong visual on Instagram can make users “slow their scroll” and stay locked on your post, but a carefully thought out caption can do a lot more heavy lifting in terms of marketing and sales.

What makes a good Instagram caption?
Instagram captions and campaign goals
How to write the perfect Instagram caption
6 great instagram caption examples
Instagram caption tips, tricks, and answers
A final note: attracting and repelling

Free Webinar:

How to Grow and Monetize Your Instagram Account

A free workshop with field-tested Instagram marketing tips. Learn how to grow your Instagram audience and monetize it with an online store.

What makes a good Instagram caption?

Compelling captions can create more engagement, which is critical when it comes to Instagram’s algorithm. Strong copy in your caption shapes your brand’s story and personality, which in turn helps your followers realize they need what you’re selling. In short: Instagram captions can help elevate your company’s social media success—and that can improve your bottom line.

In its simplest form a good Instagram caption is one that provides context, adds personality, educates your audience, and inspires your followers to take action.
Taylor Loren, in an edited excerpt from the course How to Make Money on Instagram

With the recent updates to Instagram’s algorithm, your posts are more likely to be served (or “seen”) if the platform likes your Instagram engagement rates. This metric looks at whether you are receiving a lot of user comments on a post and whether you are responding to these comments. These changes mean that simply having a large number of followers no longer guarantees your posts will be seen—as counterintuitive as that may sound.

Earlier this year, Instagram explained how its algorithm works, saying, “What shows up first in your feed is determined by what posts and accounts you engage with the most, as well as other contributing factors such as the timeliness of posts, how often you use Instagram, how many people you follow, etc.”

What does this mean? For starters, what shows up at the top of an Instagram user’s channel is based on the user’s own activity. So, as a business, you need to entice users to engage with your post, whether that means staying on it for a few seconds, or liking, commenting on, or sharing it. (More on how captions can help achieve these actions coming up.)

I spoke with two Instagram marketing experts to get their insights on how to write captions for Instagram posts that can help improve your sales, reach, and brand affinity.

Meet the experts: Jason Portnoy, president of JPORT Media, a full-service digital marketing and ad agency; and Ashlyn Carter, copywriter and messaging strategist at Ashlyn Writes and founder of the website Ashlyn Writes and the accompanying Ashlyn Writes Shop, powered by Shopify.

Instagram captions and campaign goals

Before diving into Instagram caption writing, go back to the primary goals of your Instagram strategy and let them guide you. Common overarching goals include:

Running an awareness campaign to increase your visibility or to increase brand awareness in general (this can mean increasing your reach and number of followers, or driving traffic to your website for awareness purposes)
Promoting a sale, new product launch, or new collection launch
Collecting user-generated content with branded Instagram hashtags

If you have an Instagram Business account, you can invest in sponsored posts to ensure your photos are seen by a targeted audience. When putting ad dollars behind a sponsored post (also known as a “promoted post”), it’s worth noting that there are several predetermined calls to action for you to choose from. You can also check our guide on how to get followers on Instagram to learn about 15 tactics to grow your Instagram followers.

Supported call-to-action button options include: Contact Us, Learn More, Book Now, and Download. And thanks to Instagram’s Shop tab and product tagging functionality, Shopify merchants can enable their Instagram accounts to provide users with more about their products with a single tap, and even take users directly to their Shopify store to make a purchase, all within the Instagram app.

If you’re running a purely organic campaign without investing dollars in Instagram ads, then there are two main goals you’ll want your call to action to achieve:

Driving followers and potential followers to read your caption, head to your Instagram profile, and click the link in your bio
Getting followers to like, comment, or share (by tagging others)

Remember, you can’t place clickable links in organic posts, which means you have to direct users to click the link in your Instagram bio in order to visit your website or product page. Linkpop allows you to create a custom landing page where you can curate different types of content under one URL. You can also check our guide on how to get verified on Instagram as a verified account represents authenticity and builds trust.

How to write the perfect Instagram caption

1. Make the most of the first sentence

After a couple lines of text, Instagram hides the rest of your caption behind a “more” link, so include important details in the beginning. Only about the first sentence will be seen in a user’s Instagram feed, so make sure it’s compelling or asks a question—and don’t put your call to action at the end.

“Treat the initial copy of your Instagram caption like you do with marketing on any other medium: lead with the hook!” says Carter. “When I front load my captions before the line break—that ‘More’ option Instagram gives you to keep reading past the first two lines—and get to the good stuff first, I see better engagement.”

2. Include a CTA or ask a question

Each post should have a purpose and intention, so lead each one with its specific goal and let that goal dictate the call to action. What do you want followers to do:

Visit your website?
Shop for a specific product?
Share the post with friends?
Shop a promotion?
Enter a contest or giveaway?
Snap photos and share using a specified hashtag? (This is a great way to collect user generated content.)

The key is to encourage engagement in order to create a sense of dialogue and conversation. This is also a way to work around Instagram’s algorithm, which looks at engagement as a metric to serve your posts to followers. Encouraging engagement also increases the likelihood your post will appear in other users’ feeds as a “recommended account” to follow.

Here are some actions you can encourage in your caption:

Click the link in bio
Leave a comment, usually as the answer to a question
Tag a friend (this is a great tactic for growing your reach)
Post a photo using your branded hashtag

3. Add value

“Offer tips and tricks,” says Portnoy, “or any kind of information to help educate or inform to increase the added value of your Instagram post. ” Adding value within your Instagram captions will help the user and make the post more likely to be shared and bookmarked.

Learn more: How to Use Instagram Stories for Your Business

4. Write like a human (not a robot)

Authenticity matters most. In content and captions, put your real self out there and write as you speak. You may want to be strategic and intentional, but you also want to come across natural and like a friend to the user.

