Have you noticed that more and more people are using longer captions on Instagram lately? Does it confuse you because you were always told to keep it short and sweet in the past? This is understandable and part of why social media management can be so difficult for small business owners. Not only is time limited to create the posts, but then finding time to keep up with the ever-changing trends and algorithms is virtually impossible. So, why the extended captions on Instagram?
When it comes to your ranking or listing on Instagram, it is all about how much time people are spending on your posts and feed. The longer they stay, the more Instagram rewards you. However, there is a right way to incorporate longer copy into your posts.
- Be authentic. Share some background or a short story. Don’t be afraid to get a little personal. That being said, do not merely ramble on about your products or services and why people should take advantage of them.
- Don’t just write a long post to have a long post. If you have nothing more to say, keep it short. After all, not every caption should be lengthy.
- Space it out. Just like writing an email or paper, be sure to create paragraphs with a hook at the beginning and a call to action at the end to encourage people to read more and ultimately engage with your post.
- Teach them something. Long posts are an excellent opportunity to go into detail about something you are an expert in. You can also provide instructions, recipes or other steps to add value to the follower and encourage a response.
When in doubt draw inspiration from others. See how they are structuring their content and do something similar. Try to do this on a couple of posts a week to add a little depth and personality to your page. No matter what, remember to always be authentic and keep your brand in mind.
About the Author
Lauren Holder will be a panelist on a Digital Media panel at the AWC National Conference this fall. Read more about Lauren and other conference speakers here.
Lauren is a dedicated member of AWC, and has also served as the Publicity Chair, Newsletter and Website Design Chair and is currently the Marketing Chair for the Association for Women in Communications Springfield, Missouri Chapter Board of Directors. Before founding her business, Social Media by Lauren, in 2017 she graduated from Missouri State University with a degree in Public Relations and a Minor in Entrepreneurial Studies.
For more information on social media management and tips related to digital content curation check out Lauren’s blog.
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