You might think that Instagram’s algorithm only cares about the picture you post, but you’d be wrong. An optimized Instagram Caption is necessary to improve your posts reach. However, optimizing an Instagram caption is not challenging. You simply need to know the rules of the trade. In this post, we’ll discuss 3 simple ways to optimize your Instagram captions for better reach.
3 Ways to Optimize Your Instagram Captions for Better Reach
As stated above, it’s not difficult to optimize your Instagram captions. Consequently, we’ve broken down this process into 3 different steps. Let’s go through each step in further detail below.
Step 1: Purpose and Clarity
When writing an Instagram caption the length of the caption depends largely on the purpose of your post. Strategically, if a caption is 125 characters or less it will not be truncated in your feed. Therefore, the reader will not need to click more to view your full caption and can simply interact in the feed itself. However, if you’d like the user to engage deeper than simply scrolling through their feeds the first 125 characters should include an eye catching headline that encourages the user to read the rest of your caption.
Before writing any caption start with clarity. Ask yourself, what is the reason for this post and how can I get my reader to move seamlessly through the process? From their you can develop a strategy that takes into consideration how the person first finds your post and what you want them to do next.
Step 2: Formatting
When crafting a post on Instagram formatting is an important consideration. If you do not properly place line breaks in your post the caption will appear on Instagram like a jumbled paragraph with no line breaks. Most schedulers do not take this into account as well so be sure to test if your scheduler formats captions properly for Instagram.
To add the proper line breaks in your captions simply use a caption formatting app. There are many free apps available in app stores. You can also use browser-based apps like IG Line Breaks or Insta-Space.
Step 3: Hashtags
Always include hashtags to help increase your content’s reach. No matter what anyone tells you, you should use Instagram hashtags in your posts to ensure your leveraging organic discovery. Start with at least 15 Instagram hashtags in each post, then make adjustments from there. Be sure the hashtags you select are high and medium volume hashtags as people will discover your content through hashtags. You can use apps like Hashtagify, RiteTag, and more to research what hashtags to use on Instagram and other social networks.
Final Thoughts on Caption Optimization
It’s true , Instagram is a highly visual network. However, Instagram captions are the only method you have to spread brand awareness through text. From a social media optimization perspective your captions are key distinguishers for search as the platform evolves we can expect these descriptive pieces of text will ad value to your brand’s discoverability.