5. Draft captions on a separate platform

You’re more likely to think strategically and distraction free if you write your captions on another platform. “I have a clearer head if I get myself off my phone when drafting Instagram captions for my business,” says Carter. “My go-to is Plann for desktop, so I can batch write a slew of captions, come back and edit them, and schedule them to post. That way, I’m not swallowed up by notifications and comparison. I’m writing with a level head and with my marketing goals in mind. ”

Remember, when drafting, keep your campaign and engagement goals at the focal point of your Instagram caption. Try coming up with a few alternative ideas for your captions, as the first one you write won’t necessarily be your best. Let your creativity breath, and have fun with the process.

6. Use storytelling

Avoid being neutral—add personality and spice to your captions. “I try to add in two to three sensory words, phrases, or anecdotes that paint a picture,” Carter says. “So describe touch, taste, sound, sight, emotion, feel. Get specific. Don’t just say ‘Tex-Mex.’ Say ‘salty corn chips dunked in guacamole washed down with tart margaritas.’”

7. Use emojis and have fun

Sprinkle in emojis to add some extra flavor and animate your captions. Relevant emojis placed at the end of sentences or paragraphs can also serve as “bookends” and aesthetically break up long strings of copy.

Emojis are also a great way to direct readers to take a certain action, such as clicking the link in bio. But if you use emojis, make sure they jibe with your tone of voice and branding. You don’t want to overdo it with a mixed bag of emojis, especially not in the same caption.

If you are working on your brand voice and identity and outsourcing the Instagram caption writing to a freelancer, determine a set of emojis that make sense for keeping things consistent and on brand.

Need some inspiration on which emojis to use for a link in bio callout or to call attention to important text within a caption? Here are some of my favorites:

👉 👆 💥 🔗 🎯 📌 📍

8. Consider caption length

Like most marketing strategies, the copy in your Instagram caption is about quality over quantity. It can be short and snappy or feature longer, more in-depth text.

According to Portnoy, there’s no right or wrong length when it comes to caption writing. “If your post adds value or is interesting, people will read it,” he says. “However, if you’re in doubt whether a post is too long, you’re better off erring on the short side. ”

9. Use hashtags

Instagram hashtags are a key way to make your posts searchable, so be sure you leverage them properly. They function like keywords, as they have tracking and searching capabilities.

You may have noticed brands grouping relevant hashtags at the end of a caption or below the “More” tag to keep things looking clean. Some even add several lines of space with periods to set apart the hashtags and really tuck them away from the description space. This is acceptable, but be open to sprinkling some hashtags within the caption to give it dimension.

So how do you know which hashtags to use? Aim for a mix of branded (a signature hashtag you create for your brand), community (used by people in the same industry as you, or used by the influencers you are attempting to attract), product, and other relevant trending hashtags.

Inform your content marketing by taking note of the hashtags used by your competitors, your audience, influencers, and industry leaders.

6 great Instagram caption examples

1.

How to use short instagram captions: The Sill

Short and sweet Instagram captions are useful when the photo can say it all. Take this example from The Sill, a business that ships beautiful house plants straight to your door. It uses a photo that shows off how people are decorating their homes with the houseplants they order.

What is The Sill doing well with its Instagram caption?

A short Instagram caption accompanying a beautiful photo encourages people to tag their friends or leave a comment
Credits and tags the interior artist and their rental space, further increasing reach of their post

2. How to use long Instagram captions: Soko Glam

Longer Instagram captions are useful to add context about the image, like with educating or storytelling to further engage readers. Take this example from Soko Glam, a store specializing in Korean beauty products. It would be easy for Soko Glam to simply post announcing its number one product in the cleanser category, but that’s not its method. Instead, it’s shared the use case of its product and how this cleanser tackles customer pain points.

In fact, Soko Glam has prided itself on going against the grain with lengthy but informative Instagram captions—so much so that it has caught the attention of Instagram and been used as an example for other businesses.

What is Soko Glam doing well with its Instagram caption?

The long caption gives detailed steps on exactly how the brand’s top product helps buyers
It’s integrating its product with trending topics with hashtags, ensuring it’s dialed in, relevant, and part of the conversation
It’s featuring a clear CTA by telling followers to use the link in bio to receive 15% off of all Soko Glam’s number one rated products

Learn More: How to make money on Instagram

3. How to use sassy Instagram captions: Adam J. Kurtz

Bold and occasionally brassy Instagram captions can be used when the tone resonates with your audience, brand, and products. Adam J. Kurtz is an artist and author whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty and a little dark humor, so as you can imagine, his Instagram captions look to push boundaries. But he doesn’t infuse attitude into his Instagram captions for the sake of writing them that way—it’s consistent with his branding across all of his products, down to the slides in his public speaking.

What is Adam J. Kurtz doing well with his Instagram caption?

The caption is consistent with his branding, from the copy on the photo to the caption itself
The sassy and funny nature of his caption encourages users to tag friends

4. How to use funny Instagram captions: A Shop of Things

Funny Instagram captions are useful if your product or service has humor inherently injected into it. That’s certainly the case for A Shop of Things, a store that’s filled with cute prints, funny embroideries, awesome pins, and must-have patches. Anyone living in a big city knows first-hand that the sum of their rent doesn’t always equal the quality of their apartment, so A Shop of Things uses funny captions to match its funny products related to the subject.

What is A Shop of Things doing well with its Instagram caption?

It relates to a specific audience with a funny caption that encourages comments or people to tag their friends

5. How to use seasonal Instagram captions: Letterfolk and Vaute Couture

Writing a seasonal caption is a smart way to mix up your Instagram marketing by taking a break from the usual programming with something timely. Let’s look at a couple of examples for summer and winter Instagram captions.

Instagram captions for summer

Letterfolk is extremely talented at placing its products alongside photos that capture the essence of everyday life. In this example, it capitalizes on knowing that someone always has a friend who can’t wait for summer to be over so they can start enjoying the fall comforts of sweaters, pumpkin-spice lattes, and colorful trees.

What is Letterfolk doing well with its Instagram caption?

