Tips and Best Practices for Writing Better Social Media Captions
October 30, 2024
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Sure, the first thing most social scrollers are likely to notice when they come across your brand’s post in their timeline is the visuals, especially on a video- or imagery-centric platform like TikTok or Instagram. But to take your post to the next level — so that it not only captures consumers’ attention but also provides any needed context, conveys your brand personality, spurs engagement and leaves a lasting impression — you also need to kill it with your caption copy. (And as you’re probably aware, this can be much easier said than done, particularly if you’ve got a nasty case of writer’s block and a blank social media content calendar staring back at you.)
Of course, we wouldn’t be bringing this up if we didn’t have some social media caption help to offer. So, if you’ve been asking yourself questions like:
– How do I write good social media captions?
– What makes a good social media caption?
– How do you make a catchy caption?
or
– How do I make my captions more engaging?
… you’ve come to the right place. Read on for some valuable guidance on social media caption best practices.
7 Solid Social Media Caption Tips
When writing your next social media caption or creating your next content calendar, keep these seven tips in mind for creating caption copy that better helps you achieve your brand’s social media marketing goals:
1. Keep your goals in mind — Before you get started writing your caption, take a step back to consider any leading objectives you may have for the particular post you’re publishing … and how it might fit into and advance your overall social media content marketing strategy. By clearly defining the purpose of each post you share and each caption you create — whether it’s to increase engagement, drive traffic to a link, expand your brand’s reach or simply to put a smile on your followers’ faces — you can tailor your messaging to help you achieve that specific goal. This focused approach can serve to not only enhance the clarity of your social media communications, but also help ensure that each post contributes strategically to your overall social media objectives, resulting in a more cohesive and impactful brand presence on the platform(s).
Example:
@bajagoldsaltco Discover the Baja Gold difference! 🌿🌊 Sourced from the Sea of Cortez, our sea salt boasts a unique, mineral-rich profile due to its pristine origins and unrefined harvesting process. Unlike typical salts, Baja Gold offers a healthier, tastier alternative with less sodium and more essential minerals. @drbergofficial #cookingtips #cookinghack #bajagold #bajagoldseasalt #bajagoldsaltco #mineralsalt #seasalt #traceminerals #seasoningfood #cookingtiktok #foodtiktok ♬ original sound – Baja Gold Salt Co.
This TikTok post and caption from Baja Gold are highly effective at conveying some of the brand’s biggest differentiators in a quick and compelling way, playing perfectly into a brand strategy of setting itself apart from the competition.
2. Hit ’em with the hook … right away — It’s fair to say that the average social media user isn’t taking a deep dive into each post he or she scrolls past. And with modern consumers’ attention spans seemingly growing shorter by the day, it’s critical to grab their attention right away — making it important to include an early hook in your caption copy. A compelling hook at the beginning of your caption can immediately engage readers, encouraging them to stop and read more. This initial grab not only increases the likelihood of users interacting with your post, but it also boosts the overall effectiveness of your content by ensuring your message gets noticed amidst the constant stream of information on social media.
Example:
View this post on Instagram
The caption for this Brodo Instagram post instantly draws viewers in with a compelling, to-the-point message that makes them want to flip through the carousel post to learn more details.
3. Aim for the appropriate length — As we mentioned just above, the average attention span doesn’t seem to be getting any longer these days. In fact, according to research, the humans of roughly 20 years ago would spend about 2.5 minutes focusing on a singular subject before moving on to the next. Today, that time has plummeted to something more like 45 seconds. And we’ll go out on a limb here to suggest that it gets even shorter on social media.
So of course, especially lengthy narratives are likely to lose your readers’ interest as they keep on going … and going. And, while brevity is usually better, you do want to offer some substance in your brand’s posts. Different social platforms and different audiences have varying preferences, with some favoring concise, punchy text and others appreciating more detailed information. By tailoring the length of your social captions to suit the platform and your specific audience, you can enhance readability, retain audience interest and better communicate your key points, ultimately driving higher engagement and helping you more effectively achieve your social media goals.
You can dive into more details here, but here’s a cheat sheet on the ideal caption length for some of the top social platforms:
– Instagram: 125-150 characters
– TikTok: around 100 characters
– Facebook: 40-80 characters
– Twitter: 70-100 characters
4. Spur action with a clear CTA — If you’re looking to get any sort of action out of your post’s viewers — whether it’s a website visit, a comment, a follow or anything else — you’ll have a better chance of making it happen if you simply say so … and do it clearly. By including clear calls to action (CTAs) in your captions, you can provide readers with direction and purpose, prompting them to engage in the specific actions you’re seeking. And clear, effective CTAs can transform passive viewers into active participants, helping you maximize the strategic impact of your social media efforts.
Example:
This Hulu ad on Facebook combines messaging about an alluring feature of the streaming service’s premium tier — an absence of advertising — with a clear “Sign up now” CTA to drive more conversions.
5. Use the right keywords and hashtags — Few tactics will boost your social posts’ reach and engagement quite like having a strong SEO and hashtag strategy. Including keywords in your captions helps you align your content with what users are searching for, improving your posts’ findability through search algorithms. Hashtags, on the other hand, can help you categorize your content, making it easier for users interested in specific topics to find your posts. And each of these tools, designed to increase the discoverability of your posts, can be particularly effective in helping you reach the members of your brand’s target audience and engage with communities interested in your brand’s niche.
6. Elevate it with emojis — They can quickly convey sadness, joy, tear-inducing laughter and even smiling piles of excrement. (Plus express lots more emotions, objects and actions, of course.) And whatever emojis you choose to accentuate your social posts’ captions, they’re sure to add visual appeal and communicate at-a-glance tone. Emojis add a visual element to captions that can capture attention and convey emotions more effectively than text alone, making your posts more relatable, expressive and engaging. They can also help to humanize your brand, break up text to improve readability, increase interaction rates, and create a more approachable and friendly feel.
Example:
View this post on Instagram
This caption for a Jackson’s Chips Instagram post adds visual appeal and conveys a hot message with a collection of emojis that turns up the temperature of the post.
7. Try to kick off a conversation — The surest sign of an engaging social media post: lots of comments. But this doesn’t happen on its own especially often — it’s invited with images, videos and captions that include compelling questions, laugh-out-loud humor, relatable content and the like. Conversational captions invite your audience to interact, share their opinions and engage with your content on a deeper level. By asking questions and otherwise prompting discussions and commentary, you can create a greater sense of connection and involvement, making your audience feel more valued and heard.
When your followers do comment on your posts, be sure to respond with thoughtful, helpful or witty replies. Such two-way communication not only boosts engagement metrics but also strengthens brand loyalty, as customers are more likely to connect with brands that actively listen and respond to them.
Example:
View this post on Instagram
This Instagram post from Chopra invites readers to join the conversation with a touching message on a topic that’s relatable to almost everyone.
Looking for more social media marketing insights? We’ve got you covered! Keep an eye on the Joybyte blog for regular tips and guidance designed to help your brand grow and thrive — especially in its social efforts. For example, in addition to the helpful info found above on social media caption writing, our “How to Create a Successful Social Media Content Marketing Strategy for Your DTC Brand” blog article offers six solid tactics that can amplify the effectiveness of your social strategy.
Could your brand use the assistance of a team of dedicated social marketing pros to step up its social content marketing and influencer marketing efforts? Joybyte is here to help your brand knock it out of the park — then optimize your results with fresh strategy ideas and monthly reporting based on historical data. Talk to us today to learn more about our social content marketing services.
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