Instagram for Authors: Building Your Author Identity Through Photos and Posts
Bookstagram, the thriving community of book lovers, reviewers, and authors on Instagram, offers authors a unique platform to share their books visually and build genuine relationships with readers. Here are some effective strategies for an author to grow their reach on Bookstagram.
Consistent, Authentic Content
Sharing not just book covers or blurbs but also personal insights, behind-the-scenes content, reading recommendations, and themed posts can help build engagement and community. Consistency is key, and authenticity is crucial in maintaining a genuine audience.
Giveaways and Contests
Offering free copies or exclusive editions can attract new followers, encourage sharing, and create buzz around your books. These promotions can be particularly effective when collaborating with Bookstagram influencers who align with your genre.
Influencer Outreach
Collaborating with Bookstagram influencers can help tap into established audiences. Professional assistance from PR firms familiar with influencer marketing can be beneficial if you prefer not to manage social media yourself.
Use of Special Editions
Publishing special or exclusive editions with unique content such as illustrated pages or bonus chapters creates additional reasons for followers to engage and share.
Cross-Platform Synergy
While Bookstagram is Instagram-focused, maintaining a consistent presence across platforms like TikTok or a well-optimized author website helps broaden reach and funnels Bookstagram followers to your broader author platform.
Utilising Hashtags and Linktree
Using relevant hashtags can boost your profile's growth quickly on Instagram. Linktree allows you to store all your links on an easy-to-use dashboard, which can be linked to your Instagram bio. After swiping on Instagram stories, followers can be taken to a link of your choosing outside of Instagram.
Scheduling Posts
Plenty of apps, such as Later and Hootsuite, let you schedule Instagram posts, helping you streamline your content and improve your visuals on Instagram.
Examples of Successful Bookstagram Accounts
Authors like Victoria Aveyard, J. Daniels, Alexandra Bracken, Ocean Vuong, E. J. Mellow, Mari Andrew, Victoria Lee, Leigh Bardugo, Elise Bryant, and Christina C. Jones, as well as Booknerdbecky, a book blogger with a great account that has an incredibly consistent look and feel, are using Instagram creatively and effectively.
Design Tool: Canva
Canva offers drag-and-drop templates for quote graphics, cover reveals, Reels thumbnails, and more - all perfectly sized for Instagram.
Instagram's Advantages
Instagram offers better visibility and better engagement rates compared to Facebook and Twitter. Its stories feature, which offers videos and images that stay at the top of your Instagram profile for 24 hours, has high engagement rates, with popular accounts boasting over a 92% completion rate.
Conclusion
By leveraging community engagement, influencer networks, and creative presentation of your books, authors can grow a genuine audience on Bookstagram. These strategies, when combined with consistency, authenticity, and a well-planned social media strategy, can significantly boost an author's reach on this vibrant platform.
- To maintain a consistent presence beyond Bookstagram, an author can create a well-optimized author website for readers to explore their lifestyle, fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, home-and-garden, relationships, pets, travel, cars, and shopping interests.
- Social media platforms like TikTok can be utilized to share behind-the-scenes content or fun videos that complement the author's main Bookstagram content.
- In addition to book recommendations, an author can share their favorite fashion-and-beauty products or food-and-drink recipes, home-garden tips, or even posts about their pets or travel experiences to engage with their audience on a deeper level.
- By participating in lifestyle discussions or showcasing their car collections, authors can humanize their brand and connect with potential readers who share similar passions and interests.
- As part of their Bookstagram presence, authors can collaborate with publishers like 'publisher rocket' to create special edition books featuring illustrated pages or bonus chapters that are exclusive to their audience.
- To simplify the management of multiple social media platforms, an author can use apps like Canva for designing visual content or scheduling tools like Later and Hootsuite to streamline post publication and improve the visual appeal of their Instagram account.
