Hook & CTA Ideas to Level Up Your Instagram Captions


By Sarah Knowles | April 25, 2023

 
 

Many business owners think of captions as secondary within this visual-heavy social media platform. However, if you’re neglecting caption copywriting and relying on your visuals to do all the heavy lifting on your account, you may be missing out on some key business opportunities.

Shopify said it best in their article on Instagram captions: "A strong visual on Instagram can make users 'slow their scroll' and stay locked on your post, but a carefully thought out caption can do a lot more heavy lifting in terms of marketing and sales."

Whether your captions are promotional, growth-driven, engagement-focused, or conversion-optimized, there are two essential elements that every caption should include in order to be effective: A hook and a call-to-action (CTA).

Therefore, we’ve outlined some creative caption hook and CTA ideas that may inspire you to take your future posts to the next level!

Caption Hook Ideas

Instagram only previews 125 characters of your caption, therefore the first thing you see after the image is the hook — or the short sentence or phrase used at the beginning of your Instagram caption to capture your followers’ attention and persuade them to keep reading.

If you’re running low on inspiration for hook ideas, we’ve got you covered. Try out these ideas and test them against captions WITHOUT hooks to see if you notice a change in engagement!

  • “BREAKING NEWS!”

  • “This one is for ___”

  • “REMINDER:___ ”

  • “Hear me out…”

  • “Did you know that…”

  • “If you want to achieve ___, keep reading!”

  • “X things I wish I know about ___” or “X ways to ___”

  • “HOW TO ___ [easily/for free/etc.]”

  • “Calling all ___

  • “Fun fact:___”

  • “Unpopular opinion: ___”

  • “You need to hear this today.”

  • “Don’t read the caption 👇 if you don’t want to ___”

  • “Does this sound like you?”

  • “Which one are you? A___ or B___”

Caption CTA Ideas

While hooks capture your audience’s attention at the beginning of your caption, calls-to-action are designed to drive engagement as a result of your post and should, therefore, be found at the end of your caption. 

The key is to be as creative as you can be in order to persuade people to take action. 

Here are a few CTA ideas you can test out on your upcoming posts, depending on which action you are driving your audience to. Test out different versions to see which one engages your audience the most!

For DMs  ➡ 

  • “What questions do you have? Shoot us a DM — we’re here to help!”

  • “Want more? DM me ___ for the link!”

For Likes ➡ 

  • “Double tap if you agree!”

  • “Like if you would try this!”

For Comments ➡  

  • “Tag a friend who ___”

  • “Drop an [emoji] if you can relate!”

  • “Raise your hand if you’re feeling this! 🙋”

  • “Tag someone you know who NEEDS to see this!”

  • “Which one are you? Comment with [emoji] for ___ or  [emoji] for ___ !”

  • “Describe your day in 3 emojis ⬇️”

  • “Caption this!”

For Follows ➡ 

  • “Hit the follow button for more tips about ___!”

  • “For more content like this, follow along @___!”

For Saves ➡ 

  • “Was this helpful!? Don’t forget to hit SAVE for future inspo!”

  • “In the middle of something? Save this post to read it again later.”

For Shares ➡ 

  • “Share this with someone who needs to hear this advice today!”

  • “Repost to spread awareness.”

For Link Clicks ➡ 

  • “Want more? Discover more tips and tricks for ___ at the link in our bio.”

  • “You don’t want to miss this! Subscribe to our email list and be the first to know about exclusive deals at the link in our bio!”

Here’s the takeaway: Your audience won't take action if they don’t feel compelled to do so by your CTA. And, they won’t even get to read your CTA if you don’t capture their attention in the hook. 

Now that you’ve seen a few ideas for creating engaging hooks and persuasive calls-to-action for your Instagram posts, it’s time to take action. Reach out to us and let us know if you try out any of the above ideas — or for even more ideas that are tailored to your unique business or niche!

Want to keep reading about how to level up your brand’s social media copywriting? Discover the Top 3 Biggest Copywriting Myths.

 

Sarah Knowles

Sarah is a Social Media Content Creator at AMR Digital. Sarah is a professional wordsmith, and when she’s not behind a keyboard, you can find her in the window seat of an airplane on her next adventure or in the constant pursuit of trying to be a morning person

 
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