For many publishers/social media professionals, the caption is an afterthought. After all, creating content, knowing when to post it, and maintaining the platforms it’s being posted on is a lot of work. However, finding engaging social media captions is an essential piece of the puzzle.

But how do you create them? Is one word ever enough? Let’s look at some elements of a strong social media caption.

What makes a good caption?

A good caption is going to contain several elements. It must: 

• Add value to your post. A good caption will provide context and a strong setup for your content, whether it’s an image, video, or link.
• Keep a reader engaged with your content. Your image, video, and/or headline need to stop users from scrolling past your content. Then what? You can draw them in with the words surrounding the content.
• Encourage them to take action. You are going to want them to engage with you in some way. After all, that’s why you’re on social media, right? Do you want them to click? Comment? Share? Find a way to encourage them to take the next step.

Finding engaging social media captions

But how do you do these things? Finding engaging social media captions seems like something that should be easy, but there is a bit of an art to it.

First, you need to decide what your goal is with the post. Are you trying to drive traffic off social? Or maybe you’re trying to build engagement on social? Are you trying to grow your follower count? Either way, you need to identify your goal.

Second, you’re going to make sure the caption uses the right voice. Which platform are you on? Who are you talking to? What does your brand have to say? You should have a good idea of your audience and what they expect from your content and do your best to fulfill that obligation.

Third, engaging social media captions are a marketing hook. Make sure that they are representative of your content and that they are not misleading or inaccurate.

But how do you write them?

Tips for writing engaging social media captions

It doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. Here are some ways to pull together the best social media caption.

• Write a quick summary of the story. Be sure not to give away the whole story, though. If you’re trying to get a click, you need to give a reason to click.
• Pull a compelling snippet from a story. Only use this if the story has a solid hook.
• Tell your audience why the post matters to them specifically. If it suits your brand, editorialize a bit.
• Ask a question related to the content. A question is a great way to drive social engagement.
• Make sure the voice for the brand is defined. A clear perspective with an established purpose will make it easier to refine your social copy.

Go the extra mile

There are a lot of embellishments that can strengthen your text. How often do you actually read the captions on Instagram?

Exactly.

This means that you may need to take some extra steps to get your content seen on certain platforms. For example:

• Hashtags matter! No, not on Facebook. But hashtagging is an important part of any Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok strategy. Don’t just throw them in there as an afterthought! Use 1-2 on Twitter that are active/trending. On Instagram, a mix of niche and broad tags is the way to go. Be sure to research your niche and tag well!
• Use Emojis. Seriously. It may seem childish sometimes, but there is something about the pop of color and images that can earn a coveted thumb stop from absentminded scrollers. We aren’t talking about a simple smiley face. Get creative! A well-placed emoji can go a long way.
• Get creative. If you’ve posted a hundred posts like it, maybe it’s time to shake up your formula a bit.

Good luck!

If you would like to automate your social media content, True Anthem makes it easy to do this; schedule a call to see how our platform can help you.

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