Something I’m most proud of when it comes to Absolutely Olivia and all its platforms, are my Instagram captions.  Some days they are the bane of my existence, but most days I get super excited to type out something meaningful to go along with my insta photo for that day.  I strongly believe that captions have as big of a role in content creation and success as the photos themselves.  By including anything from a call-to-action to a funny pun in your caption, getting people to react positively to what you’re saying and then go DO something about that reaction is vital. 

As you probably already guessed, today I’m giving you all a few tips for writing engaging and meaningful captions that are straight out of the Absolutely Olivia playbook 😉 Captions can be a frustrating part of running a social media, so my hope is that when you leave this post today, you’ll have a renewed sense of self when it comes to writing the BoMb Instagram caption you’ve always wanted to create!  Feel free to subscribe with your email over to the side as this is another mini-series with 2-parts, and you can get part 2 delivered straight to your inbox when you subscribe 🙂

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Instagram 101: Answering YOUR Questions (Q&A)

When scrolling through Instagram, I sometimes start to think that bloggers and influencers forget that this platform is THEIRS.  Maybe you’re guilty of this, and honestly, I have been too.  Let me take a moment to remind you that your Instagram is YOURS to do what you want with it.  Make it personal to you through your bio, story highlight covers, daily life stories, and captions!  This is when people start to build connections with you as person and not just the photos you post.  This leads me into my first tip…

TELL A STORY

Did something crazy happen to you within the past week or the past month?  What’s a relatable experience you’ve had?  What about a more personal one that will resonate with your followers?  Whenever I’m at loss of words for an Instagram caption, I always revert back to telling a story.  I think about what in life has been effecting me lately or in the past and turn it into a caption.

Telling stories in your captions give followers a sense of your daily life, making you seem more attainable as a friend then as just another influencer.  Comments in turn will be more genuine, relaying their similar experiences and in turn, this starts to build a relationship between the two of you.  We all have weird, wild, stressful, angering, and exciting moments in life, so share them!  

SHOWCASE YOUR PERSONALITY

One of the hardest parts about Instagram is not actually being able to see your followers face-to-face.  In a way, captions (and Instagram stories) are a way to make up for that missing connection that you can create in real life.  That being said, showcase your personality!  When writing a more casual caption, ask yourself how would I tell this to a friend?  Use the voice in your head to write a caption that gives the reader a sense of who you are and how you act as a person. 

Add emojis, weird capitalization, and symbols where it makes sense to you.  Throw certain words and slang into the mix where you would typically use them when talking to a friend.  Don’t be scared to make the caption a little messy.  Showcasing your personality gives your readers a better sense of who you are, and they can now put a voice to the face!

CALL-TO-ACTION

Occasionally, our goal as bloggers and influencers is to not only get people to genuinely engage with our photos, but to engage with something of ours elsewhere.  Blogs, podcasts, personal shops, Pinterest, and Facebook are all examples of other medias we may want our followers to visit and engage with.  For me, Instagram is my biggest source of engagement, so I always make sure to mention new blog posts and occasionally my other social medias in captions every once in a while.

How do you do this?  Well, by having a call-to-action in your caption of course!  There are three steps:

1. Reference what you want them to visit.  Give a quote from your most recent blog or podcast that you’ve created, talk about what you’ve been browsing on Pinterest lately, rave about the new items that just dropped in a store you’re collaborating with, etc.
2. Explain WHY they should visit it.  The ‘why’ is what makes any call-to-action successful.  You have to give your followers a reason they should check out whatever it is that you’re plugging.  How will it benefit them?  Will it give them advice on something?  Will it motivate or inspire them?  will it give them new ideas for their fall wardrobe?  Think about what makes you want to consume certain content.  Make sure the ‘why’ is included, as it makes people more likely to click when you ask them to.
3. Tell them where to find it/how to get there.  Let your followers know how they can find this alternate media of yours.  Give them the username, the site, etc. or link it in your bio for quick and easy access.

And just like that, voila!  You have a call-to-action caption that works!

Whew!  I feel like that was a lot of words for three tips, and I hope you got as much out of it as I put into it!  Let me know if you try any of these tips and be sure to stay tuned for part 2 in this mini-series coming Wednesday.  Feel free to leave any questions or blog post ideas down in the comments below.  Thanks so much for reading!

💜Love, Olivia

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