by Jeanne Takenaka, @JeanneTakenaka
Does having an Instagram presence intimidate you? I know the pressure of trying to do all social platforms well. And honestly, this is almost impossible to accomplish. How do we decide which social media platforms to use?
Two questions to consider:
Where do the readers of your books hang out?
Which platforms do you enjoy most?
Instagram is my favorite social platform. I love sharing photos and mini-devotionals/words of encouragement. In a previous post, I shared some big picture Instagram strategies. This time, I’ll offer some nitty-gritty tips to help you grow your Instagram presence.
5 Tips to Improve Your Instagram Presence
- Consider your gallery’s appearance. If you have an Instagram business account, use your brand’s colors and fonts in your posts. When people see the same fonts and colors that they associate with you, they’ll identify you more quickly in their feeds. Do you want straight photos, or do you want to break up photo squares with meme/word squares?
Study others’ galleries to determine the look you want for yours. Play around and see what works. I used to share a quote post every other post and had that pretty checkerboard vibe. But I received fewer likes/responses on all my posts. Now, I share a quote meme in one of my two brand colors every fourth post. It looks nice in my gallery, and most posts get more feedback.
Hint: if you use a solid color backdrop for memes, select the same colors as your brand and use the same font each time so people begin to recognize you.
- Though you may feel uncomfortable, post a selfie or video of you every nine posts or so. Readers like to see the people (authors) they’re following. Snap them in different settings, with different props. Try to have fun. This makes you more personable to your followers.
- Hashtags are a thing. Using hashtags with your posts gives you broader exposure, because it shows your post in more places in the Instagram world. A couple thoughts here:
a) place hashtags as your first comment, rather than in the text portion of the post itself. This way, if your post goes to other social platforms, they aren’t a distraction.
b) look at the numbers that follow your hashtags when you’re planning them. Anything between 50,000 and 500,000 is good. Much less than that and they won’t be searched as much. Too many more than that and your post gets lost in the IG forest.
- Remember publishers and industry professionals check more than our social media numbers. They consider our engagement. They check out the profiles of prospective clients. They look at your content, but they also examine how (or if) you engage with potential readers (i.e. your followers). If someone leaves a comment, take the time to respond.
- Reels are the new “thing.” Some of you have dived into this Instagram feature. I’m still figuring out how to master these. Recommendation: Watch reels others have posted and decide which type(s) fits your brand. Save the music clips you like. There are lots of tutorials within the reels that explain how to make simple reels. I’ve made one so far, and Instagram promoted it way more than I expected! Yes, I want to figure out how to create more. Expect to spend some time in the beginning to learn how to do these.
Does all of this sound difficult? It’s not, but it requires intentional time and effort in the beginning. Focus on mastering one or two tips from this list and then expand. Building an Instagram presence can be fun, especially when you know some of the nitty gritty tips to make it work for you.
Award-winning, aspiring novelist and blogger Jeanne Takenaka writes contemporary fiction that highlights how faith and grace hold hands in relationships with people and with God. She, her husband, and two boy-men call Colorado home. She loves being a God-seeker, hanging out with friends, and savoring oat milk lattés. When she’s not writing, you can find her, camera in hand, searching for #alittlebitofpretty. She’s a member of ACFW and Novel Academy.