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Struggling to breathe more life in your captions? Use these engaging Instagram call to action examples & ideas for your social media content!
In this post, you’ll learn about the most engaging Instagram call to action examples & ideas for your social media content.
Tired of using ‘link in bio’ in every Instagram caption? Try these instead!
Here for the inspiration? Quickly swipe these Instagram call to action ideas now, or click on any of them below to check out my strategy behind the why, how, and when you can use these!
What’s wrong with the ‘link in bio’ CTA?
Every time I scroll on IG, I *always* see the same 3 words: “Link in bio.” I’m not sure how many of you may have heard this already, but in the world of creative fiction writing, the word “said” is almost an invisible word when you’re reading it.
I feel that — in a lot of ways — the phrase ‘link in bio’ is exactly that: an invisible phrase. It’s the call to action that died so that others like the ones I mention here can run, sure.
I want you to seriously think back on the last time you *actually* purchased from someone or subscribed to a newsletter all because someone on Instagram told you that the link is in their bio. You might have!
Despite what you may think while you’re here, I’m not swearing off this tried and (used to be) true CTA for everyone. It may still work for you, your offer, or your niche. That’s cool!
I’m just here to call out the fact that calls to action have a job to do in your content. But if yours is invisible to your audience, can you blame anyone for ignoring you on social media?
Instagram call to action examples & ideas for more engagement
So what the hell can you use instead? Great question! I’ve rounded up 13 of my favorite UNIQUE Instagram call to action examples and ideas for you. Beyond the simple suggestions, I’ve tried leaving my strategy (or reasoning behind) for using each of these:
“Save this post for later!”
I genuinely go back and forth with this Instagram call to action. Personally, this helps to boost a different engagement metric on this single platform. So (at least on paper), it’s usually not the best to use on every post if you’re not fully active on the platform.
The gold behind this one, though, comes into play when you ARE fully invested in this social media option over the rest. If your audience expects your content in their feed, this one might be a no-brainer for you.
I’d personally exclusively use this Instagram CTA for captions packed with loads of value. When you create save-worthy content, it certainly speaks for itself, huh?
“Can you guess what it is? PM me your answer!”
Out of this bunch, this one is perfect for upcoming product launches, new freebie announcements, or even hints for a fun project you’re working on.
Calls to action really don’t always have to point to selling, selling, selling. Social media was meant to be social, so dropping an engaging post and ending it with a CTA similar to this one can really connect you with the most excited or hyped segment of your whole audience.
“Turn on post notifications for me, so you never miss these tips”
Post notifications can be extremely valuable when it comes to repeat engagement from your community! Reminding people to turn it on for your posts might be the missing link if you’re not seeing consistent growth.
“Learn more info in my stories @[username]”
Now that everyone has the ability to include links in their stories, this could be a cool opportunity for you to get creative. You can link anything, but when you use IG to promote your business, you should always be intentional with what you’re doing to avoid seeming spammy to your followers.
This Instagram call to action is a fun one because you can link to your email newsletter, a free upcoming training, a recent blog post, and more! Of course, I’d be careful to consider when you’re using this one. Your content is evergreen; however, stories really only last for 24 hours.
“Vote with X emoji in the comments below”
Out of all of these Instagram call to action ideas, I feel like this one is likely to be the least effective if you have a super tiny or niche audience/community. Let’s face it, IG can really be a superficial place with all of the spam accounts and bot comments floating around out there.
Using this CTA can be fun for your stories, but I’m a little impartial toward only using this when my audience is really already active for a fun post every now and then. I’ve seen it work with larger accounts, which is why I chose to include it here.
Just know that it’s always a good practice to try something out in your community. Your existing followers might really warm up to this call to action. But I feel like it’s more of a bat signal that mostly says, “I just want you to engage with this post.”
When you pack a ton of value into a post, they usually take off in saves, shares, direct messages, and/or comments. As you post your content, you’ll learn over time what really works for your audience. Feel free to use this CTA to experiment; however, always know that this works best when you have a pre-existing rapport with your community.
