Instagram is a visual platform, and it is necessary to have good graphics and web design skills to create appealing content. However, it doesn’t mean that your branded content should consist of visuals only. If you want to get your fashion brand noticed, you should write an engaging caption for every photo and video you post.

The good news is that you don’t have to hold a degree in writing to create good captions. If you know your target audience well enough, you can craft perfect branding content by following these nine writing tips.

Tap into emotions

Your customers are emotional creatures, and they tend to make emotional, not rational, buying decisions. So if you tap into emotions in your Instagram captions, you will be more likely to increase sales.

Think about the things that resonate with your target audience. Find the topics that your customers can relate to and discuss them in your Instagram posts. Use this strategy to increase engagement and get people emotionally attached to your fashion brand.

Here is a good example of the captions that evoke feelings.

An Instagram post from H&M showing an emotion-evoking caption.

Personalize your message

Personalization remains the key content marketing trend. So if you want to make your fashion brand more visible on Instagram, you should leverage personalization in your captions.

Customers want to feel valued, special, and they want brands to care about them. And you can’t ignore this fact. When you’re writing a caption, use the words “you,” “your,” and “we.” Make a follower believe that your message is addressed personally to her/him.

Take a look at the following post published by Tiffany&Co. The caption sounds personal and engaging. It grabs attention and encourages followers to complete the desired action, “tap to shop curated gifts.”

An Instagram post from Tiffany & Co. with a personalized message.

Add a call to action

Do you want to boost your Instagram marketing efforts? Master the usage of the call to action. Explain to your followers what exactly they should do after reading your post, and you will achieve the goals set.

Here is a list of call to actions you may use to motivate your prospective customers to complete a specific action:

  • Tag a friend
  • Tag us
  • Comment below
  • Tap to shop
  • Tap the link in the bio
  • Shop now
  • Caption this post
  • Swipe to see more
  • Join us
An Instagram post from Forever 21, which shows an example of a call to action.

Focus on quality

The quality of branded content defines the quality of your product and the level of credibility of your brand. So don’t try to create as many pieces of content as possible. Focus on quality rather than quantity.

If you can’t create share-worthy posts by yourself, you should get some professional assistance. You can hire a freelance expert who will run your marketing project remotely.

Speak your customers’ language

Do you want to create branded content that will appeal to your target audience? Take a look at Instagram posts published by your customers, analyze them, and try to write your captions in the same manner.

Do your customers tend to use shortened words, jargon, and acronyms? Do they add emojis to every post? If so, you should also use acronyms and emojis to convey your message. You should show your customers that you speak “their language” to win their loyalty and trust.

Bershka leverages emojis and internet slang to appeal to Millennials and Generation Z. You can use the same approach to writing to lead your company to success.

An Instagram post from Bershka which uses emojis and slang to address its young target audience.

Keep it simple

Why do people use social media? They do it for entertainment purposes. What do they expect to find on fashion brands’ accounts? Content that is quick to read and easy to digest.

So please, keep your writing simple and scannable. Don’t write a long post if you can express your ideas in a few short sentences. Don’t use sophisticated words – write everything in plain English. Use active voice instead of passive voice.

It will allow you to engage a wider audience and get more Instagram followers.  

Keep your brand voice consistent

There are lots of fashion brands out there. And if you aim to beat the competition, you should build a strong brand voice. You should show everyone that your business is one-of-a-kind and make people recognize your style.

Elison Lee, an editor at Subjecto a free essay database says “Every copy you write should resonate with your target audience and fit your brand. It must be something special in your posts that will help people distinguish your branded content from anyone else’s.”

This year, Dolce&Gabbana was forced to cancel the annual fashion show and run an alternative show in an online format. The snippets of the show were posted on Instagram. If you read the captions that accompany the posts, you will feel like you are a participant of a real fashion show. Dolce&Gabbana keeps its voice and style intact both online and offline, so you can recognize this fashion brand easily.

An Instagram post from Dolce & Gabbana showing their consistent voice.

Make good use of hashtags

Hashtags are an integral part of Instagram marketing. Whether your caption contains 10 or 300 words, it must include at least one hashtag. The hashtags will help you to improve the visibility of your posts and reach more prospective customers.

Instagram allows users to use up to 30 hashtags per post. However, we don’t recommend adding the maximum number of hashtags. Hashtags overuse will make your posts look spammy, and that will scare your customers away.

You can place hashtags at the end of the caption or in the first comment – the marketing effect will be the same. Just make sure that all hashtags you are using are relevant to the message you want to deliver.

Do you have branded hashtags? Make sure to add them to every post.

An Instagram post in which Pull and Bear uses hashtags.

Write in rhyme

Do you want to grab the audience’s attention with a short caption? Consider writing a short, funny rhyme. It will make your post sound more engaging and memorable.

Here is an example of how Jimmy Choo uses this tactic for caption writing.

An Instagram post in which Jimmy Choo uses a rhyme in its caption.

Wrapping up

Are you ready to take your fashion business to the next level? Use these nine writing tips to create branded content for Instagram. If you do everything right, your company will get one step closer to a big success.