Oh Instagram… It really is a love hate relationship, isn’t it? The platform has become so much more than just a place to share your pictures. In terms of how it works, whether you are showing up on someone’s feed or not, how that dreadful algorithm is calculated, it's safe to say it will always remain a mystery.
But not to worry, we have one tip that will help you AND your followers out… microblogging your captions!
You’re probably asking yourself “huh… what is that?”. Well, let us fill you in!
Microblogging is essentially what it sounds like – it’s a mini version of a full sized blog. It’s a lengthy caption packed with value for your followers. Whether you’re sharing daily tips, a how-to or even a recipe – it’s something your follower can read from start to finish and gain something from.
Gone are the days of posting and captioning your photos with a monkey emoji… Well, you can still do that but the odds of your post showing up regularly in other feeds is unlikely. Instagram has become a saturated platform, but if you do it right you can really optimize the benefits of what it can offer you and your followers.
Instagram has become a platform to service your followers. Ask yourself, “why should people follow me”, “what value do I bring to them”, and “why is my plant post better than the 900 other plant posts”. You have to stick out from the crowd and give people a reason to consume your content.
Instagram has its secrets of which accounts it chooses and why, but one thing we do know for sure is that it preferences accounts who ‘get a lot of action'. So, what does that even mean?
If you are regularly active on your account by posting a lot of stories (because we all know video is where it’s at) or photos in your feed, and gaining engagement and attention on your posts, Instagram will recognize that and reward you for it by pushing you up the ladder in terms of visibility!
But since we all have the attention span of a goldfish these days, we scroll through the 'gram at 90 miles a minute, trying to consume as much as possible in a short amount of time. We are all for a pretty, aesthetic picture – but if the caption just says “#mood”, you can bet your bottom dollar that we're only spending a second on that post before scrolling on to the next one.
We’re definitely guilty of this sometimes, so don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s hard to always come up with 100% engaging content, especially on a Friday when all you want is a glass of wine. BUT, if you plan ahead, create a content calendar and write some really valuable captions – it can be a game changer.
Here’s the thing – you want your followers to stay on your post for more than just a second and to do that, you need to write captions they are willing to read. If you provide them with content that adds value or teaches them something, it will boost your organic engagement and growth and Instagram will favour your content.
If Instagram can see that others are 'staying' on your posts for a certain amount of time, it will assume the post is interesting and relatable to your followers, therefore, it will bump you up so that others can also see it - does that make sense?
Here’s what you gotta do:
Know your audience
What type of crowd is following you? Look at your insights to see the breakdown of your target audience and what demographic follows you. Still don’t know? Ask your followers – post on your stories, asking them what they want to see from you.
Remember that quality is better than quantity
A lot of us think that the more you post, the more you show up – and while you can make a case for that, if your posts aren’t bringing value to your followers it doesn’t matter how often you post. You want to make sure every post is made up of quality content that will keep your followers interested and engaged.
Microblog your captions
Now, the final piece of the puzzle! Time to microblog. Think of a regular blog on a website and all the information it has in it – whether it’s planning a trip, making a recipe or tips on how to stay motivated - it goes into detail and the reader leaves feeling like they learned something, or got something of value. Now, compress that into a caption. We know it may sound impossible given how little space you’re allotted to on IG, but think of the MOST important parts of the blog - what can you capture and highlight for quick takeaways for your followers?
Now, you don’t need to HAVE a blog to be able to microblog – we're just giving you an idea of what the structure should look like. Whatever topic you're writing about in your caption to represent your photo, make sure that your followers leave with something they didn’t know before. Think of it as a high-level breakdown of the need-to-know info, packed into a 30-second read. The more you post captions of value, the higher your organic growth and engagement will be. People will want to visit your feed and read your posts because they are engaged with your content.
When you are writing out your captions for the week (or the month, if you are productive pollys), ask yourself 1) whether you're highlighting the most important parts of what you want to say, 2) if your caption is easy to read and written in ‘simple terms’ (no jargon), and 3) if your followers will learn something new from it. If the answer is yes to all of these, you are on the right track!
Need help writing captions to keep your followers engaged? Send us a DM or email us at hello@mintandpoppy.com and let’s grab a coffee (on us)!
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