Alaska Social Media Marketing: 7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Instagram Captions
Level up your Alaska social media marketing with these 7 easy writing upgrades.
By Karla Freivalds, SEO Copywriter and Blogger for Hire
Does your Alaska social media marketing strategy include Instagram?
Posting on social media can be a powerful way to build brand awareness, engage directly with your audience, and provide value on a platform where your people hang out.
But what you say in your captions can be the difference between someone scrolling past your feed or taking the next step to become a client, customer, or or lifelong fan.
Hi, I’m Karla. I help Alaska business owners grow their businesses through the power of blogging and SEO copywriting like social media.
I know how hard it can be to figure out what to write in your Instagram captions. That’s why I put together this article on 7 easy ways to improve your captions so you can reach more people, grow your following, and get your information into the world.
Instagram captions are the words that you type next to or under your posts, reels, or videos. It’s the area of the platform where you write hashtags and where people can comment after you post something.
That’s the part of Instagram I focus on in this blog.
Pro tip: You can apply these tips to any social media platform where you market your Alaska business.
Are you ready to learn some tips on writing your Instagram captions? Let’s get to it.
1. Imagine You're Writing to One Person
Whether you’re posting an Instagram post, reel, or video, your caption copy should connect to the person on the other end.
Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, narrow down your focus and imagine you’re speaking directly to one person.
Think about your ideal customer, and then tailor your message to them.
You could picture a real friend, a client, or make someone up based on who you *want* your ideal customer to be.
When you write as if you’re having a one-on-one conversation, your post feels less like a marketing strategy and more like a personal and genuine connection.
This strategy makes your captions feel more authentic, and fosters trust and rapport, which is essential in marketing.
People are much more likely to respond with content designed just for them.
So, focus on that one person and let your captions speak directly to their needs and desires.
2. Write How You Talk
Now that you have your ideal customer in mind, you want to use a conversational tone.
Let’s pretend you’re an Anchorage food business that sells hot dogs. You wouldn’t walk up to someone at a party and say: “hashtag-get-in-my-belly” or “NOM-NOM.”
In case you didn’t know, those are common food hashtags used on Instagram, but NOBODY says those words out loud in real life!
Here’s another example. Perhaps you’re a local Anchorage chiropractor. You wouldn’t greet a patient at your office by saying, “hashtag self-care, hashtag holistic healing, hashtag feel better!”
You’d speak to them about your practice and the value you can offer.
Hashtags are great, and I’ll be touching on that in this post later, but you shouldn’t use them as your primary means of communication on Instagram (or any other form of social media.)
Instead, write how you talk.
If you’re a food business, you could write, “What are you up to on Saturday morning? We’ll be cooking up bagels from 9 am to noon at [NAME OF PLACE] Come and get it!'“
Or if you’re an acupuncture business, you could write, “How is your body feeling today? Did you know acupuncture releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers?”
Write your Instagram captions as if the person is sitting right in front of you.
And don’t stress too much about proper grammar or making it extra fancy, just use a natural, conversational tone. Remember, it’s not an academic paper; it’s an Instagram caption.
People want simple language, especially when it comes to social media, where they are scrolling fast.
If you need help getting started, try recording yourself into your phone and then type it up in your caption.
3. Use a Call-to-Action
Every caption you write for your Alaska marketing on social media, whether it’s for Instagram or any other platform—should have a clear call-to-action—also known as a CTA.
A CTA is a prompt that inspires your Instagram followers to continue a relationship with your business after they read your Instagram post.
A CTA could include words like:
Book an appointment at our clinic today!
Contact us for more information
Drop a heart in the comments if you love fishing!
Sign Up for our email list
Visit our website to learn more about integrative medicine
CTA’s are an essential part of any piece of marketing content you create, especially on Instagram.
This is because people on Instagram are scrolling quickly through thousands of accounts vying for their attention.
By letting your readers know exactly what step to take next, you’re doing the mental lifting for them.
A CTA helps guide the reader into choosing whether to work with YOUR business… or to keep on scrolling.
It’s also essential to make sure the contact information in your caption is clear and consistent.
For example, if you have a brick-and-mortar business, you want to include the address and hours you’re open so the client knows when they should call you.
If your potential customers have to hunt down information about how to find you, it’s much more likely another business will grab their attention before they find it.
The best way to come up with the CTA that is right for your Instagram captions is to answer the question, “What do I want my readers to do after they read this post?”
Then, tell them! Trust me, you’re doing them a favor – and one for yourself, too.
4. Get More Personal
You may be thinking, “Who cares about MY personal stuff?” But people DO care. They want to get to know the person or business behind the Instagram post.
Plus, in the age of artificial intelligence, it’s more important than ever to let people know they are engaging with a real human — and not an AI chatbot.
One effective way to do that is to get more personal with your posts. This could be showing vulnerability, talking about your struggles and how you overcame them, and unveiling a little more of your humanity.
Even a hint of personality will do just fine.
One effective way to get more personal is by telling mini-stories about yourself or your business.
Tying in your local culture can be a great way to do this.
For example, let’s say your city just had a big snowfall. You could say:
“We don’t know about you, but we spent the ENTIRE weekend shoveling snow after that storm!”