Why?
One of the reasons I suggest using this one on highly valuable posts for a “hot” audience is because — as an introvert — I feel like it’s just easier to be excited about someone’s content when I know them PLUS when I’m genuinely excited about their content.
In a lot of ways, this Instagram CTA really acts as both a nurture piece for your existing engaged followers as well as a welcome mat to new people they care about in some way. Word-of-mouth marketing is still very much a powerful tool even our content can leverage!
“Reply to the question sticker in my stories for a free resource!”
This Instagram call to action requires that one extra step — posting a question in your story — but it can definitely be a great way to engage with the warmer followers in your community. One of my favorite uses for this particular CTA is to survey my audience.
That could mean a more formal survey question for an upcoming offer or something more casual (like who’s team Black or team Green — yep, that’s totally a House of the Dragon reference btw!).
Either way, the idea behind this call to action idea is to navigate more of your followers over to your email list with an exclusive freebie. Sure, you COULD use the one you promote everywhere else. But think of this as an opportunity to create something fresh just for your loyal followers!
“Shop the collection by swiping up in our stories @[username]”
If you sell products, you’ll want to use this one! Not only do you give users an easier way to access your profile by tagging yourself, you also gain the benefit of directing them to your stories.
In Instagram land, they smile fondly on those who use their features. But as old of a feature as stories are on the platform, stories still have some of the most highest engagement rates.
Sure, you could just point them to the link in your bio. But honestly, constantly updating your landing page when you consistently launch new collections or products can get old real fast. Using this Instagram call to action idea can help you boost traffic to other pages on the fly.
“DM me for a FREE template! (Yes, really)”
Building your email list is so important! One of my favorite ways to both garner up some nice engagement as well as build mine is to tease a premium resource not typically given away for free.
- If you have a program, you might consider giving away a small bonus within that. Another potentially great tease is an exclusive resource from a membership.
- Send them an opt-in link to a special workshop
- Give them some templates or prompts
Whatever you decide to give, make sure it’s exclusive. Your regular freebies are great, but the more enticing this offer is, the better numbers you’ll likely see overall!
“Love this post? Follow me @[username] for more content like this!”
This Instagram call to action is totally navigational in nature and growth-oriented in intention. Both are key points to keep handy in your content strategy, and having the opportunity to accomplish both at once is utility at its best!
Don’t forget the ‘@’ when you wrap up your post. It’ll create an easy link to your profile, so new accounts who are just discovering yours can quickly and conveniently follow you.
“Tell me your biggest struggle via the question box in my latest story”
This CTA can yield powerful connections when you have a warm enough audience or a compelling enough post/story. To use this one effectively, I’ve only seen good results when you’ve invested in building your community. That’s NOT to say it’s impossible, though!
“Commit to [transformation] by double tapping this post”
Sometimes, a post like is simply all you need. Not every post HAS to have an amazing CTA. Knowing when you need them is super important, but also understanding that can help you focus your time on the posts that give you the biggest ROI: be it time, money, or building your brand or community.
What is a CTA (Call-to-action)?
An Instagram call-to-action is simply a navigational tool content creators and business owners can leverage to inspire or ask their followers to do something in the end portions of their posts. This can be anything like the following:
- A simple request to like or share the post
- Asking followers to visit a website or buy a product
Overall, a social media post call to action can be a great way to increase engagement and get followers to take action. Just be sure to keep it relevant and tasteful.
Final thoughts
Looking for the TLDR? I’m in the camp that believes every post/caption should have some kind of call to action. But it’s super important to also leverage their full power! There are a ton of features on Instagram: each important in its own unique way.
When you use these Instagram call to action examples in your posts, you help push your audience to really engage with all the different things IG offers, which helps your insights as well as lets the Instagram algorithm know that your followers value your account. You’ll get the benefit of having a well-rounded, navigational account.
This post was all about the most engaging Instagram call to action examples & ideas for your social media content.
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