The caption is short and snappy copy that allows folks to quickly tag that friend who loves fall
It uses its branded hashtag where customers share their own Letterfolk boards to increase post reach and encourage more comments

Instagram captions for winter

In this example, Vaute Couture, a worldwide clothing brand that specializes in vegan apparel and animal friendly designs, collaborates with popular vegan chef Chole Coscarelli to model a winter coat at the time of year people typically start to invest in winter apparel. It’s worth highlighting how it has aligned the brand’s mission and marketing messages with an influencer that shares the same vision and mission. This is the pinnacle of Instagram influencer marketing.

What is Vaute Couture doing well with its Instagram caption?

The caption gives credit to the influencer modeling the coat, which further extends the post’s reach
It promotes a discount that will help drive sales
It features a clear call to action at the end, directing users to click the link in bio to shop

6. How to use Instagram captions for selfies: Verameat

If you’re a merchant like Verameat, a brand that crafts jewelry, it doesn’t always make sense to use professional photography to showcase bespoke pieces. In this case, Verameat has opted to use a selfie to show off its new Halloween-themed jewelry collection.

What is Verameat doing well with its Instagram caption?

The caption copy isn’t too long and still clearly announces a Halloween collection
Its use of emojis is just right and on brand
It features a clear call to action at the end, directing users to comment and enter a contest

Instagram caption tips, tricks, and answers

Before you get back into caption creativity mode, consider these final pointers to help maximize your brand exposure, captivate your audience, and start achieving your campaign goals.

How to add blank spaces in Instagram captions

The easiest and fastest option for adding blank or “white space” in Instagram captions is by using symbols. Using spaces is particularly useful for keeping hashtags under the “More” tag. Follow these steps to add space in your Instagram caption:

Write your caption in the caption area on Instagram
To add a line break, tap on the Enter or Return key
Add one symbol on the next line. People typically use the period (.) or hyphen (-)
Tap Enter or Return again, then start typing your next paragraph
To add more spaces between paragraphs in your Instagram caption, repeat these steps until you have a complete Instagram post

How long can an Instagram caption be?

Captions for Instagram posts can be as long as 2,200 characters and can contain up to 30 hashtags. To write engaging Instagram captions, be sure to follow our best practices. To add more insight or more hashtags, use the comment option where you can add a further 2,200 characters and up to 30 more hashtags.

A checklist for posting the best Instagram captions

Before finalizing your captions, consider the following questions (you may want to bookmark this and keep it handy):

Is your caption informative? Does it provide information or details about your product, a promotion, or your company in general?
Is your caption on brand? Can a user tell that it follows your company’s tone of voice and overall style?
Is your caption encouraging an action? Is there a clear call to action at the end of the text telling users to do something?
Is your caption clean? Does the caption look aesthetically pleasing or is it cluttered with text, emojis, and/or hashtags?
Is your caption inspiring or adding value? Will the user get something out of the post? Whether it’s new information, a chance to enter a giveaway, an opportunity to connect with other followers by commenting on the post, or a dose of inspiration, your caption should add something to the user’s life. Make an effort to be intentional with your posts and avoid posting for the sake of posting. A user will sooner unfollow your account because they feel your posts aren’t adding value than because you aren’t posting daily.

Free Webinar: How to Grow and Monetize Your Instagram Account

A free workshop with field-tested Instagram marketing tips. Learn how to grow your Instagram audience and monetize it with an online store.

Reserve your seat now

A final note: attracting and repelling

When it comes to branding, there’s a useful principle to consider known as attracting and repelling, popularized by photographer and strategist Jasmine Star. Essentially, having your brand identity locked down will guide the words and tone you use. And since you can’t be everything to everyone, your branding likely will attract the right clients and repel the wrong ones. That said, focus on your potential customer and how to attract them. This will help keep your eyes on the prize and guide how you’re writing your Instagram captions.

While being strategic is key, this is also an opportunity to show off your brand personality. So make sure you’re combining your brand’s unique point of view with Instagram’s more lighthearted tone. The message is the medium, after all.

Instagram captions FAQ

What are good Insta captions?

Here are 6 great examples of effective Instagram captions:

How to use short Instagram captions: The Sill
How to use long Instagram captions: Soko Glam
How to use sassy Instagram captions: Adam J. Kurtz
How to use funny Instagram captions: A Shop of Things
How to use seasonal Instagram captions: Letterfolk and Vaute Couture
How to use Instagram captions for selfies: Verameat

How do you write captions?

Write like a human
Make the most of your first line
Add value: educate, inspire, inform
Include a call to action
Stay true to your brand voice

How do I get creative captions?

Add blank or "white space" to your captions
Have fun with emojis
Experiment with short and long captions
Tell a great story

Do you need to write captions on Instagram?

Compelling captions shapes your brand's story and personality, which in turn helps your followers realize they need what you're selling. In short: Instagram captions can help elevate your company's social media success, and that can improve your bottom line.

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Good Instagram Captions

Writing good Instagram captions can be really hard.

Should your Instagram captions be funny? Serious? Inspirational? Should you use emojis and hashtags? And what about your call-to-action?

To help you get started and create Instagram captions that are as great as your photos, we’ve put together this guide with all our top tips:

Why Are Good Instagram Captions So Important?

A great Instagram caption will stop a scroller in their tracks — and the longer someone spends reading your caption and engaging with your post, the better your post will rank with the Instagram algorithm!

Captions are a powerful tool that can be used to encourage likes, comments, and even visits to your website. And if your post gets enough engagement, it might even end up on the Explore Page!

What’s more, captions are a huge opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your audience.

And while celebrities like Kylie Jenner can get away with a single moon emoji as a caption, for brands and influencers, lengthy captions that champion story-telling and authenticity are driving great results:

The “micro-blogging” caption trend is a great way to connect on a deeper level with your followers, which in turn can boost brand loyalty.

