What is caption?

A caption is the text that accompanies a social media post, image or video, used to add context, tell a story, share details or encourage a response.

Captions give your visuals meaning. A photo shows what something looks like, but the caption explains why it matters, adds your personality and tells people what to do next. Good captions can lead to more comments, saves and clicks.

Every network supports captions, but they behave differently. Some show only the first line or two before a "more" link, so the opening words matter most. LinkedIn and Facebook suit longer, story-style captions, while TikTok and Reels captions are often short. Length limits vary by network and change over time.

Start with a strong first line that makes people want to read on. Break longer captions into short paragraphs, and end with a question or call to action. Adjust the same message for each network rather than pasting identical text everywhere.

Example

A plant nursery posts a photo of a fern with the caption "Low light? No problem. Here are three easy plants for darker rooms."