Do you feel like you’re doing everything you possibly can but still can’t see any improvement in your Instagram posts? Feeling stuck? Don’t worry I’ve got you covered. Improving Instagram engagement in 2025 is from hooks, and your captions. Photos are being scrolled by most people without looking just because the caption doesn’t make them stop. What we call engagement activities such as commenting, sharing, and saving are mostly done by the posts which employ certain caption strategies to incite action.
Here is what is effective currently in improving engagement-
Instagram Captions Will Be Even More Important in 2025-26
The way Instagram works is different now. The algorithm is focusing more on aspects like creativity, connection, and conversation rather than just the visual appeal of the pictures, as per Adam Mosseri(head of instagram).Like who would have thought? 10 years back it was just an app with a retro cool logo, where people just posted their pictures for their friends to see and here we are now. Even such a popular app changed its logo to keep up with the trends. You got to adapt to the engagement strategies to grow, no more excuses.
Here is what Instagram is rewarding nowadays:
- Shares to Stories and DMs (top ranking signal)
- Comments that create a conversation
- Saves for future use
- Time spent reading captions
As reported by HeyOrca, posts that have emojis are 48% more likely to get engagement. Scientific studies show that the brain processes the emotional part of the content 5 times faster than the rational part.
The 4 Parts of Every High-Engagement Caption
1. The Hook (First Line)
Instagram only displays between 125 and 150 characters before the “More” button. The first line of your text is what determines whether people will continue reading or not. So if it’s not interesting and captivating enough, people are just going to scroll past it.
Bad hook: “Here’s my new workshop framework that helps entrepreneurs learn AI.”
Good hook: “The one mistake 90% of entrepreneurs make when learning AI (and how to avoid it).”
The second one generates curiosity. Your brain simply cannot go on without finding out the answer. Like I want to know what that one mistake is.
Some hook methods that are effective:
- Ask a question: “What’s your biggest barrier to understanding AI?”
- Start with surprise: “Most AI courses teach you the wrong things.”
- Create contrast: “While 99% think AI is about robots, it’s really about…”
- Show relatability: “That Monday morning dread of not understanding what everyone’s talking about…”
Observe that these hooks concentrate on the reader, not on you.
2. The Story (Body)
The story after the hooking should be either your story or a delivery of your value. Don’t pitch. Connect.
Storytelling literally turns on the whole brain. And it’s my favorite thing in this whole wide world. How you deliver the story, what points you include, what you say first and what you keep in the end for holding onto the audience’s attention. It involves brain areas related to senses, movements, and feelings. This makes a new experience different from just an explanation.
Example that works:
“The first time I tried to learn machine learning, I spent three weeks reading technical documents, only to realize that I was going about it the wrong way. I was memorizing instead of understanding. It was at that point that I completely rebuilt my workshop to focus on the reasons behind things rather than just the way. Three months after that, not only were my students passing, but they were also requesting more advanced sessions.”
Reason it works: struggle, realization, and transformation are real. It lets people follow your steps.
Compare to: “Our AI workshop helps entrepreneurs comprehend machine learning.” Dull. No feeling. No story.
3. The Value (The Insight)
After the narrative, provide real value. Ensure it is clear and that the reader can easily put it into practice. It’s always about math. The movie Materialists would agree, people look for numbers, strategies that work. That’s what they find insightful and that’s what you need to provide them.
Ambiguous value disengages the audience: “Learn AI strategies that work.”
Specific value can be a great engagement enhancer: “The 3-step framework I use to teach AI to beginners: (1) Start with the problem it solves, not the math. (2) Build something real in the first hour. (3) Connect it to their daily work immediately.”
Specific advice is more likely to be shared by users. That, in turn, helps the algorithm.
4. The Call-to-Action (CTA)
Directly instruct people the next thing to do.
Not-so-good CTAs:
- “Comment below”
- “Like this post”
- “Follow for more”
Good CTAs:
- “What is learning AI that frustrates you the most? Please mention it in the comments. I will answer each one.”
- “Which method fits you the most? Vote: 🔥 = problem-first, 💡 = math-first, 🚀 = build-first”
- “Tag a person who needs this reminder that AI is not as scary as it looks”
- “Keep this when you are ready to change your learning approach”
Good CTAs inform people what to do AND why it is important. Put CTAs after feeling, not before. If you’re struggling to find good CTAs here are 75 Best Call to Action Phrases That Instantly Boost Engagement
5 Proven Caption Formulas
Formula 1: Value-Packed (Hook + Tip + CTA)
The AI courses that you take and don’t use can still be taken. Here is how I do it so that it really works: (1) You start with the result, (2) You work your way back to the AI, (3) You practice with actual data. Which one would you try first? Put a comment down here!”
Formula 2: Relatability + Humor
“The decision was mine: I will quit the corporate job to build AI workshops. The same decision was also mine: I was explaining neural networks to my mom at 11 PM like it was life or death 😂 What is the strangest place where you have tried to learn something new?”
Formula 3: Behind-the-Scenes Truth
Not every workshop is a success. Today we had the projector that stopped working 15 minutes in. It was the moment when the best learning happened because we had to solve problems together. When the ‘perfect setup’ you were expecting fell apart, have you ever learned better in such a situation?”
Formula 4: Urgency (Countdown + Scarcity + CTA)
Your registration for a workshop will be ending in 48 hours. For next month’s class, only 3 seats are left. If your intention was to finally understand AI, this is the time for you. Send me a message with the word ‘INTERESTED’ if you want to know more.”
Formula 5: Education + Controversy
“The majority of people think that only a person with a mathematical genius can understand AI. Research shows that the actual barrier is not math, but the feeling of not having a ‘technical brain.’ The real challenge? Being curious and willing to practice. What do you say? Agree or disagree?”
Strategic Emoji Use
Emojis are not embellishments. They are interaction tools.
The figures:
- Instagram posts with emojis: 48% more interaction
- Facebook posts with emojis: 25.4% more interaction
- Email subject lines with emojis: 56% more open rates
Mainly used 2025 emojis:
- 🫶 Community posts, brand messages
- 🤍 Wellness, authentic content
- 📈 Milestone posts, business wins
- 💬 Questions, inviting comments
- 🔥 Launches, hot takes, trending
- ✨ Inspiration, special moments
Hashtag Strategy for 2025
Instagram is functioning more and more like a search engine. Users look for hashtags and keywords. Don’t use more than 3-5 hashtags. If you use more than 5, it will trigger a spam detection.
Mixing three types:
- Broad: #AI #MachineLearning
- Niche: #AIForFounders #AILearning
- Branded: #YourNameAIWorkshop
Hashtags can be either in the first comment or if they are a few, then they can be written naturally in your caption.
The Psychology That Drives Engagement
Knowing the reasons why people engage will help you to create more of that:
Reciprocity: Start by giving value. People, who receive value, will return it through likes, comments, and saves.
Social Proof: Posts with engagement get more engagement. Commenting and sharing, which are activities by which users visibly engage, have more impact on the post’s performance than silent engagement (likes).
Emotional Resonance: Strong emotions (either positive or negative) lead to 5 times more interactions than neutral content.
Identity Signaling: People post content reflecting their beliefs. Help them to do it.
FOMO: Limit and also be sure of the need for hurry if you want to get the effect of FOMO.
Wrapping it Up
If such a big platform like Instagram changed it’s logo 10 years later, what’s stopping you from following the best caption strategies on Instagram that are going to improve engagement? There is no time for excuses. Adapt or be left behind- you have just 2 choices. I hope you’ll choose the first one. Let’s go, let’s give people reasons to comment, save, and share.