Not forgetting that a good Instagram caption with an effective call-to-action (CTA) is one of the best ways to inspire your followers to comment on your posts. And that means even more engagement on your account.

In a nutshell, you can’t afford to leave your captions as an afterthought.

While creating beautiful content for your feed is ultra important, if you want to get more engagement on your posts, and maybe even reach new audiences, writing good Instagram captions that drive engagement is a great strategy.

The good news is you can take Later’s How to Write Engaging Instagram Captions workshop with Instagram pro Elise Darma right now — it’s completely FREE, just sign up below!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions

So what does a good Instagram caption look like?

In its simplest form, a good Instagram caption is one that provides context, adds personality, and inspires your followers to take action.

But writer’s block is real, and when you’ve spent time and effort perfecting your Instagram images, crafting a caption can seem like added work you don’t have time for.

To help you start writing good Instagram captions that convert readers into loyal, engaged followers, we’re sharing our top tips!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #1: Write a Killer First Line

Making the first part of your Instagram caption super-engaging and enticing is a sure-fire way to boost the amount of time people spend viewing your post.

The trick is to ensure that you deliver the punchy, attention-grabbing element of your first line before the caption is truncated (shortened) — so it’s visible in someone’s feed without them having to click “more”.

You could spark your followers’ curiosity with an intriguing statement, or capture their attention with hard-hitting stats, trigger an emotional response or share an exclusive offer.

Whatever tactic you choose, just remember that the goal is to pique your followers’ interest, so they’re more likely to read your full caption and engage with your post.

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #2: Add a Call-to-Action

The simple act of including a call-to-action in your Instagram caption and inviting your audience to comment or like a post can go a very long way it when it comes to driving more engagement.

And the best bit — the engagement doesn’t stop with Instagram!

A good CTA can inspire your followers to engage with your business website, sign up to a newsletter or shop online!

Here’s how to nail your CTAs in your Instagram posts:

Using Call-to-Actions to Drive Engagement

If you want more engagement on your posts, all you have to do is ask!

Add a call-to-action to your Instagram captions like “double tap if you agree”, or ask a personal question to encourage more comments on your post.

Not only will this strengthen the sense of community on your Instagram account, but it will also provide positive indicators for the Instagram algorithm — which will lead to more exposure for your post.

Try to keep your CTAs fun and easy to do to encourage as many engagements as possible.

Another great call-to-action that will boost your post with the Instagram algorithm is to ask your followers to tag their friends in the comment section of your post.

This can be as simple as saying: “Tag a friend who needs to hear this!”, or “Tag someone that would wear this!”.

Alternatively, you could run an Instagram contest that requires users to tag a friend in the comments section in order to enter.

If you’re planning on running an Instagram contest, it’s a good idea to include “contest” or “giveaway” at the beginning of your caption to really capture your followers’ attention!

Using Call-to-Actions to Divert Traffic to Your Site

You can also use call-to-actions to encourage your audience to visit your website or purchase a product.

If you have over 10k followers on Instagram, you can add direct links to your Instagram Stories and invite viewers to “swipe up” to learn more.

But it can be a little bit trickier to direct your followers to your site from your post captions.

One way around this is to encourage your followers to click the link in your bio, or even visit a specific URL.

Instagram only gives you one hyperlink in your bio, so if you’re looking to optimize on that, think about using a tool like Linkin.bio by Later.

With Linkin.bio, you can redirect your viewers from your captions to a clickable landing page that looks exactly like your feed.

So your audience will always be able to find the link they’re looking for, and you won’t have to keep updating the link in your profile!

Want to drive more traffic to your website and convert followers into customers? Linkin.bio is available on all Later business plans.

Tease the Value of Completing a Call-to-Action

To make your call-to-actions even more effective, let your followers know what they stand to gain by doing it.

As Elise Darma mentions in our free How to Write Engaging Instagram Captions workshop, this can be as simple as adding “so that” to your captions — such as: “enter my competition so that you can win…” — or by setting out what your audience will learn by following your CTA!

Adding a simple reason for why your followers should follow your call-to-action will encourage them to do so, which will help you achieve your goals!

Make Your Call-to-Actions Stand Out

As captions get longer, it’s easier for your call-to-action to get lost amongst all of your caption copy.

To combat this, you can use a custom font to jazz up your captions and draw more attention to your call-to-action.

And creating a custom font is easy!

All you have to do is paste your call-to-action into a custom font tool, like IGfonts.io, to generate a whole range of fonts that you can simply copy and paste into your caption.

You can also use eye-catching emojis, capital letters, or symbols to make your call-to-actions extra visible!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #3: Add Line Breaks to Longer Captions

Keeping your Instagram captions short and punchy is a great way to ensure your message gets across — but what about when you’ve got lots to say?

Adding line breaks to your Instagram captions will keep them easy to digest, even when you’ve got several points to make!

This simple spacing hack is great for breaking up hefty captions, that could be a serious turn-off for your followers.

And it’s a cinch to do with Later!

Previously, you had to add individual symbols, like stars or dashes, each on a new line of text, to create line breaks in your captions.

But with Later, all you have to do is press the return key while writing your caption and you’ll have lovely, spaced out captions for your Instagram posts!

Don’t believe us? Sign up for Later if you haven’t already and give it a try — it’s free!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #4: Use a Consistent Brand Voice

Aside from the obvious tips on using proper grammar and spelling, one of the most important parts of any good Instagram caption is a consistent, and on-brand, voice.

Your Instagram captions should mirror your brand personality, and they should sound and feel like the rest of your marketing channels.

In general, it’s a good idea to take a more informal tone in your captions, as this will make your posts more personable — which is great for encouraging engagement!

A quick tip is to read your captions out loud and or dictate your caption to your phone using your voice notes. If it doesn’t sound like how you’d naturally speak, then it might be worth going back to the drawing board.

