How Instagram Can Make You a Better Writer: 10 Simple Steps To Start Improving Immediately
Wondering how Instagram can make you a better writer? You are not alone, we have been there too. But we practiced the tricks we’ve shared with you in this article and it worked magic for us. We hope they will work for you too. Just continue reading.
Writing can be boring because you have to stay glued to your PC or laptop with your eyes on the screen and your figures on the keyboard for a long period of time. Writers use words to communicate and Instagram uses images so you may think how Instagram can make you a better writer. It’s not easy at all but many have made it and you too can make it. Instagram being an image sharing platform is a powerful social media network you can use it to connect with other writers.
The good news about Instagram is that it uses #hashtags which makes your posts to reach a wider audience that it could be when you use other social networks. If you think about it as a free social media app that is more of image sharing, then it won’t be of value to your writing career but when you use it appropriately, Instagram can make you a better writer by connecting you to the pros so that you can learn more to add to what you already know.
Currently, Instagram boasts 1 billion monthly active users thus making it the fastest growing social network when compared to other networks. Another greatest thing about Instagram, unlike Twitter and Facebook, is that it does not require you to keep glued to your notifications and it does not consume your time at all. You can make a post and leave it for your followers to like and comment. You don’t have to be there to reply to their comments like it is with Facebook and Twitter.
Many people also like to have their accounts on Instagram than on Facebook or Twitter so you can connect with new people on both sites.
That being said, we’ve shared some helpful tips below on how Instagram can make you a better writer.
- Use #Hashtags Appropriately
Hashtags are crucial on Instagram and there are no limitations on using them unlike on Twitter where the number of hashtags to use is limited. Hashtags make your posts to reach a wider audience and connect you with other people. Note that there are those hashtags that are for general purpose which are not recommended for writers since they don’t relate to writing and you cannot use them to build your fan base.
The best way is to use hashtags that are relevant to writing and reading such as #readinglist, #booksgram or #creativewriting. You can create your own hashtags to use while posting on Instagram. But they must relate wiring and you should not abuse them.
You also need to include hashtags in the Bio section of your profile while describing yourself to make your profile searchable.
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Host Giveaways
You need to market your books but at the same time you need to gain followers and running giveaways can be an effective way to achieve that. You can use signed copies of books as your giveaways. In fact, the best way is to use a signed copy of a recognized author and a signed copy of your book in a related genre. This way you will be able to attract the followers of the recognized author and many people will love to have the book and so connect with you easily.
You just need to create the giveaway and participants can tag their followers and the followers who see the giveaway can enter.
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Set Your Profile to Public
Many people will think that setting their accounts to private is the best way to go, but this is not the right way if you want to use Instagram to become a better writer. Well, you might get some few followers but many will move on to another page when they see your account is set to private. Ensure people can follow you and learn from you as you also learn from them especially the established writers.
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Follow Established Writers in Your Niche
Oftentimes writers, particularly if they are authors or journalists, usually include images that are related to their work in their accounts. This way you will be able to see the life surrounding them whether they have participated in some events, or they have traveled and more from the photos they share.
If you follow them, you will get to know more about what they engage themselves in, their life and any challenges they face in their career. You will also learn selfie tips as a journalist.
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Follow sources and organizations if you are a reporter
Many people who are non-profits, public speakers and activists are usually active on Instagram. You can reach out to them so you can get to learn sources that they don’t share with their followers. In fact, non-profits will feel acknowledged when you follow them. This way you can get more sources and learn more from them thus advancing your writing.
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Ask Questions
Questions are good to spark engagement, so, ask something for people to comment on. This way, your conversation will look engaging and Instagram will push it higher on the feeds. You can ask your followers what is their favorite books or what books they are planning to read in the coming weekend.
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Learn and Put What Your Learn Into Practice
You can’t post pictures that are out of focus, uninteresting and expect that people will love them. Learn what other writers are doing in the photos and implement the same in a unique way. Always learn to put what you use into practice.
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Share Your Post Across Platforms
The good thing about Instagram is that you can cross-post to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. This way you will attract your followers on Facebook and Twitter to your Instagram account. However, you need to limit yourself from posting everything that you have on Instagram to other social media networks since doing this will make your other followers have no reason to follow you on Instagram. Share a few of your interesting pictures and tell your fans that you have more of the same on your Instagram account.
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Engage
Use popular #hashtags related to writing to follow other writers and readers. Engage with the followers by commenting and liking their posts and photos. This way, you will make them get interested in you and their followers will also want to know who you are. However, you need to avoid spamming people by commenting sincerely and not focus on promoting your writing only.
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Follow Digital Publications You Are Interested in Writing for
Today, almost all digital publications are on Instagram. This is because they need to attract readers to their articles and because social media has a huge number of users, digital publications want to take advantage of this huge social media presence. So ensure to follow blogs you wish to write for.
This way you will get to know what type of work they engage themselves in. If they require you to accompany your work with an image of yourself, you will be able to learn that in their publications and all other necessary information they require. Look at their published content to know the type of coverage they have. This way, you will learn how to pitch to them.
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Follow the 80/20 Rule
80/20 rule is a marketing rule that states that users should promote their own work 20 percent of the time and share other things 80 percent of the time. If you keep on sharing what you do time and again, your followers will get bored with your content and run away from you.
To keep your followers, share fresh content that relates to your writing work. Find out the posts that people are interested in and apply the same.
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Don’t purchase Followers
If you want to use Instagram to become a better writer then you need to avoid shortcuts such as buying followers. It’s true it does not cost you much, but the followers you buy aren’t interested in your content and they might not comment or like what you share. Use the organic way to gain followers to get real followers interested in your writing work.
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Share Your Work Regularly.
If you can, post on a daily basis. This will make you stand out as a pro in your work and Instagram will also recognize you as an active user. Find out the perfect times during the day where your posts are likely to get the most attention. If you write content for teens, then the best time to post is around 9 a.m. Try this out until you are aware of the time and day when your posts get the most engagement. Also, you can see the times the authors you follow post on Instagram and post yours during the same time as theirs.
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Share Tricks and Tips
You need to post helpful information to help people find out how to do something. Like you might decide to share information about how you became a writer, the challenges of becoming a writer, what to avoid if you want to become a better writer, and more.
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Be Realistic
Your posts should look like you are a person and not a robot. Share photos of your life outside your writing career. You might post photos of your pet here. This way, you will not look like other authors who are only focusing on selling their books and nothing else. And by doing this, you will sell more because people like to have a personal connection with others and they are likely to get interested in your work.
Conclusion
You may think that the points shared here are a no-brainer but for a beginner who is still trying to find out how social media works, knowing them is helpful when you want to become a better writer. Note that these tips are not going to bring better results in one day; it will take some time before you start to get good results out of them.
Also, don’t just think that Instagram is the only social media platform to help you become a better writer. You can try all the potential social networks to see which one works well for you. Choose your writing niche properly and see how other popular writers have used the platform to better their writing. And then try to write something that will wow people and makes them want to follow you.
On the same note, don’t forget to follow other writers, readers, book bloggers and authors as this is the best way to know how to go about things.