A huge part of social media is the creative aspect, and when we think of “creative” we default to thinking about videos and photos. While these elements are important and should illustrate your product, service, or whatever else your brand is talking about on social media, the caption for these posts is a crucial part of the creative as well. A good caption is relevant to the photos or videos being posted, concise in its messaging, and speaks to your target audience.
Here are some tips for improving your social media captions:
Make It Relevant
Perhaps one of the most common errors with captions is writing something that’s too vague. Your caption should be relevant to the photo or video you post and tie everything together. It should also indicate to the reader why your brand’s channel has chosen to share this photo or video. Did you launch a new service? Is your team on an outing that shows off your company culture? Sometimes influencers and other ‘personalities’ post captions that draw attention and keep you guessing, but for a business, clear and straightforward is the way to go. Feel free to add some personality to your captions – but never make your audience guess about what you are trying to say.
Keep It Concise
It’s tempting to try to squeeze every ounce of information into one caption – information about your marketing campaign, your business’ core services, and how to contact your business – but viewers won’t connect with this messaging. In fact, it can even deter them from reading your posts if there is too much text in your caption – and this won’t make your marketing very effective.
As humans, we have shorter and shorter attention spans, so communicating one relevant message per post will keep viewers engaged, and help them recall what the post was actually about. One of the goals of social media is to stay top of mind with your audience, so give them captions they can easily digest and remember.
Lean in to Brand Voice and Messaging
Your brand voice should be one that captures the personality of your business, but more importantly, one that uses messaging to connect with your target audience. Captions allow your brand to really communicate personality, value, and this overall brand voice in each post. Think about what your audience wants, what they need, what motivates them, and how your business can address all of these elements. When your captions are written to address any of these things, that messaging will start to resonate with your target audience.
If you aren’t sure how to write captions in a way that captures your brand voice, or aren’t sure about what kind of brand voice would resonate best with your target audience, enlist the help of a creative agency. A good partner will be able to help you craft a unique story that fits your brand and the photo or video creative you’re using.
Social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing.
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