If you’re still honing your brand voice, check out these 10 brands we’re crushing on for some fresh Instagram inspo!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #5: Pick 2-3 Focal Themes

A consistent Instagram feed aesthetic is one of the best ways to grow a large and loyal following while showing off your brand’s unique style and tone — and the same applies for your Instagram captions!

Consistent Instagram captions will give your account a stronger personality and focus, reinforcing that you’re an expert in your domain — whatever that may be!

An easy way to do this is to set 2-3 themes that you can write about time and time again.

Take for example @everlane, who keep their captions centered around their products, transparency, and sustainability.

You can even assign a regular time slot to share posts related to a specific theme. For example, beauty brand @TrinnyLondon shares a “Fashion Friday” post each week — highlighting what the team is wearing.

CONTENT PLANNING TIP: Use Later’s Calendar Notes feature to reserve slots in your content planner for a specific theme — even if you don’t have a full post ready to schedule yet!

Not sure how to pick your themes, or need some extra help drafting your captions? We have free Instagram caption templates to get those creative juices flowing!

Sign up below and we’ll send them straight to your inbox — along with access to your free video workshop!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #6: Include Eye-Catching Emojis

When you aren’t using emojis to draw attention to your call-to-action, you can use them to add personality to your Instagram caption.

You can insert multiple emojis at the beginning of your caption to catch the eye of your followers with a bit of color, so they want to click to read more, or you can replace whole words with an emoji.

Even if you just add an emoji at the end of your Instagram caption, it will make your caption more inviting to your followers — and why not? Everyone loves an emoji!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #7: Disclose Sponsored Posts

With FTC regulations being tightened around sponsored posts and Instagram ads, it’s more important than ever to be transparent about your posts.

When you’re being rewarded or paid to promote a business or product — whether it’s through physical payment, affiliate links, or on a gifting basis — it needs to be correctly disclosed.

A common practice among influencers is to include a hashtag like #spon, #sponsored, #ad, #paid, or #partnership in the captions of their sponsored Instagram posts.

But that’s not enough anymore, according to the FTC.

If you want to disclose sponsored Instagram posts using a general hashtag, the only FTC-compliant ones are #sponsored or #ad.

And according to the FTC, you can’t simply hide #ad in the middle of your 29 other hashtags (especially because Instagram captions are shortened after 1-2 lines of text). The disclosure hashtag has to be easily noticed and understood by users.

That doesn’t mean you have to put #ad or #sponsored at the very beginning of your caption, but it’s obviously less likely to be seen if it’s in the middle or at the end.

The FTC also states that you can’t simply attach the word “ad” to the end of another hashtag, such as #adidasoriginalsad.

If you’re unsure, your backstop should be to over-disclose than under. Authenticity and transparency is valued on Instagram more than anything else, so it’s worth being honest with your followers.

ICYMI: Find out how to properly disclose sponsored Instagram posts according to the FTC in this blog post!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #8: Write Your Captions in Batches

One of the biggest reasons people have trouble writing Instagram captions is because they try to do it on the fly, which definitely isn’t ideal.

Instead of jumping from task to task, it’s much more efficient to write your Instagram captions in one solid batch writing session — so you can really get in the zone!

So whether that’s first thing on Monday morning, or it’s your last task before the weekend, carve out some time and dedicate it just to captions.

If you want to get organized with captions, you can plan your Instagram posts ahead of time with Later! With the calendar view and Visual Planner, you can craft and edit all of your captions in one go:

And once you’re happy with your captions, you can schedule and set your post to automatically go live when you want them too — making your content calendar even easier to manage!

Ready to start crafting your captions and save time with Instagram? Sign up to Later — it’s free!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #9: Use Hashtags to Boost Your Discoverability

Not only can hashtags help you gain more Instagram followers, but they’re a great way to connect with customers, find content created about you by your followers, and build long-term relationships with influential partners!

How Instagram Hashtags Work in Captions

Hashtags help organize and categorize photos and video content, which means that Instagram knows when to show your post to viewers who have searched the hashtag, or are browsing the Explore page.

For example, a food blogger could post a picture of a smoothie bowl, and then use the hashtags #superfoods, #cleaneating, and #vegansofig when it’s uploaded to Instagram.

How to Be Strategic With Hashtags

In order to be successful with hashtags, it’s important to be strategic about your hashtag usage.

The “most popular” Instagram hashtags are just simple words, and while tagging #love, #happy, and #dog may get you a few more likes, it’s not going to do much for your growth in the long run.

Instead of using the most popular Instagram hashtags, it’s better to use the top Instagram hashtags that have an engaging community behind them and are specific to your audience.

The narrower the scope of the hashtag, the more engaged the users are. You’ll be surprised by just how niche hashtags can get!

One of the best ways to stay organized with all of your community Instagram hashtags is by using Later’s Saved Captions feature.

With Saved Captions, you can create templates to save your most commonly used hashtags.

When it’s time to schedule, simply select one of your Saved Captions to add it to your post.

And best of all? It’s free to all Later users! Learn more about Later’s Saved Captions feature in this video:

Use Branded Hashtags in Your Instagram Caption

A branded hashtag is a great way to start a conversation with your followers and increase the reach of your content.

Branded hashtags are a way for your “fans” to share with their followers how they are already engaging with your brand, and for you to inspire user-generated content (UGC). It can mean major growth for your followers and help with the overall engagement on Instagram.

Keep Your Instagram Captions Clean

Adding hashtags to your Instagram caption is a great way to make your posts more discoverable, but too many hashtags can make your captions look untidy.

Equally, adding hashtags too soon in your caption can encourage users to click away from your post — which is the opposite of what you want to achieve!

Instead, add the bulk of your hashtags to the very end of your caption, tucked away behind several line breaks!

This will keep your Instagram posts discoverable and maintain your sleek aesthetic.

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #10: Create Captions for Your Instagram Stories

Adding a caption to your Instagram Stories is one of the most effective ways to capture your viewers’ attention — especially as lots of people watch stories without sound.

