HOW TO WRITE KILLER

INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS
free guide
by
 LIGHTS, CAMERA, CAPTION:
instagram caption tips to
skyrocket your followers
We hear y’all - writing great Insta captions is harrrd. 
When so much of your day as a photographer is taken up with finding new clients
and managing bookings (not to mention actually shooting!)... it can be hard to find
time to keep on top of your social media too! Gah! - But we all know it's worth it. 
A quick browse of your Insta feed is one of the first ways a potential client will
discover the work you do. Impress them, and you’ve got a great chance of
securing a new client.
It’s a crazy stat, but 35% of US internet users are now on Instagram , scrolling
like crazy and adding to the 3.5 billion likes sent every day. If you then figure that
90% of IG users are younger than 35 , and that 60% search for and discover
new products on Instagram, meaning people are making purchases as a result of
what they 'like' … well, then there’s a very real possibility your target audience
is out there.
So, if Instagram is this incredible pool of new clients… how can you make sure
you nail it? You guys, as wedding photographers, are already producing incredible
images. But there is another part of the Insta puzzle that often eludes
photographers: the caption.
We’ve all been there: just about to hit ‘post’ on a great image, only to leave your
finger hovering over the screen because you’re second-guessing the words
you’ve used alongside it! And while captions aren’t everything — many posts
have gone viral with no copy at all — crafting a killer caption could be the
difference between a good and a great post, engagement wise.
So, what are the secrets to crafting Insta captions to make your account
soar?
Wonder no more! In this guide, we give you all the tips you need to get your
caption game down.
Let’s get started, shall we?
HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS
 #1: THE BEST INSTA CAPTIONS GET
PEOPLE TALKING
AT THE END OF THE DAY, INSTAGRAM IS ALL ABOUT BUILDING A COMMUNITY: YOU
COULD BE POSTING BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS, BUT IF YOU’RE NOT CULTIVATING A
GOOD FOLLOWING, YOUR HARD WORK WILL GO TO WASTE.
You may have heard the Opening up the app to have tens, or
saying,“Content is King”. Well, in social hundreds, or even thousands of little
media: “Conversation is Queen” .  heart notifications...  feels good,
What does this mean? Put simply: you doesn’t it?
want to use your captions to start a
conversation with your followers by Well, it’s the exact same for your reader
making them stop scrolling and engage. and you should use this to your
And what’s more, engaging captions advantage.
which encourage involvement from How can you do this? Well, the exact
scrollers will seriously bulk up your execution and tone of voice will depend
followers list, too. on your personal brand, but you could
  try any of the following:
Think about the kind of content you
find most engaging when you’re Ask followers to share a funny fail
browsing social media. Do you find from their wedding day, alongside a
yourself stopping to take in a block of blooper reel image from a recent
one-way prose? Or are you more likely ceremony
to pause and read copy that’s Run a poll about people’s favorite
punctuated with question marks and flowers for each season
paragraph breaks? Encourage readers to tag their
  bridesmaids, in a heartfelt post
Most likely, it’s the latter.  about wedding parties (this kind of
And that’s because not only does engagement can really help bring in
punctuation draw the eye, but it taps more followers!)
into what social media is all about: Beware though: conversation will only
involvement and inclusion. flow from meaningful and thoughtful
captions. Make sure you’re not just
The reason social media has — asking a question for the sake of raising
practically — taken over the world, is engagement. 
because of the dopamine hit we all get
from the social validation of someone And, as often as you possibly can, reply
liking, sharing or replying to our to individual comments in a timely
content. manner. Not only will this make your
comments section look busier, but it
helps keep the conversation flowing.
HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS
 #2: SOMETIMES, YOU’VE GOTTA TELL
READERS WHAT TO DO
LOOKING FOR A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO START A CONVERSATION IN
YOUR INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS? USING A CALL-TO-ACTION (OR CTA) IN
YOUR COPY IS A GREAT TRICK TO HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE.

