The Art of Captions: Social Media Content in Hong Kong
The Art of Captions: Social Media Content in Hong Kong
Our attention spans just ain’t what they used to be. Are you paying attention?
As the COVID pandemic continues to rage across parts of the world and depression levels reach levels not seen since World War II, it’s of little surprise that we’re all turning inward in many ways – lying awake on those dark nights of the soul, endlessly scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter…
But there are opportunities in trying times, and especially when it comes to soft-sales tactics through social media, now’s the time to strike through effective copy in your captions.
Social Media in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong in particular, that’s truer than ever. As the city sadly starts to lose a bit of its international luster, a niche is starting to appear, where good English copy is the only real differentiator one might have to make or break that sale.
Social media penetration in the city has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years, with citywide penetration jumping from 80% to almost 90% in the span of just four years. And with that, comes endless competition, from businesses vying for your smartphone attention.
As one of Hong Kong’s leading copywriting companies, we’ve noticed a considerable increase in client requests for social media content, with some of the biggest names in technology, fashion and hospitality reaching out for help with their caption copywriting. And as always, we’re happy to oblige - but where does one start with the art of social media captions?
Understanding Your Audience
Despite what your feelings are related to the rise of social media, there’s no denying that captions are intertwined with the art of copywriting – possibly more so than in any contemporary digital form, the effective use of a short, punchy caption harking back to the glory days of bold advertisements and smart slogans.
A good caption engages with users, often on a subconscious level. It’s just as much about what’s unsaid, as it is what’s said, informing about details that aren’t immediately apparent in the accompanying photo or video.
Captions can be as short as a couple choice, effective words, or they can be entire paragraphs building a narrative – but whatever their length, the overall goal is always to get the audience to feel something.
To truly set a tone, a mood, a vibe – and to do that, your overarching goal should be to work out who your Hong Kong audience is and what they’re looking for, with engagement key to long-term success. Start by asking:
Who is my demographic?
What are their wants and needs?
What do I want them to think and feel?
How do I want them to react?
Which should lead you to the all-important question: is it just me that finds this caption entertaining, or will my audience, too?
Short vs. Long
It’s a question that’s plagued copywriters, content marketers and social media strategists for years. Do we keep it short, pithy and punchy copywriting? Or do we aim long, building a narrative and reeling them in with strong, extensive copywriting?
The short answer is: hey, it depends.
Because again, it all comes down to your audience. If you’re selling a niche product to a high net worth individual, by all means, go into great detail and give them the whole spiel on what makes your product so very special. But one only need look at the biggest brands in the world, to know when and how to use short copy.
Adidas, Amazon, Apple – and we’re only at the ‘A’s, each of them use short, effective copywriting that’s nonetheless highly effective and captivating. And if you think it’s easy or possibly lazy to copywrite short captions, keep in mind Mark Twain’s celebrated quote: “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead.”
Short copy that softly sells and gets to the heart of the subconscious, is often harder than going into great detail.
Educating on Education
Your audience is everything, we’ve gone over that by now. But at the risk of being offensive, understanding your Hong Kong audience’s education level is a key factor to tailoring your copy.
Take the Flesch-Kincaid index, which analyzes passages for their readability and tracks them according education levels. In 2015, Contently wrote a fascinating article that churned some of the world’s most respected and best-selling novelists alike through the test – and the results were shocking.
Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Cormac McCarthy and Ernest Hemingway could be easily understood by the average 5th grader, whereas airport bookstore favourites Danielle Steel and Michael Crichton required a 9th grade education.
What does that say exactly? That good writing isn’t ever about complexity or intellect. In fact, the opposite is true: fluency of ideas is more important than anything, and the quicker a reader can get to the point, the better it is for all parties involved.
In Hong Kong, this is truer than ever: with only a little more than 50% of Hong Kong’s population able to understand written English, its comprehension is often limited to those who’ve completed tertiary education, making it imperative you reach for a wide an audience as possible.
Summing Up on Social Media
Which brings us all back to the art of social media caption copywriting. It’s a delicate art, and you’ll never know what truly works until you understand your audience, testing varying styles until you find a formula that works for your Hong Kong business.
But there are a few things you can keep in mind:
Take inspiration: there are millions of social media profiles out there, do your research and see what works.
Write for your audience: think from their perspective and always question every post.
If in doubt, keep it simple: at the very least, you’ll aim for as large an audience as possible.
Don’t waste your reader’s time: be like Twain, try to write a short letter over a long one
Contact the experts: we manage social media content campaigns for some of Hong Kong’s largest international-focused clients, from Adidas to Hitachi, and we can help you too.
Find out more about our Social Media Content services and we’ll help you with the art of copywriting captions. Contact us today, you’ll be glad you did.