Your Instagram Stories captions can be informative (so it doesn’t matter if viewers’ watch without sound) or intriguing — to encourage your audience to tune in and listen!

You can also use Instagram Stories captions to drive your followers to complete a specific action. This could be as simple as encouraging them to swipe up, or click the link in your bio.

Not only do captions encourage more activity, but they’ll also make your stories more user-friendly for people with a hearing impairment.

And there’s a ton of new apps out there to help!

For live video, you can use the Clipomatic app to automatically add subtitles as you record. All you have to do is hit the record button, speak clearly, and your words will appear in a stylish caption right on your recording.

For prerecorded video, you can use the Caption This app to automate your subtitles — just upload your recorded video and wait for your captions to populate!

How to Write Good Instagram Captions Tip #11: Optimize Your IGTV Captions

ICYMI: When an IGTV preview is shared to your Instagram feed, the caption is automatically pulled from your IGTV video title and description.

With this in mind, it’s worth thinking about how your IGTV video title and description works as a feed post caption — as previews are one of the best ways to drive more views to your video content!

Equally, if your IGTV video is part of a sponsored partnership, it’s important to disclose this clearly in your feed preview caption:

Your IGTV video descriptions are also the only place where you include clickable links on Instagram (aside from your link in bio) so it’s definitely worth encouraging your audience to watch your full IGTV video in your feed preview captions!

Coming up with good Instagram captions might seem hard, but if you want to be successful on Instagram, it’s important to not let your Instagram captions become an afterthought.

Whether you’re an ecommerce brand selling products or a blogger sharing content, writing good Instagram captions can be a game-changer for your Instagram engagement!

Ready to take your Instagram captions to the next level? Take part in our free How to Write Engaging Instagram Captions workshop now!

How to write a post on Instagram - instructions and examples - Mysina.ru

Imagine you wrote a post on Instagram and get admiring comments from readers: “Wow! How interesting!”, “Author, write more!”. Tempting, right? Here is a step-by-step instruction that will help you plunge into the writing world.

From this article you will learn:

How to write interesting posts on Instagram. Walkthrough

I once asked readers what kind of post they enjoyed reading. Blog subscribers answered the question like this:

“In which there are many examples”
“easy to read”
“Informative, with logical transitions”

I agree with each and from myself:

The ideal post reaches the set goal 9000

therefore If you want to learn how to write interesting posts on Instagram, then follow five simple steps.

Decide on the type of post

At the first stage, it is important to decide what you want to achieve from your subscribers and why write this post? Choose what text you are going to write:

Informational - Posts that don't sell anything. Here you share useful information with readers, show your expertise and your advantages. Informative posts build bridges of trust between you and your readers. These types of posts include, for example, an acquaintance post.
Selling is the most difficult post type for Instagrammers. Selling posts help sell your service, talk about the benefits and benefits.
Entertaining - so that subscribers do not get bored, dilute your content with entertaining posts. Such publications show that nothing human is alien to you, you can laugh and amuse others.
Engaging — such posts are needed to engage readers in a dialogue. Remember, Instagram boosts the reach of popular content, so post engaging posts. For ways to engage your audience, see the article “How to get subscribers to talk”.

If you want to show your expertise, write an informational post. Can be combined with engagement, then add a question or vote at the end.

See also: How to Instagram .

Make a plan of the text

The plan is especially helpful when you cannot distinguish the main ideas in the text. Seriously, don't sit down to post until you have a plan, first sketch out the main ideas and put them in order.

What makes a good plan:

reflects the sequence of the presentation of thought,
reveals the content of the text,
focuses attention.

The plan will not let you go into the jungle of reasoning and write too much.

Prepare an interesting texture

The texture makes posts exciting so that the reader does not leave after the first sentences. The invoice can be life stories, research, quotes, humor, life hacks. I collect the invoice in notes on my phone, climb there when I need to add a story to the post.

Universal posting topics:

lists,
collections,
instructions,
case stories,
reviews,
life hacks,
answers to readers' questions.

This is only a small part of what can be written. See the rest of the 64 topics for posts, among which you will definitely choose something for yourself.

Let's move on to the next step.

Learn to write in the flow

At the fourth stage, write everything that comes to mind on the topic of the publication. Do not edit or criticize, task unload all thoughts on paper .

When you write in a stream, metaphors, comparisons and creative thoughts are suddenly born. As soon as you turn on the inner critic, the whole flow is blown away.

Edit the post, add spaces and paragraphs

This is where the editor comes into play. Read everything you wrote, compare the text with the plan. Go to rest.

Go back and read aloud, paying attention to the points that the tongue stumbles over, which are difficult to pronounce or understand. Rewrite, simplify, delete.

Oh yes, the beginning of the post can be deleted . Usually, at the beginning we only sign and the first sentences are not catchy. Don't take my word for it, try deleting the first paragraph in your post.

Well, how are you? Got better?

Check spelling and punctuation, complete the text.

I tell you how to write a post on Instagram with paragraphs. We have two options: Telegram bot and invisible character.

@text4instabot is a Telegram bot that puts spaces in a post. Load the text into a special window and voila, you get a beautifully designed post for Instagram. Personally, I don't use this option because I don't want to depend on a third party bot.

It is much more convenient for me to insert an invisible character, here it is - [⠀].

Copy the empty space in square brackets into your notes. When the post is written, just insert this character in place with the paragraphs.

Praise yourself, you wrote a post for Instagram

Reinforce the skill and thank yourself for your work. You are great, every time your posts for Instagram will turn out better.

Guys, each type of post has its own nuances, this instruction is general. Gradually I will reveal the topic of writing posts for instagram. If you are interested in the topic of account promotion and development, then read other articles on the blog. You will find many useful things.

In the meantime, tell me what difficulties you face when writing posts?

Save it so you don't lose it:

how to write in 2021 + examples

If you have entered this article, then there are two options: either you are already writing posts, but for some reason they do not enter, or you are just going to write. This article will help in both the first and second situations. I will tell you how to write posts on Instagram to influence the audience through texts.

