Many Instagram users wonder if writing a good caption, and actually spending any time on it, matters. For two good reasons, the answer is yes.
Good captions engage people more
Having high-quality content is not the only thing that matters – no matter whether it’s photo or video. Lately, also having a well-written caption – which is connected to the media you post, is interesting for your audience and is inspiring, emotional and engaging plays an important role. Finishing it with a Call to Action (CTA) is the best approach you can take. We don’t only mean CTAs like ‘visit my blog’ or ‘buy it in out store’ but also ‘give your opinion’ or ‘share your story’, which will connect you better to your audience and help them identify with you more.
What’s the reason for doing all of this? It’s not only for your audience. Of course they are important, as on some profiles followers are coming back both to consume the media and to find out hilarious or interesting stories behind them. There is, however, another reason, and this is the time to move to point number 2…
Good captions are good for the Instagram Algorithm
You can ask, why? Because the longer time people spend on your content (read your post, look at it, click ‘Read more’) the better the Instagram algorithm will treat you. It will assume that your content is more valuable for your followers comparing to what others post. This is the way to appear higher on your followers feed and even on the Explore Feed.
The Instagram algorithm is becoming more and more complex and processes various factors (not to mention the fact that it’s constantly changing). That is why it’s high time to realise that not only the number of likes, comments and followers matter for good Instagram performance.
What about hashtags?
Another question connected to captions on Instagram are hashtags. And the question we constantly hear is: does it matter if I put hashtags in the caption or can I add them as a comment? The answer is simple – it really doesn’t matter. Hashtags in both places are equally important and valuable. Putting hashtags in comments may look better visually; and what is more important, it enables you to bypass the limitation of 30 hashtags which can be added in the caption [e.g. by putting the most relevant hashtags in caption and the rest in comments or in any other combination].
Final advice
Remember to be consistent with how you deal with captions. If you decide to write engaging and longer ones, got for it – but be coherent. Of course, it is all about the strategy you have and the time you can spend on Instagram. Shorter captions can also be interesting and inspiring for others.
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Author
Klaudia Żyłka
Marketing Team Lead
Instagram, dogs, books and food lover. Former student at Warsaw University and Malmö University. Improving her marketing skills every day. Proud owner of DIMAQ certificate