A call-to-action is a direct command, encouraging some form of engagement from your

readers; anything from “tell me about…”, to “share your thoughts”, or “click here to
view my website”. And if you just type the words you’d use in conversation with a
friend then you won’t risk coming across bossy or demanding, so don’t worry about
that!
What’s the benefit of using CTAs? Well, a gentle nudge is sometimes all it takes to
convert a follower into a customer; 75% of scrollers will take action — like visiting a
website — if they feel compelled to by a simple CTA. You can pack an extra punch by
using active words, such as “look”, “search”, “start”, “join,” “learn”, and “discover”
alongside a CTA. 
So, what does a good wedding photography call-to-action look like?
It could be something along the lines of:
Let’s talk about sustainable weddings. Did you have one? Have you been to one?
I want to hear your experiences; share your story in the comments section
below!
Tell me about the most surprising wedding ceremony you’ve ever been invited
to…So excited to hear your stories!
Fellow photographers, how do you maintain work-life balance?

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

GOT WRITER’S BLOCK? 
no worries, it
happens to the best
of us...
Using one of the daily trending hashtags can
be a great springboard for CTA ideas, if you find
yourself lacking in inspiration.
For example,
#TipTuesday could be great for asking followers
their wedding day tips –“Advice needed: what’s the
best waterproof mascara to stay looking glam even
through the happy tears?” 
Or  #WednesdayWisdom –“Tell me: was the best bit
of advice were you given in the lead up to your
wedding?”
Just as we saw with conversational captions in
general, remember to reply back to people’s
comments. You’re asking your readers to input,
you’ve gotta give them something back in return.
Share the wealth of those dopamine hits with your
followers as much as you can!

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

 #3:
AUTHENTICITY
BONDS PEOPLE
TOGETHER
In this age of social media overload, the
pressure to portray a positive public
image can be anxiety-inducing. Ever
been scrolling through IG, to find
yourself thinking that every other
photographer but you is nailing it?
We know the feeling;  everyone
compares themselves to others online.
Fortunately, there’s a counter trend
gathering momentum, and authenticity
is a key part of keeping it real for
readers.
Yes, Instagram can be a sales platform.
And so, yes, you’ll want to put your best
foot forward. But followers also really
appreciate it when you admit your flaws
and fails. When you put your hands up
and say:“Oof. I had a bad day”.
But authenticity isn’t just about
admitting when you’re wrong , it also
has to do with adopting a believable
tone of voice and portraying yourself
as a genuine human , and not some
wedding photography bot.
This is really important in the world of
weddings, because they are such
personal events. In order to be invited
into the inner circle of a wedding
ceremony, and have the bridal party and
guests open up to you as photography
subjects, you’ll need to appear
authentic.

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

Being open and genuine also goes hand in hand with community building and
starting a conversation; hopefully you’re beginning to see how successful
Insta captions are at fostering connections and drawing people in!
As with conversation starters , your personal form of authenticity will be
entirely dependent on who you are as a photographer and as a person.
However, here’s some food for thought:
Laugh about shots which didn’t turn out exactly as you’d planned
Use your captions to tell a story of a rainy-day wedding, and what you all
did to keep smiling
Show the reality of your business; lengthy drives, full days, tired eyes
But, that leads us nicely onto a word of warning: Just be sure that - in your
quest for authenticity - you haven’t taken a ticket to Moan Town. 
You want your Insta posts and captions to be passed around. Hilarious and
relatable = sharable. Downcast and dreary = a loss of followers. When in doubt
about a caption, you can always ask a friend what they take from it first.

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

 #4: TAKE COPYWRITING TIPS
FROM THE PROS
Sure, your job title is ‘photographer’ but that doesn’t mean – with a little insider
knowledge – you can’t flex your writing skills just as well as a paid copywriter
can. There are a few tricks of the trade which will supercharge your caption
content, helping you create engaging social media messaging in no time at all.
You’ll find no shortage of copywriting tips online (such as in this guide, or on our
blog, for example!), but here’s a brief overview of some of the techniques most
worth knowing:
narrative
urgency
You want readers to want to read your content, right? Sounds obvious, doesn’t it?
But, not all Instagram captions do this – sometimes they serve no real purpose.
Make sure that every sentence you write has a job to do, and does it well. Your
first sentence must grab the reader’s attention, and persuade them to read
the next. Then, your second sentence should lead readers into the third. And so
on.
If you’ve got a sentence that’s more filler – that is, it doesn’t add much to your
narrative – then chop it out. Be ruthless. You’ve only got nanoseconds to capture
your reader. Which leads us nicely into our next tip...

