Instagram has over a billion monthly active users, which makes the platform an excellent place to increase your reach. But you can’t just post a photo and expect to grow your following. You need to know the top Instagram writing tips.

Draw them in

The first line of your caption is by far the most important. Instagram cuts off captions after about a line of text; then you have to click to read more.

 You want your first line to make people stop and want to read your post. To do this, you can ask a question, share a fun fact, or make a wild claim.

 Then, you can use the rest of your caption to follow up on that first line. You can share your answer to your first question. If you share a fun fact, you can share more information about that fact.

Finally, you can back up your wild claim and convince people that it’s not that outlandish.

Short and separated

On Instagram, people don’t want to read a block of text. So, you want to keep your captions as short as you can while still sharing enough information.

 Your followers are probably scrolling their feed, so they don’t want to stop to read lines and lines of text.

If you do want to share a longer caption, separate your text. Make your paragraphs short, and leave a line between each one. You can do that with an emoji or a dot or other symbol.

Build your tribe

Now, after you post your intriguing and short caption, you want to stay engaged with the post as well as other users on Instagram.

 If people comment on your post, reply to those comments. You should also follow accounts in your niche and comment on their posts.

 Don’t be afraid to share your story with your followers. You can also use the right hashtags to build your following.

Keep It Social

Instagram is a popular social media platform, and you should treat it that way. Many users want to scroll through their feed, find good photos, and maybe leave a comment or two. They’re not going to read and comment on every post they see.

 So you have to write your captions in a way that makes people want to comment. Whether you ask a question or share a fun fact, you need to make your caption stand out to make people want to keep reading.

 But don’t forget that you also have to be social. You can’t just post and hope for the best. Make sure you reply to as many comments as you can. And don’t be afraid to interact with other accounts in your niche.

After all, social media is about being social.

Do you have any writing tips for Instagram? Let us know in the comments!

Shannon is a writer at Green and Growing. She enjoys spending her time in the great outdoors, mostly camping and hiking. She likes to focus on the perks of green living and strives to reduce her carbon footprint to preserve this earth and all its beauty. All while she continues to write about her outdoor experiences and how she takes steps towards living more sustainable.