Spotting a Trend in The Instagram Game
So, I was scrolling through the Instagram feeds we look after, and something caught my eye. We’re all about those longer captions, but our clients? Not so much—they lean towards the short and sweet. Got me thinking: does the length of a caption actually make a difference in how people interact with posts? I hadn’t really dug into it before, but then I stumbled upon some cool research by Stacey McLachlan that hit right on this topic.
Deep Dive with Stacey McLachlan’s Experiment
Alright, here’s the scoop: Stacey McLachlan and Brayden Cohen from Hootsuite decided to get to the bottom of the caption conundrum. They mixed things up on Stacey’s personal Instagram with photos sporting both short and long captions to see what sticks. And guess what? The longer captions were like comment magnets—more words, more chatter. Plus, they often scored more likes too. As you see in the images we’ve shared below, the impact of caption length on engagement is undeniable.
What We Learned
Bucking the trend that short reigns supreme on social, it turns out a bit of a narrative can actually draw people in. Those longer captions? They’re not just word filler; they’re building connections, sparking conversations, and yeah, nudging those engagement numbers up.
Taking It to Our Feeds
Stacey’s deep dive into caption lengths opens up a whole new playground for us. Sure, there’s no magic formula for crafting the perfect Instagram caption, but the evidence is stacking up: longer captions seem to pack a bigger punch in the engagement department. Reflecting on both her experiment and the patterns I’ve observed across the feeds we manage, it’s becoming increasingly clear that taking the extra time to flesh out those captions could really pay off. Why not give it a shot? Sprinkle a little more personality and information into your captions and see if your followers engage more. I’m keen to hear about the difference it makes for you!
