Social Media Tips: Write Better Captions for Your Clients
Social media professionals are constantly trying to nail the voice of clients while creating compelling content. We at eGuide believe being succinct and to-the-point is extremely important. Viewers interact with social media quickly, so our messaging should be that way, too (most times, at least). Most times, readers don’t want 18 paragraphs before a recipe on Pinterest- even if it really is the best cookies the author has EVER made! This may sound harsh, but in this day and age, there’s a lot coming at us. Shorter blurbs will catch a viewer’s eye faster and relay an entire message versus a partial one that is skipped over before the finish line.
By now, we’ve all seen reels circulating on most every platform. These tend to give us the most bang for the buck. So, how do we widdle our clients’ visions down to fit this succinct nature? In order to funnel our clients’ main points into an easily digestible manner, we divy their main goals into overarching categories. Let’s say they have a new product launching- let’s JUST focus on that! Want to focus on team members? That’s great, too! We break these down and compartmentalize so we can channel that focus, intention, and specificity, and therefore gain the viewers’ attention. Breaking posts down into 3 monthly categories to circulate is a great way to methodize this.
A business owner is engulfed in their business every single day. While they care deeply about the company, it is a social media professional’s role to digest and prioritize for the client. It is counterproductive to try to tell the whole story of the business in every single post. Say less, and say it better!
Microblogging is another way to gain followers in some ways, but it has to be pointed and not done too often. In order to successfully microblog, you should pick a strong image!
Want to check out some caption examples? Skip to 6:55 in the video above!
Overall, funny, one-sentence posts with bright imagery are most easy on the eyes. Obviously, this is not how every single post should be at every turn. If you have ~100 or less words, you usually get more likes. If you have ~400 words, you’ll usually get less likes- but more engagement. Both are important. Balance is key!
Humor is also very important. Many people crave some kind of emotional reaction when they consume their media. Light humor is a great approach to satisfy this! You don’t have to be a comedian to understand what people might chuckle at. Know your audience (and a dad joke or two!) and you can fare well. Repurpose another quote if you have to, but just make sure to give credit where credit is due!
Oftentimes it is easier for you as a slightly removed party to find more humor in the businesses than, say, the company owner who is knee-deep in keeping everything afloat. Navigate these social soft skills by working with clients over time to grasp their voice and, in turn, the potential for humor.
Calls to action are the next relevant subject in being relevant- especially in Instagram. This will bring people to your platform and get them to stick around, too! A “like this post and tag 3 people” giveaway is an example of a call to action. This brings new eyes to the product. Keeping the captions engaging from then on will keep your new follower cohort appeased. “Check out our website”, “press like and subscribe”, etc. - this will allow those invested in your brand an opportunity to support you if they are interested.”What is your favorite Christmas memory?” on a holiday post allows an opportunity for a viewer to tag another person, creating a platform for positive engagement and discussion.
Speaking on that last call to action- nostalgia is a very effective use for social media. It is one of the most powerful emotions that we have. Channeling nostalgia in old quotes and old references can bring up those warm and fuzzy moments in your followers. The holidays are a fabulous time to keep it extra fuzzy! Everyone experiences this differently, but they experience it nonetheless. Notice that some companies even use the same ads every holiday season to keep that safe, nostalgic feeling alive. What does your business do every season that could apply here?
People go to Instagram to feel a bit of relief from their days and to enjoy a little bit of bite-sized fun. You as a professional may be stepping into a business voice that is not as used to creating these types of fun moments, but it is always possible to do so, even in ads! Nostalgia, humor, and light-hearted approaches are important. Silly, caring, loving- these feel-good aspects of content will make business profiles actually fun to follow.
Looking to learn more about how we build social media campaigns for our clients at eGuide? Reach out to us or check us out at eGuidetechallies.com! ‘Til next time!