How to write for Instagram

There is no single formula on how to write profile posts correctly. Just like there are no topics for which you need to write on Instagram, and for which you don’t. Everything is individual. The main thing is to focus on your audience, test texts, look at statistics, find out what users get more. By the way, our article will help you with this, I will leave it below. And now I’ll tell you how to serve content to subscribers so that it gets a response.

Tip #1. Stick to structure

A clear structure will allow the reader to quickly swallow the post, benefit from it, and wait for the next one. Otherwise, he will simply throw it in half.

Life hack 1: When writing a post, first bring the reader up to date, identify the problem, describe its details, show the solution and draw a conclusion.

Life hack 2: Do not ignore the working formulas of the selling text, use what has already been tested and 100% works. And yes, you don't have to search the Internet for anything. How to write selling posts on the social network, we have already written in the article.

Tip #2. Break the post into parts

This way you will make it as convenient as possible for the reader. No one will read a continuous canvas, so select paragraphs, alternate their size. Follow the rule one paragraph = one complete thought. But this does not mean that it should just end, make a smooth transition to the next one.

Life hack 1: As an option - breaking the text into paragraphs with subheadings. These can be, for example, the main questions that the paragraph answers: why, how to use, where to buy, etc.

Life hack 2: Use text4instabot. This is a Telegram bot to which you send text with paragraphs written in notes, documents, any editor, and it will automatically fill in the necessary spaces, paragraphs and send you a text ready for publication.

If writing text is difficult, read our article about ready-made posts for instagram

Tip #

Find "brand voice

Or "Tone of voice". The concept includes a greeting, acceptable humor, recognizable phrases, etc. Tone of voice will help you better understand your readers and potential customers and bring you closer to your audience. The use, for example, of phrases that are familiar only to a narrow circle of people, gives the client the impression that he is chosen and special.

Life hack 1: Personalize your text. Come up with an appeal to your subscribers and always use them in publications, for example, "beginner designer", "for all capricorns", bloggers often call their followers by their own name - "evleychiki".

Life hack 2: Use hashtags to write messages in the text. So the publication can be easily found among others if your account is suddenly lost (accidentally unsubscribed, changed profile) or they want to find a post, but do not know your profile.

Tip #4. Develop other topics

Get involved yourself, choose not only professional topics, but also those that are of interest to you. The audience immediately feels if the author sincerely burns with what he is talking about.

Life hack 1: Tell us about your hobby. If you teach people, for example, targeting, this does not mean that you do not have hobbies and talents. It will be great if you link this topic to the main one in the profile. For example, give recommendations on how to set up the same target if a person is engaged in the creation of resin products and wants to sell them.

Life hack 2: If the account was created for a company/shop, then show in the posts the hobbies and achievements of employees outside of corporate life, and how they did not prevent them from succeeding at work.

Life hack 3: You can get the first likes for a post through TmSMM services. This is safe, and it will already encourage subscribers to like your post too.

Tip #5.

Keep it simple

Instagram is not a platform where people come to read abstruse metaphors and kilometer sentences. They go to the social network to escape from work, have fun and find communication. Therefore, write in an easy, simple and understandable language.

Life hack 1: Speak what you would like to state in a post for recording - video or voice. In this format, your manner will be more natural, and the sentences will be simple as in a conversation.

Life hack 2: If you use professional narrow terms and you can't do without them, be sure to explain their meaning in simple language.

Tip #6. Use hashtags

An old trick, but for some reason they forget about it. They will help you get good coverage and get featured, but only if they are relevant to the topic of your post. Then users who are interested in what you offer will be able to find you. Write under the photo hashtags related to your activity, company, product.

Life hack 1: Use low-frequency tags under which less than 10 thousand publications are placed, or medium-frequency tags from 10 to 500 thousand. A couple of high-frequency ones are also possible, but do not get carried away with them so as not to get into the shadowban.

Life hack 2: In addition to words, write hashtags as phrases. You can write two words not only together, but also separately, for example, using underscores, numbers, emoji.

Tip #7. Highlight enumerations

List it and number it or highlight it with dashes, dots or ticks, and so on. This makes it very easy to understand. By the way, after each line, put an invisible space, otherwise the whole structure will move out.

Life hack 1: In addition to standard highlights, use the same emoji for each item, or emoji corresponding to the topic.

Life hack 2: As an option - highlight the keyword or phrase at the beginning of the list with caps and put a full stop, because some of the readers have enough of this, or maybe they already know.

Tip #8.

Use a separate line

Place it in your post to grab the reader's eye. But this will only work if there is a large amount of text before and after a single line or word.

Life hack 1: Highlight the key moment of the publication in this way. This may be the main idea, or an offer for the client in the form of a discount, bonus, etc.

Life hack 2: There are not so many ways to highlight text on Instagram, for a separate line, use caps and screaming emoticons - warning signs, red circles, paper clips, etc.

Tip #9.

Write for your target audience

That is, on topics that are of interest to your target audience. To find out, go to your most active followers and see who they follow. So you will understand what topics to add to the content plan.

Life hack 1: Arrange a poll in stories, offer subscribers a choice of 4 topics. Then analyze and rely on this data when choosing topics for posts.

Life hack 2: Go to your competitors and view their feed. Choose those publications under which there are a lot of comments - reasoning, if there is a discussion - then the topic is interesting. Just remember to adapt them for your blog.

Interesting. Do you want to collaborate with a blogger, but are you worried that he is winding up his statistics? Then we recommend TrendHero. The service will show the real activity in the profile and compare the interests of your target audience and the target audience of the blogger of interest. And you will also see the quality of his posts and stories by reach. Click and check -> TrendHero

Tip #10.

Cling with the first paragraphs

They determine whether the entire text will be read. Therefore, create intrigue, show undeniable benefits. And all this takes about 15 seconds.

