Start-ups can sometimes spend hours labouring over the creation of beautiful assets and producing a cohesive feed with engaging visuals - but their content still underperforms on every single post. Why?

The answer is obviously very context-dependent and complex, but a determining key factor tends to be the quality of copy they are producing (or not).

Captions are the unsung heroes of social media marketing. And unfortunately, they are often an afterthought considered too short or insignificant to be worthy of much attention. However, all it takes is one well-crafted caption to make your social media post go viral. And, if done right, captions can be one of your greatest assets for content marketing.

We often give primacy to visuals within our culture - specifically within a lot of marketing circles. However, what makes social media so exciting is its fluid relationship between multiple types of communication. We only need to think about TikTok and its reliance on sonic soundscapes, or Twitter and its backbone of words/language. Because of this, social media is absolutely a space where solid visuals are not the only recipe for success.

Of course, what makes a solid piece of copy is always changing. Luckily, at Spin, we have a team of expert copywriters who have some of the best tips and tricks to produce the best captions going.

1. Tone of voice is more important than anything else. You could craft the perfect caption that grabs attention and has a clear and solid call to action; but, if it doesn’t fit the tone of the brand it simply won’t work. Before getting out your notepad and scribbling ideas for copy - make sure you have a robust tone of voice guide to refer back to. This is very important.

2. Social media is a fast-paced landscape (duh). When we scroll down your feeds we never stop to read every post - and you probably skip longer and more complex posts. Most people do this, so make sure your copy is short and sweet. At Spin, we use a method where we write ‘poetically’ first then cut it down with no mercy. Aim to delete any word that is not essential.

(On that note there is a TLDR. So, if you are having a lazy read scroll down 😉)

3. Copy must also always compliment the visuals. It seems like a no brainer, but so much copy takes a fractured tone from the content it is placed directly next to. Use copy as a way to provide context to the asset, and an asset as a way to provide context to the copy - think of it as a symbiotic relationship embedded throughout the whole creative process. The two will end up displayed together, so make sure you have a collaborative process where designers and copywriters work together. The disconnect between the two is often obvious and awkward (never mind the fact it makes the copywriter’s job very difficult).

4. Creating copy with value is also an important quota to hit. Educate your audience and allow them to gain something in reward for not scrolling past your post, and let them know to come back for more. Frantic copy obsessed with summer sales, new products and influencers (BUY BUY BUY) doesn’t make viewers feel compelled to keep coming back. Within the copy, ask questions that matter to your audience - and listen to what they say. People genuinely like chatting with brands - and the copy facilitates this chat. Again, this highlights the merits of having a robust pipeline. Community managers can report back to copywriters on what is working ‘on the ground’ - and then flag when other things are not.

5. Emotion is important - and it should be imbued into every piece of social media copy. To do this, we can learn a lot from the ‘everyday account’. A big part of 2021 has been bigger brands attempting to humanise. Unless you are an AI copywriter (🤖), we are going to assume that you are human. So just get into the mindset of writing your own Instagram captions - and just write it out. If you were posting these polished assets onto your feed what would you say? A little sarcastic joke? A short and snappy quote? A singular emoji? Then, afterwards, edit and cut it to fit the vibe of your brand. What you will (hopefully) end up with is a hybrid of authentic and relatable, yet also smart business captions. Put your human hat on, and THEN your brand hat.

It is always a good idea to keep your eye on what people's personal accounts are doing. Usually, they spearhead the trends way before big businesses jump on board. Cutting edge and fashionable copywriting seems to always come from the bottom upwards - we can learn a lot from ‘non-professionals’. Don't be a snob.

6. Vague captions don’t work. Seriously. With a quick Google search, you might find articles claiming that various forms of “psychology” (used loosely) show that you can subtly manipulate the reader but it’s just best to directly say what you want. A great summer sale link in bio? Tell them! Want lots of comments - just say. While nobody wants a feed that makes their brand look like corporate try-hards, most followers are under no qualms that you are a brand and are not running an account purely for fun. Have a solid call to action that doesn’t beat around the bush.

5 and 6 lead to a tricky dichotomy. On the one hand, you are trying to appear ‘genuine and ‘authentic’ yet on the other hand you have something to sell. To be blunt,

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