Crafting Instagram Captions: Strategy Alignment

Remember in 2009 when we couldn’t get rah-rah-rah-ah-ah out of our heads and couldn’t help but continue it with a roma-roma-ma? Well, that’s exactly the kind of catchy we want when creating an Instagram caption strategy – something that won’t just leave the heads of our readers. So how do you get there?

Much like Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance hit, nailing your strategy feels the same. It’s not just a walk in the park to find the perfect balance between your social media strategy and brand guidelines to be aligned with what your followers like, love, and engage.

Our favourite test for creating an Instagram content and caption strategy is a simple one. Ask yourself the following questions:

“Would I Click on This Post?”

You’re lying in bed, scrolling through TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or whatever your latest favourite platform is before calling it a night. Then you come across your post. Did it catch your attention enough for you to stop the scroll and click on it?

“Would my Friends Click on This Post?”

You’re in a café, sitting down with your friend while waiting on your order. She’s going through social media, and she comes across your post. Was it appealing enough for her to pause and click on it?

“Would I Click on the Post if I Were my Customer?”

Your ideal customer is on social media, trying to catch up on the latest updates, looking through photos of friends and family, and they come across your post. Does it spark enough curiosity for them to follow your posts’ call to action?

Although these questions might be difficult to answer, they are questions you need to face if you are serious about making and implementing an Instagram content and caption strategy to connect and convert. 

Because if the answer is no (to one, two, or all three of the questions above); your time, effort, and resources are going to all the wrong places.

“So What?”

Another crucial question pops up once you answer all of the three questions above, and begin to actually write copy or create content for social media marketing: “So what?”. 

To clearly understand it and link it to your Instagram caption strategy, let us walk you through with an example. Let’s meet “Stella Stits”. 

Stella makes stunning stilettos made from the finest leathers sourced from around the world, and all her shoes are meticulously handmade. That’s nice but so what? So do 5000 other shoe brands.

Well, it’s the fine leather that makes them feel amazing on the foot, the hand-finished details, including inbuilt heel pads to prevent blisters, and her special stiletto heel and patented insole that make the shoes more comfortable and longer wearing.

Ahhh… So her customers will not only look great, but their feet won’t look like Chuck Steak after a long day at the office or a big night out on the town!

The point is, most times, you will have competitors in your line of business, and if you don’t make yourself stand out and highlight your USPs (unique selling points), you could be selling yourself short and getting lost in the pool of competing businesses.

“What & How Do My Customers Think?”

As part of your social media marketing, it is important to think of your consumers and think like your consumers. Doing this will give you new clarity, allow you to prepare a powerful Instagram caption strategy for your content, and in the end, gain their long-lasting love and loyalty.

Please give us a holler to understand your customers’ online preferences and thoughts, so you can start crafting endless killer Instagram captions.