We're engaged! (because your captions are captivating)
While we all get annoyed by clickbait, we need to still pay attention to it. What makes those posts so viralicious?
Sometimes it’s the image – but often it’s a combination of the image and the words that are going along with it – the captions! Captions can be added on images you post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even Twitter (within the character limit).
They can and should also be considered when you are sharing a link to a blog post – on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook.
Sometimes, people add words to posts within the images – as described in this post or, in the case of videos, the subtitles – these too have huge power.
Captions can be tricky. Here are a few tips that will make it easier for you to write yours.
- Put the engaging stuff at the front. Leave hashtags and tags for after.
- Pose the caption in the form of a question. It gets people thinking and may even drum up some responses.
- You can try Short and sweet. Conciseness keeps your audience engaged through the whole message.
- Or, you can go nuts with detail – Sometimes, your caption is a chance to really go for it with explanations on why you chose to post that image, how it’s relevant to your business, your ideas/advice, etc
- Project your brand values and keep your tone on-message. If you’re a casual company you can write simple things like “Happy Friday” or “Which one, one or 2?” If you’re a serious company, write serious captions – where you explain things fully and take away ambiguity.
A word on image layout
There are many different options for text layout in social media. If you overload the image with lots of text it can make people feel a bit overwhelmed. There are exceptions of course. Try to design images where there is very little text, perhaps just a quick, attention-grabbing tagline in the image – and then add more in the caption!
‘Beware of dry mouth, as it can cause cavities! It’s important that if you have worries see your dentist! #Cavities #Prevention #Dentistry #OralHealth #HealthySmile pic.twitter.com/MFDSRidDpC
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) November 24, 2017
‘Brushing only once a day means you’re 33% more likely to develop tooth decay.’ #FactsAndStats So make sure you brush your teeth twice a day to combat this problem! #ToothDecay #Brushing #Teeth #HealthyMouth #Gums #Dentistry pic.twitter.com/Sgg9oogX7z
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) December 1, 2017
Without the captions, the image may not make a whole lot of sense. But, the combination keeps people informed and entertained. We could even take it one step further. Let’s see what it looks like when we reduce the image to have no text at all – and let the caption do the hard work?
‘In medieval Japan, white teeth were considered ugly. Women used to stain their teeth black with roots and ink as this was believed to be more attractive. #FactsAndStats #Japan #Teeth #Cultures #History pic.twitter.com/kAdpbC8Kgv
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) November 27, 2017
UK SMEs claim an average of £50k in R&D tax credits from HMRC, but only 20% of qualifying business file claims. What could you spend the extra money on? #howtospendit
Hiring a new member of staff? pic.twitter.com/tpGiRvJKvk
— Kapitalise (@kapitalise) January 12, 2018
Types of images you can use
There are a mutltitude of options, and as long as they help you to communicate one or more of your key messages or values, you can feel quite free in choosing the types of imgaes you share – for businesses to show how they’re well rounded, it’s great to have variety in the images.
Here are a few of the many options:
Statistics
‘The biggest mammal on earth, the blue whale, has no teeth, whereas a snail has more than 25,000 teeth in that tiny mouth! #FactsAndStats #Teeth #Smile #Mammal #BluePlanet #Snails pic.twitter.com/CcVIhSDVXa
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) November 21, 2017
Testimonials
Nothing makes us happier than giving our patients their ability to smile back! #Testimonial #GreatPatients #Smiles #Dentistry pic.twitter.com/cfylfLYn3h
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) November 3, 2017
Show your work
Fun stuff
‘‘We’re a bit flashy, but the music’s not one big noise.’ 26 years ago the world lost a true musical force that was #FreddieMercury. Time to blast #Queen the whole way home in the car! #BohemianRhapsody pic.twitter.com/nN71NAD64E
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) November 24, 2017
Quotes
GIFs
If pictures are worth a thousand words, then can you imagine how many words gifs (animated images) are worth? Take advantage of these funny and descriptive media files using Giphy.
Alex on Ellie’s date with Sam “I don’t have any negative feelings about it.” #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/TegItx52Su
— Dan Read (@daniireadd) June 22, 2018
Tips
It’s #TopTipTuesday and this week our tip is that you should move the floss up and down against the tooth and up and around the gum line. The floss should form a C-shape around the tooth as you floss. #Flossing #CleanTeeth #OralHygiene pic.twitter.com/IbHxZVXlYc
— Winning Smiles (@WinningSmilesUK) November 28, 2017