Yes, that qualifies as a story! From there, you can connect the story to what you offer:
“If you’re feeling out of alignment, book an appointment at our chiropractic clinic practice today, and we’ll get your all straightened out.”
Perhaps you own a food business. Lean into some personal on how you came up with your recipe.
For example, instead of just listing the ingredients in your recipe, talk about what the recipe means to you, where it came from, and why it’s special to you.
Getting more personal shows people that AI doesn’t generate your captions and that there’s an actual human being on the other end… who is just like them.
That fosters connection and trust, which leads to sales and engagement.
5. Ask a Question First
One of the most difficult parts of creating an Instagram post can be writing that very first line.
Another easy way to improve your Alaska marketing strategy on Instagram is to simply start your caption with a question.
Posing a question helps grab the reader’s attention, gets them thinking about their answer, and shows that you’re interested in their life.
Some fantastic examples of how to start a social media post for your physical therapy business could be:
How are you feeling today?
This shows empathy and inspires your client to check in with their body. You could then pose your service as the solution to a problem.
Or…
Do you ever get painful muscle cramps in your legs?
Again, the person reading that question who DOES get muscle cramps is very likely to stick around for the solution.
Some question examples for tour operators include:
Are you going to the Kenai this summer?
This immediately gets the reader thinking about going to Kenai this summer, and if they don’t have any plans yet, there you are to offer a plan — like booking a fishing charter or a kayaking trip.
Here’s another one:
Do you need more pizza in your life?
Again, this gets the attention of the person who DOES need more pizza in their life. It also promotes a sense of imagery, which gets them thinking about pizza. Your pizza.
And with that, we move on to number six.
6. Solve a Problem
Here’s an Alaska marketing truth: People don’t buy products and services. They buy solutions to their problems.
For example, food trucks solve the problem of hunger.
Acupuncture is solves the problem of being in pain.
And helicopter tours solve the problem of boredom (kind of a stretch, but you get the idea… you’re not gonna be bored up there!)
So, ask yourself: What problems do my services solve?
Here are some examples for a photographer:
“Do you wish you had a more professional-looking website? Professional photography may be the missing piece.”
“Does it feel the kids are growing too fast? Schedule your photo session to remember this special time of your life.”
“Need a wedding photographer who won’t let you down? I’ve photographed over 500 weddings…”
All of those captions solve problems and ease fears that people who hire a photographer have.
Create a different caption for each problem and think of how your product or service is the solution — and be sure to include a CTA at the end.
7. Use Hashtags
With all of the features Instagram offers today, you may wonder if hashtags still matter – and yes, they do!
People still search for Instagram accounts they want to follow using hashtags. The hashtags you choose for your business can be the deciding factor on whether or not it’s YOUR Instagram account they find.
Hashtags also help tell Instagram where you’re located and what services you offer so that Instagram’s algorithm can suggest your account to people likely to be interested in your content.
Here’s an example from my business, Karla Freivalds Agency, a freelance SEO copywriting business that serves small to medium-sized business owners of all kinds. In addition to being a blogger for hire, I’m also skilled in social media and SEO. Business owners may potentially head over to Instagram and search for my services using hashtags like these:
#alaskawebsitedesign
#anchoragewebsitedesign
#alaskamarketing
#alaskawriter
#anchoragefreelancewriter
#alaskafreelancewriter
And so on.
The funny thing is, I don’t actually advertise on Instagram because I am committed to blogging. But, I do know Instagram in and out and can help you with your strategy.
So, think of what search terms people might use to find your business, and post your hashtags at the end of your caption.
And don’t overthink it. Nobody is exactly sure how the Instagram or LinkedIn algorithms work (except for the ones behind the curtain.)
Additionally, think about who else may be interested in your content.
For example, if you have an Alaska tour company, you may post a lot about hiking and mountains and trails. Therefore, other interested followers might include fans of fitness, staying in shape, or the love of the forest. Therefore, you could include hashtags like #stayfit #hitthetrail, #ilovetrees.
Instagram’s algorithm works its magic so that your content appears in front of people who are interested in it, but you have to let Instagram know what you’re all about.
You also want to make sure Instagram knows where your business is located, so consider using basic hashtags like #anchorage, #homer, and #alaska as well.
Instagram lets you use up to 30 hashtags per post. You can explore different hashtags by going into the search bar and then see what performs best.
Looking to Start Social Media For Your Alaska Marketing?
By implementing small changes like writing to one person, getting more personal, including a CTA, asking questions, solving problems, and incorporating hashtags, you can improve the quality and value of your Instagram captions to make all that hard work you’re putting into posting worth it.
Need some help?
I offer SEO blogs that you can repurpose to make a splash on social media and drive people back to your website to boost your SEO.
Whether you’re a Alaska business who wants to take Instagram captions off your plate or you’re looking for a freelance blogger to turn blogs into expert caption copy that connects, I can help!
Together, we create a brand voice that speaks to your ideal clients and customers and inspires them to become super fans of your practice, business, or brand.
And with that, I leave you with a CTA: Visit my website to inquire!
