When it comes to Instagram, captions are more than just a space to fill—they're an important part of your social media strategy. Whether you're crafting them yourself or using an AI caption generator, there are a ton of best practices (and tips!) that can help your captions work harder for you. Let’s dive into how to make the most of your captions (and how using an AI Instagram caption generator can help when used correctly!).

We’re going to cover:

• The role of Instagram captions in your marketing
• Best practices for captions in general
• Best practices for using an AI Instagram caption generator
• How Enji’s AI copywriter works
• How to schedule your posts in advance once you write the caption

The Role of Instagram Captions in Social Media Marketing

Does anyone even read the caption anymore? Before diving into AI-generated captions, let's remind ourselves why Instagram captions do still matter:

1. Engagement boost: Well-crafted captions encourage likes, comments, and shares, increasing overall engagement. Plus, while Instagram doesn’t always share its secrets, it’s become common knowledge that the longer someone spends on your post, the more favorably the algorithm will rank it. I call this the “linger-factor”, which basically means that the longer you can get people to linger the better your post will do!

2. Brand voice reinforcement: While not everyone is going to read the caption, some people will the folks who are actually considering you!), and captions are an opportunity to showcase your brand's personality and tone.

3. SEO benefits: This one is new! Instagram captions can include searchable keywords, helping your content reach a wider audience (and giving your content a longer impact).

4. Call-to-actions: It’s hard to tell people to do “all the things” in a one-second reel of you literally blinking at the camera (IYKYK). Effective captions can drive specific actions. From commenting with a specific word so you can send them a link to asking them to share with a friend. 

Best Practices for Effective Captions

Whether AI-generated or not, great Instagram captions should follow these best practices:

1. Know your audience and tailor your language and tone to resonate with your target demographic (Enji’s AI copywriter can help)
2. Keep it concise. While Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters, you rarely need to write that much to get your point across.
3. Use emojis strategically to add personality and break up text.  Bonus points if you have a set of emojis that feel “on brand” for your business.
4. Use relevant hashtags to increase discoverability, but avoid overdoing it. Best practice right now is using 5-8 per post.
5. Ask questions to encourage conversation with your audience. Remember that you’re marketing to humans!
6. Tell a story in your captions (this increases the chance your post will be remembered).
7. Include a call-to-action to guide your audience on what to do next, whether it’s leaving a comment or visiting a link.

Specifically when using an AI caption generator, you should also:

1. Avoid copying and pasting the caption exactly as it comes out. Look for places to add your unique brand personality and expertise.
2. Fact check. While AI is a great starting place, it can still spit out outdated information. 
3. Avoid overusing emojis. While we love a good emoji, over-the-top captions with 8 emojis in every sentence are a dead giveaway that no human touched the post.

Why You Should Use an AI Caption Generator

There are so many reasons why you should be using an AI caption generator, but for the most part, all of the benefits come down to two main things—they help you save time and make you more creative. 

Chances are, you need to put out more content than you did in the past to get noticed (le sigh). AI tools can spit out a rough draft within seconds but they can also boost your creativity by suggesting angles or phrases you might not have thought of. If writer’s block is ever an issue, AI offers a helpful starting point so you’re never stuck staring at a blank page. 

Need more convincing? Here’s what one of our subscribers had to say!

"Using AI is like having a brainstorming buddy who gives you that crucial first draft, so you’re never stuck staring at a blinking cursor inside of Instagram. This way, I can spend more time refining and adding my personal touch, ensuring everything feels authentic and resonates with my audience—saving me tons of time while keeping my messaging on point." - Andrea Jones 

How to Generate Captions with Enji

It’s actually kind of scary how easy it is to use Enji’s AI Instagram caption generator. All you need to do is:

1. Set up your brand voice (do this once, not every time like other AI tools).
2. Tell us what the post is about, what details you want included, and what the call-to-action should be
3. Wait for AI to write your first draft (so that you can tweak and approve within seconds).

Watch this in action:

Scheduling Captions with Enji's Social Media Scheduler

Once you've generated your captions, Enji's social media scheduler can help you plan and automate your posting strategy. Depending on how your brain works, you can also use our AI caption writer while you’re scheduling posts too if that’s what you prefer.

Plus, when you schedule your posts in Enji, you can enjoy:

• Relief knowing you are finally being consistent with your marketing
• More free time since our AI tools are designed to speed up the process
• Better planning since we give you a marketing plan you can stick to
• Less stress because you don’t need to worry about daily content creation

Using an AI Instagram Generator Can Save You Time (And Are Worth Using)

AI Instagram caption generators (like the one we have here inside Enji) are powerful tools that can significantly streamline your social media marketing efforts. Because when you have a starting point for your captions, they can save you a ton of time and make you more creative. But, we all still need to remember that AI is a tool to enhance your efforts, not replace your unique voice and understanding of your audience altogether.

The best practice is to use AI-generated captions as a foundation, then refine and personalize them to really make what you get a strong piece of marketing content. And when you do this with strategic scheduling, you'll be well on your way to sticking to a solid marketing routine. 

Not an Enji subscriber yet? Start your free trial here to see what all the fuss is about!