Instagram Tips
from someone who uses it every day
I’ve had a dedicated book account for 7+ years. Here are some random notes on how to make the most of this social media platform.
If you’re an author, it helps to use your name for your handle so readers/fans can find you and easily tag you in photos of your book.
Use your book title and your name as hashtags for relevant posts and follow those hashtags. To test this, put #stephenking in the search, note all the photos, follow it, and try #dumakey to note all the photos.
Take photos in natural daylight.
Post about your book(s) regularly
Use good hashtags #horrorbooks #horrorfiction #newbook #goodreads I’ll show you how much traffic comes in from a hashtag, it’s a lot 6K on this photo:
It’s a social media platform so be social. If people comment, comment back. If they tag you, like the post, or say thanks, engage. Think of the photos/captions on your grid feed as a portfolio and the stories for temporary updates like food photos, hiking, casual shit
re-share things to your stories that you like, there is an icon on every post that looks like a paper airplane, click that and send other people’s posts to your stories. This helps foster networking like re-tweets on Twitter
BE INTERESTING oh my god, just be interesting, would you want to engage with that photo or caption? Just look at everything you put out there as a chance to show people what makes you, YOU.
Do NOT tag people as a way to spam them about your book
Do NOT follow for follow or ask people to follow
Do NOT put URLs in your photos, they aren’t hot, nobody can click them or copy and paste them. Links go in your stories
Watch a YouTube tutorial, here’s a good one for basics:
Great tips! I have an Instagram and have never really “gotten” it as a platform. But given the current state of Twitter I guess I don’t really have that luxury of not learning how to use it...
This is great stuff! I struggle with how to use social media in general, so this is very helpful. Thank you.