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

 DUIS ID FAUCIBUS FELIS, UT
SUSCIPIT AUGUE. FUSCE
QUAM JUSTO, CONVALLIS
IN MALESUADA NEC,
DAPIBUS IN MASSA.

use punctuation to
add pace
No, you don’t really need to know the difference between a
colon and a semi colon (and who does, honestly?).
But, it’s worth noting that varying your punctuation style adds
character and dynamics to your caption prose. Use periods,
commas, dashes and colons to lead the reader from one
point to the next.
Short sentences emphasize important points. Whereas longer
ones, when used judiciously, can help give readers a small
respite from the sharp rhythm short phrases create.
Play around with it. See what works. And if you don’t like a
caption once it’s posted; edit it, or rewrite.

don’t be afraid to thesaurus-ize

We’ve already said how important it is for your captions to sound human. 
And you don’t want to share content into the social sphere that sounds like it’s been
crunched through a word generator.
However… picking up a few new, more interesting words , every now and then, adds
a little  je ne sais quoi to your Insta captions. You needn’t replace every single
word with one that’s three syllables longer. In fact, we’d actively discourage that.
But widening your vocabulary a little will increase your confidence as a caption
writer and make sure you’ve always got the right word for the job.

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

 Chapter 1 | Plan out your content

INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS:
A FINAL CHECKLIST
Hopefully now you’re feeling ready to write stellar Insta captions for
your photography business. 
To wrap everything up, you can always come back to this final captions checklist:

Does your caption start a conversation?

If not, can you add in a question or topic
for debate, to encourage involvement
from your followers?

Have you featured a call-to-action?

What do you want readers to do? If you
want them to visit your site, or read your
blog, or get in touch for a booking, then
tell them so!
How human is your caption?
Remember authenticity is key for
community building; don’t moan, but
don’t be afraid of keeping it real.

What’s the length of your post?

You can play around with different word
counts, until you find what works for
you. It can be harder to be concise, but
put your readers first.
Does your caption make the most of
copywriting tips and tricks?
It’s also really good practice to get into
the habit of asking yourself: “Does this
caption serve my readers? Or do I like it,
just because I like it? What will my ideal
client think of this caption, and how will it
benefit them?”

HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

 instagram caption
inspiration board

Share a candid ceremony shot and ask Explain how you’ve worked big and small weddings –
your followers to share one of their with pictures to back it up – and start a conversation
favorite wedding day moments around the number of guests your readers had/are
planning to have

Share a personal story about your own Share a reel of bridesmaid snaps, and
wedding day/relationship or wedding ask followers to tag their wedding party
day plans to say, “thank you”

Reveal something about yourself: your favorite Post an intimate first dance image, and ask
hobby (outside of photography), your favorite readers to tell you what song they first
food, your favorite band. Remember clients buy danced to as a married couple (if you’ve got
you as a person, as much as your work a video, then even better!)

Show your expertise, but giving advice from Link to your wedding photography blog, and
the many weddings you’ve attended: what tell followers what they’ll learn by visiting
works, what doesn’t work? your most recent blogpost.

Get real, and show the day-to-day running of Share the top three funniest best man
your photography business; are you snowed speech jokes you’ve heard, to get readers
under by paperwork, are you on the road for smiling
eight hours today? Explain what being a wedding
photography means, on a day-to-day basis
HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS
Once you’ve asked yourself the above: read, read, and read your caption again.
It pays to be scrupulous. And attention to detail is key, for both clarity of
communication, and your personal image.
But fortunately, unlike Twitter, you can edit captions once they’ve posted. 
So, deep breath – you’ve got this! 
It’s time to write…

let's insta
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HOW TO WRITE KILLER INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS