Six Ways To Manage Instagram And Enhance Your Writing Career
Being at the top of your game with your social media accounts is essential. Being an expert on Instagram management can help lift your career. It offers many benefits for all jobs, including writing.
I’m in the final stages of my novella, SHADOW OF THE WICKED, and I’ve been sending out Advanced Reader Copies. I noticed over the years that Instagrams Bookstagram community is growing dramatically. Instead of reaching out to blogs and websites, via emails and fill-out forms I approached the bookstagram community on Instagram. I was overwhelmed at the instant responses, whether they were rejecting or accepting the request. But it made me think. I can use Instagram to grow my writing career.
If you want to hone your Instagram management skills, here are some tips to help you get started.
WRITING UPDATE: SHADOW OF THE WICKED is done. My mailing list subscribers will be the first to see it, and receive a FREE ADVANCE READING COPY, so make sure you sign up below!
Six Ways to Manage Instagram To Enhance Your Writing Career.
Post At A Scheduled Time
Authors need to market themselves so that they can get people to buy their books.
Posting social media content on a daily basis is a good marketing strategy. This means setting up a schedule of your posts on Instagram and keeping your scheduled posts consistent.
Experts say that it is best to post between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The best time is 5 p.m. for a response from your followers. If you are consistent, they will check their accounts and look out for your posts.
If you don’t post regularly, your followers will be disappointed. Never go a week without posting anything.
If you take too long to post, you will fall behind other writers who are more consistent with their online presence.
Remember that, in social media, high engagement helps you spark better trust and connectivity. Your consistency helps you create a better connection with your followers, thus more sales for your books and more engagement with your content.
Create A Catchy Author Bio.
Instagram’s author bio space is quite limited. It has a maximum of 150 characters. But, if you’re a creative writer, you can do a lot with this, like @therealsjmaas She uses her award lists, her novels, what is soon to be released and a link to her latest event.
Add a link to your website or blogs. Clickable links allow your audiences to access your blog posts easily from your Instagram account. This helps you to increase your website traffic and strengthens your exposure as a writer. Make sure your link is up-to-date and not from an expired event (like Sarah J. Mass).
Engage With Your Audience.
Instagram is also about engaging with your followers. It is not only about posting photos but it is also about responding to comments. Posting questions on Insta stories promotes social media engagement among your followers.
If you do this regularly and genuinely, you let your followers see you as a human being who cares about them.
Ways for you to engage with your audience:
- Ask your followers for content suggestions and create a list of topics from their replies. Then, use these on your new blog posts. Your followers will love this
- Look out for conversation starters in comments. Followers may reflect on something you have written or they may like something they’ve read. Make sure you respond to them positively.
- Ask questions on your stories.
- Share what you’re reading and tag other bookstagrammers
Doing this makes you more relatable as a writer. If you want to learn more about Instagram story question tips, watch this.
Use Hashtags In Your Posts.
Hashtags on Instagram refer to posts followed by a # sign. For example, #love, #parenting, #writing. You place these in the captions below the images and they play a key role in posting.
Hashtags alert people to the types of posts they may be interested in reading. They allow you to attract a bigger audience.
Adding relevant hashtags puts you on top of the list of good reads. If you get this right, your post will stand out.
Here are some ideas for posts:
- Books you read.
- Your workspace.
- Your recent vacation.
- Teasers of upcoming releases.
- Motivational quotes.
Post Your Appearances.
Like Sarah J Mass post invitations to your events and public appearances. Use your link and mention it in posts and stories to engage your views and followers. This is part of building a successful writing career. These events can range from book signings and workshops to a new release. You can also use it for affiliate marketing when you launch a product. As an Instagram writer, you’ll also end up talking about your books and products on your posts.
Posting about events helps your followers stay in the loop. They will know where to find you if you make an appearance. Give details about where and when these events take place on your Instagram profile. Tag the location so that you can cover a wider audience.
Follow The 80/20 Rule.
On Instagram, and all social media, there’s a thing called the 80/20 rule. This means following the formula below.
- 80% of your posts are for personal content.
- 20% are for promotional content.
I am quilty of this as I’m not sure of what content I should be sharing of my personal life, but I am slowly working on it. You can check out my page @douglas.w.t.smith.
Don’t over-use your Instagram account for promotion. It will bore your followers. If your followers find your posts uninteresting, they will unfollow your account. Give your followers an insider’s view of your life.
Entertain them 80% of the time and sell your writing 20% of the time.
Many writers still question the benefits of Instagram for their careers. Their doubts stem from the picture-centric function of Instagram. But, this is wrong. Instagram is just as effective as other social sites. If you follow these tips, you can be effective as a writer on Instagram.
If you like what you read, if you have any questions or ideas, make sure you post your comments below. If you think someone has an interesting point of view, a question or an answer, please invite them or share this post with them.
#DouglasWTSmith #socialmedia
Never heard of the 80/20 rule, but makes total sense to me.
Yeah neither had I until I did a bit of research but it does makes sense though!