Social media captions are like the cover of a book; it’s the first thing people see and what draws them in. With just one or two sentences, you can get your audience to lean in closer to hear what you have to say next. So why not put some time into crafting the best captions possible? This guide will show you how to write great social media captions, so your content stands out on social media feeds. Here are nine steps on how to write great social media captions that can help you reach more people on social media than ever before.

1) Create Captions With Intention

Before you even start writing, make sure you have an intention behind every caption. If you’re sharing content from other platforms, it’s important that your caption is focused on two things: prompting users to engage with your original piece of content and driving them back to your website or social media channel. Think about how people interact with captions—then share that level of engagement with your followers.

2) Always Write Like You’re Talking To One Person

It may sound silly, but it’s true: When you write on social media, think of your audience as one person. Instead of writing for thousands of people, you’re writing for one individual—and everything you say will speak directly to them. Put yourself in their shoes when you write—will they find it engaging? Does it resonate with them? When in doubt, just pretend like you’re writing a letter to a good friend. 

3) Put the most thought into the first sentence. 

The first sentence of your post is arguably more important than any other, so take some time to really think about it. Brainstorming ideas for different types of captions can help you come up with something really good. You want readers to be drawn in by what they read and not just click away because they aren’t interested. That first sentence should grab their attention and compel them to read further. This will help boost engagement throughout social media as well as within search engines that often favor content that has higher engagement levels.

4) Keep paragraphs short and sweet

If you want them to keep reading what you have to say, try breaking up your posts into shorter paragraphs. The result will be a post that is easy to read and helps you get your point across clearly. As someone who likes to write, keeping it short has always been a struggle, but I’ve also found a lot of success in just writing from the heart. So if you’re like me, don’t worry if not every post you put up isn’t a quick read. Just be sure to break it up a bit to make it easier to read.

5) Establish a Consistent Brand Voice

There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all when it comes to social media. The tone and language people and companies choose to use online will vary greatly; I’ve always found it’s important to stay true to what comes naturally to you. As much as I can appreciate people online who have a fun, witty way of writing, keeping things more professional and direct has worked best for me. Stay true to who you are and what comes easiest to you when it comes to tone and voice.

6) End It In a question or prompt

Your Instagram caption should focus on storytelling. Remember, people come to your feed because they’re looking for something interesting and fun. The last thing you want is for them to hit next and go somewhere else because you couldn’t keep their attention long enough for them to read your entire caption. Try to include a question at the end of the post. Give them something to do once they get done reading your caption. It’s also a really great way to boost engagement and create a two-way conversation online.

7) Tell A Story

The best way to catch your audience’s attention is by telling them a story. Try using personal anecdotes or stories related to your business. The more you practice telling your story, the easier it will become. Your audience will relate better with you and trust what you have to say, and enjoy reading and relating to the stories you share.

8) Check Spelling And Grammar (Get Help From Grammarly! It’s Free!)

This might seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people overlook spelling and grammar. (*so guilty* 🙋🏽‍♀️) The easiest way to avoid these mistakes is to ask someone else for feedback on your post before you publish it. Or take a quick minute to run your caption through Grammarly (it’s free) and my go-to tool when it comes to double-checking my written work. 

9) Consider having a call to action

A call-to-action is an extremely powerful tool for connecting with readers on Instagram. A call-to-action is simply an instruction for your audience on what they should do next, like clicking on a link or subscribing to your newsletter. Call-to-actions are a great way to make a post actionable and give your content more valuable. 

When it comes to social media captions you often just have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention, so use these 9 tips. Focusing on a few important elements of writing great captions can make all the difference in the engagement you see on your social media accounts. Know someone who might benefit from learning how to write great social media captions? Forward this article to them!

Download our free social media captions written for business owners by signing up for a free trial for Wordsmith HERE. We do all the writing for you each month so you can show up consistently and share your story and creation content your audience actually looks forward to reading!