Life hack 1: Start the post with the fear and problems of the client, this emotion will definitely provoke him to read, for example: "After 30, the skin loses its elasticity, wrinkles and sagging of the face oval are inevitable. A woman loses her former attractiveness."

Life hack 2: Tie the beginning of the post to a newsbreak that somehow touched you as a company or personal brand. A simple example is the innovations in the store due to quarantine.

Tip #11. Write regularly

This is how you accustom your audience to a certain pace, and they will wait for your posts. Please note that the frequency of text output should be within your reach. Don't go for quantity, go for quality.

Life hack 1: Use a content plan - a pre-arranged schedule for publishing posts with already selected content for a certain period. So you will not puzzle over what to post tomorrow, you will be able to analyze what went better and what is worse, and you will post a variety of content.

Life hack 2: To prevent your publications from being delayed, use auto-posting services, for example, Smmplanner. In them, you will prepare a post in advance, and the service will upload it to Instagram at the time and day you need.

Tip #12. Write long reads

Yes, people scroll through Instagram quickly, and perhaps a large text catches few people, but you can’t do without long read posts. This is an opportunity for the company/personal brand to show how good you are at what you do. Reviews, instructions, cases, investigations are easily placed in such material. And of course, you can successfully sell through it.

Life hack 1: Break long posts into several, create intrigue by writing in the text - continued in the next post. So the audience will not get tired and will wait for the next publication.

Life hack 2: Add brief information about those readers for whom the longread will be useful. Then more readings will come from the target audience. For example, "A post for those who want to create an online store, but do not know where to start."

Tip #13.

Think carefully about the title

The title is the door that leads to your post. And you have literally a second for the reader to open it by clicking the coveted “more” and read the entire text in its entirety. You have 125 characters for this - the heading should fit into this amount.

Lifehack 1: Start the headline with the word “Do you want to…?”, and then add a sharp pain to the client: “Do you want to speak English fluently?”.

Life hack 2: Arouse the user's curiosity with a negative headline, for example: "7 mistakes when starting to learn English."

Life hack 3: Include a shocking statistic in your headline , eg “9 out of 10 teenagers do it!” (about skipping school and developing attention with the help of mental arithmetic in your center).

Tip #14. Avoid superlatives

Leave the words “beautiful”, “best”, “excellent” for fiction, and replace with descriptions of real functions.

Life hack 1: If you are selling a service, tell us what benefits await your customers, what they will get as a result, and where it can come in handy. If you sell goods, for example, equipment, indicate the value, additional features, purpose, how to use. All these qualities can be revealed in posts gradually, proving with examples how and what.

Life hack 2: Don't neglect exponential numbers. For example, it can be the number of products sold, the number of people who completed training, the results of customers. Let your readers see that you are talking about real things, backed up by statistics, and not about abstract assumptions.

As advertising

Tip #15. Give up formulaic phrases

No need to think that using "stormy ovations" and "life is in full swing" you will show your expertise and erudition. No one will read a text stubbed with stamps - this has long been outdated. Make the post live and as natural as possible, the way you would talk to your subscribers live.

Life hack 1: If the text seems to be dry and lacks emotions, explain some points using a simple example from your life, or transfer the situation with one subject to a similar one with another.

Life hack 2: You can create the right mood in the text and revive it with the help of direct speech and dialogues. Of course, you don’t need to shove a conversation “about nothing” into the post, put an excerpt from the dialogue in the publication, which will serve as a transition, proof, etc.

Tip #16.

Check the text for repetitions

When the same word is thrown from sentence to sentence, this indicates either the spelling "tap blunder" or the author's meager vocabulary.

Life hack 1: You can check a future post for a repetition using the "Fresh Look" tautology service. But naturally, it is not perfect and indicates only a part of the repetitions.

Life hack 2: Proofread the text several times and replace the repetitions with synonyms. You can quickly find the right one and not bother with the help of synonym dictionaries.

Tip #17. Place in the publication STA

Or a call to action. For example, go to the site, save, leave a request, call, etc. When a person understands what he needs to do to get a particular result, then it becomes easier for him to act. Because he doesn't think, he just does. In addition, such messages create the effect of urgency of action.

Life hack 1: Remember, the easier the action, the higher the likelihood that he will perform it. Since no one wants to bother, read long requirements, and then also follow the path of action.

Life hack 2: Use the soft nature of the call, for example, try / try 7 days for free. This suggests that the user is not obliged to do anything, even if he performs an action, which means that it is easier for him to decide.

Tip #18. Learn to write storytelling

The main task of this approach is to make the interlocutor from the first seconds begin to participate / empathize in the situation of the protagonist, which finally leads to the necessary goal - selling, performing an action, etc.

Life hack 1: The more details you use, the better (but don't overdo it). Not just gloves, but red velvet elbow-length gloves. I didn’t just walk, but I walked through a dense stream of people, periodically adjusting my bag on my shoulder. They are necessary for a person to model the whole situation thoroughly and plunge into it as deeply as possible.

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Life hack 2: You can't go far on facts or emotions alone. Therefore, use everything 50 to 50. Support each of your eloquent statements with an argument, and do not leave each argument said dry.

Tip #19.

Check the text for errors

They repel the reader, even if the post is super interesting. It's simple: if you don't know how a word is spelled, replace it, or google the rule. If in doubt about the comma, rephrase the sentence.

Life hack 1: To check the text for errors, you can use the Text.ru service. But he does not always highlight everything and often considers mistakes that he simply does not know.

Life hack 2: If possible, give the text to the proofreader with notes. If you don’t have such a person in your state, then you can find him on the freelance exchange.

Tip #20. Don't go overboard with emoji

If you use emoticons, then know the measure in them. Yes, they can both add zest to the text and spoil it. A large number of emoji complicate the text for the reader's perception.

Life hack 1: Use emoticons only where you need to clarify the emotion, where it is not obvious.