At what point is an Instagram post too long? Well, the technical answer is a post cannot exceed 2,200 characters, and readers cannot see more than 87 characters (about three lines of text) without clicking the “more” button to see the rest of the post. But what's a good caption length, in general?
Here's my suggestion: When writing, don’t worry about editing yourself. Just write everything you want to, then go back and strip it down.
Here’s an example of what I call my 3-part strip down. Here’s an example of a 100-word caption…that I can turn into a 50-word caption…and a 25-word caption. The 100 words are an actual post I shared on Instagram, so I want to show how I could strip it down to get my point across faster.
100 WORDS
I’m headed to New York City for business this weekend. I’m meeting with an amazing group of entrepreneurs from around the world to dissect our businesses and learn how to get better. It’s an awkward time for me because despite all outward appearance, I’m an introvert.
I like working by myself, thinking by myself, keeping to myself.
But the three days we’re together, I’m forced to grapple and assess my weak points as business person…and grow.
And the good news is when I return home, I have clearer perspective, I’m hungry for more, and my dog is waiting for me on my yoga mat.
50 WORDS
Going to NYC to meet with a group of entrepreneurs to dissect our businesses and get better. It’s awkward for me because despite all outward appearances, I’m an introvert.
It forces me to assess my weak points as business person.
The good news is I’ll return with clearer perspective…and my dog waiting for me on my yoga mat.
25 WORDS
Going to NYC to meet with entrepreneurs to dissect our businesses. It’s awkward because despite all outward appearances, I’m an introvert. But the good news is my dog is waiting for me on my yoga mat.
Learning how to strip down your captions is one of the best things you can do for your Instagram account. Now, stripping down doesn’t mean captions MUST be short…not at all! In fact, I don’t think the 25-word caption is better than the 100-word caption, but it is important to know how to trim the fat and get to the point, so your mind can see how it’s done.
After working through this exercise, I realized (in retrospect) that I should’ve made this caption shorter. I’m guessing a 70-word caption would’ve been stronger than the 100-word caption.
I love seeing ways I could make my captions better in the future! I created a bonus lesson as part of my Instagram class, INSTA180, to help my students as well, so if you're a member of the program, be sure to tune into for tomorrow's live class!
