We’re wrapping up our social media overview today, with a look at Instagram. If you missed the posts about Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, please click on the links there.
I just started using Instagram a few months ago. Full disclosure, I started using it completely personally with no intention to use it for my writing. Mostly I wanted to follow friends and stalk celebrities. I didn’t really see it as being a useful way to bring people to PBW. And so far, it hasn’t been.
It’s just been a great way to connect with new readers. Since I’ve started using Instagram, I’ve gained a collection of followers there that I don’t see on my other social media accounts. Remember, sometimes social media isn’t about anything but connecting with your readers.
What to post
I post pictures of the covers of my books, pictures from when I got the first copy of Broken Patterns in the mail. If I go do something fun or take pictures during a holiday event, I’ll post them. Pretty much,I post real life pictures from my real life, mixed with book covers. When I do events like cons and book signings, I’ll take a ton of pictures and post them.
How to post
Fun fact, there’s no way to post on Instagram from a computer, you have to do it from a smart device. I spent way too much time trying to figure out how to do that, since you can’t.
After I figured that out (because I’m sometimes an idiot) using Instagram is pretty simple. You just hit the plus button on the bottom of the screen. It will give you the option to either take a picture or upload a picture.
Once you have your picture, you can put a filter on it. I have a lot of fun with filters. I’m not a great photographer, and the filters make my pictures look a lot nicer.
You can also utilize hashtags on Instagram in the same way you use them on Twitter. Let’s say, for instance, that I post a picture of my bullet journal. I’ll add a #bulletjournal or #buju.
What you can do with a picture once it’s posted.
If you’re scrolling through Instagram and you find something you like, you can heart it. You can also add comments or links to a post.
Whether or not Instagram is going to bring me new readers that will transition to new blog followers is yet to be determined. But honestly, for the small amount of time I spend on it, and the level of reader interaction I’ve experienced, I consider it well worth it.
That concludes our overview of social media for writers. If you have any questions about Instagram, or if I didn’t talk about a social media platform you’d like to know about, please let me know! You can either leave a comment here or email me at Nicolecluttrell86@Gmail.com.
Paper Beats World 