A Start-To-Finish Guide on Instagram Captions

Unpopular opinion: captions are so underrated! Sure, a graphic or photo is what catches your audience's eye, but when it comes to the caption, that's where the connection and conversation starts! Although, this is when they are crafted effectively! Captions can be kind of a science. Wondering what to include in your caption to captivate your audience? My favorite way to break down captions (except for when I'm hungry) - the sandwich model!

Top Bread - Hook

When you're looking at a sandwich, the top of the bread is the first thing you see. If you don't like what you see on the top of the sandwich, you won't get to the middle, right? This is relates to your hook. A hook should be on of the first few lines of your post that pulls the users into your overall message. Bad hook? You won't catch me diving into your caption!

Sauce - Personality

There's no secret to this sauce! You need to add in personality in your post. There are no dry sandwiches or dry captions here. Each post should showcase your brand voice. Your captions cannot be scripted or generated, because it's just not relatable. When I worked my 9-5 corporate world job, one of the industries I was in was something that I (1) wasn't interested in, and (2) couldn't relate too. It became so difficult for me when I tried to add a personality in because it simply wasn't relatable to my personality. This is where choosing the right clients and niche you're working with really shows it's importance, too!

Protein - Message Quality

What's a sandwich without a protein? Your protein adds value to your sandwich; without it, you'll probably be left hangry and wanting more. Consider this the quality of your message. You should be adding value and starting conversations in message part of your caption, otherwise, people will find their value elsewhere. What points do you have? What are you trying to get across? Do you have facts to back up your arguments? Have a clear message, that is well crafted and structured!

Veggies - Emoji's

When it comes to veggies in your sandwich, you can add it whatever you like to compliment your protein; however, it's important to use in moderation so they also don't overpower it. Emojis are the same! They can be used to reiterate your points and add extra emotion/personality to your post, but they can't be over used or your post will just be too much! Emojis can lead to 47.7% more interactions on Instagram, so definitely don't skip on these, or your daily veggies!

Bottom Bread - Call to Action

No matter your bread choice, you quite literally have to include the bottom bread piece in order to grasp your sandwich, right? Without it, the person eating the sandwich wouldn't know what to do next. Do you pick it up? Do you get out a fork? Please, no. You need that bottom bread in order to know what to do. CTAs are the caption equivalent. They give your caption purpose, drive the reader to grasp the concept, and do something with it! Whether it's a question, instruction, or prompt, you need that CTA as your bottom piece of bread.