Instagram for Writers: Tips for Developing Your Social Media Presence

I know what you’re thinking. You’re a writer! What does Instagram have to do with you? Well… it has a lot to do with your success, actually. In this era, you’re not just a writer, but also the face of a brand.

And it’s not just Instagram, but the entirety of social media. But ignore the others for now. In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at what you can do to develop your brand through one of the largest and most popular social media platforms.

Instagram Tips for Writers

Instagram, despite its emphasis on the visual, is still a great place for people of letters. Below are a few tips for setting up your Instagram account as a writer.

1. Write an interesting bio.

Screenshot from Jon Krakauer’s Instagram

An Instagram bio is a short summary of who you are and what you do. It’s located on your profile page, just below your username. Think of it as a short introduction of yourself to your followers.

Jon Krakauer, author of bestsellers Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, keeps his bio short and sweet. It easily tells you his occupation and length of experience, while conveying some of his humor.

If you’re looking to grow your brand, some of the things you can include in your bio are:

Your name (or pen name)
What you write (genre or form)
Something personal or unique about you
Titles of your most popular or recent works
A link to your website and other social media accounts

2. Add a quality profile picture.

Don’t just choose any random photo as your profile picture. Your followers should be able to see what you look like with just a glance—so the picture needs to be clear, clutter-free, and high-resolution.

Keep it simple and casual. Candid photos are seen as more natural than posed, letting your potential followers feel the personal touch in your account.

Marie Lu, known for Warcross and the Young Elites series, has a profile picture that clearly shows her face. It’s also casual enough to feel personal for anyone who checks her profile out.

A few things to keep in mind:

Sizes and dimensions (110 x 110 pixels on mobile, 180 x 180 pixels on desktop)
DON’T use an off-center picture. Keep the creative angles and shots for your posts instead.
Always go for good lighting and good contrast.
Don’t use a full body photo (remember how small your profile pic is in the user interface).

3. Decide on your aesthetic.

Dan Brown separates himself from the rest by regularly using these puzzle-like posts. Each of his posts contains two images: the puzzle image, and a second personal image.

Remember, Instagram is mainly about images. Aesthetically pleasing pages will attract more followers and invite more engagement.

Stick to an overall visual theme to the images you post. By creating your own aesthetic, you’re distinguishing yourself from other IG users.

Since you’re a writer, you can style your photos according to your genre. Horror writers can use darker images, historical writers go for black and white, and so on.

You can develop your aesthetic by:

using a common color palette
taking pictures with similar backgrounds
using the same camera filters and lighting
adding a common element to your photo subjects (a favorite pen of yours maybe?)

Tips for Using Instagram as a Writer

The following tips will help you be easily discoverable by your target audience and stay engaged with your followers.

Use relevant hashtags.

Think of hashtags as Instagram’s funnel: what they do is organize similar content into one place, making photos more easily discoverable for the right people.

So tags not only help you reach your target audience, but also help relevant audiences find you. These users are more likely to engage with you because your content aligns with their interests.

Choose your hashtags according to your content’s subject. A mixture of general writing hashtags and more specific ones could hit the sweet spot when it comes to discoverability

There are tools to help you out in researching effective hashtags. Some of the more popular ones are Hashtagify, Kicksta, and RiteTag. Most of these tools have free and premium versions available.

Some things to keep in mind:

Don’t go over the top with the hashtags. Your content will look spammy.
Always research your hashtags before using them.
Keep the hashtags relevant.
Be consistent with some of your hashtags. The more content you have ranking for the same hashtag, the more visible you are.

Use Instagram features frequently.

The most important features you need to focus on are your IG stories and highlights. They’re great for quickly sending out information to your followers.

Instagram stories are videos and images you can post that will disappear after 24 hours. If they follow you, your stories will appear at the top of the user’s feed.

Highlights (shown above) are collections of your old and new posts. They’re permanent (unless deleted) and can be viewed by people at any time. They’re located below your bio above your Instagram feed.

Ben Hed, creator of the popular Pixie and Brutus comics, divides his highlights into categories, making it easier for his fans to find what they’re looking for.

Things to post in your stories and highlights:

Important information (New book releases, writing milestones, etc)
Products or services (New books, courses, merchandise)
What you’re currently working on or doing (if relevant or interesting)
Short inspirational messages

Add your location.

No, don’t use your home address. When you’re uploading a new post, add a general location, like your city, country, or even your continent. This works because people also search by location, just like they do with hashtags.

Location tagging helps you connect with potential followers in the area. Local followers are more accessible and like-minded to you, which opens up the possibility of a tighter-knit community.

Regularly engage with your followers.

Your overall mission on Instagram is to increase your brand reach. The best way to do that is by growing your followers.

Apart from regularly putting forth excellent content, you can do it by engaging with your audience. By taking time to comment, like, and share, you’re humanizing your brand. Without engagement, social media is just media.

Take Neil Gaiman for example. He’s highly active on Twitter, regularly posting updates on his projects and talking with his followers. Not only is he making his brand more visible, but he’s also promoting loyalty with his audience.

Follow the 80/20 Rule.

Don’t overuse your Instagram account for promotion. Not only does it look spammy, but it will drive away your followers. They don’t follow you to keep up with your products. They follow you because they want to know you better.

A good way to avoid overpromotion is by following the 80/20 rule:

80% of your posts should be personal.
20% should be promotional.

Is Instagram Good for Writers?

Let’s take a look at some numbers:

Instagram has more than one billion active users.
Over 60% of those users log in every day, making it the second most engaged platform after Facebook.
Instagram records an average of 3.5 billion likes a day.
Brand engagement is 10x higher on Instagram compared to other social media platforms.

Those are some impressive stats you can piggyback to grow your brand. The quantity of brand engagement alone should raise your interest. The potential visibility of your works can skyrocket, reaching new readers and developing stronger relations with your existing ones.

So is Instagram good for writers? You bet it is! It’s where the people are. You won’t set up shop in the barren, hard-to-discover corner of the market, will you? You take your products where you’re sure people will pass by, check them out, and hopefully buy them.

What You Should Post As A Writer

So you’ve made an account, added a cool photo, and constructed your bio. What’s next? Here are a few things you can post as a writer.

1. Snippets of your life

The things you post doesn’t necessarily have to be about writing. After all, you’re still human. Post things about your life so your followers can get to know you more.

Take a picture of your work desk. Share a sudden thought. Post about your frustrations and inspirations. The genius here is to relate them to your writing (when you can, of course).

2. Writing quotes

Quotes are an Instagram staple. Whether you post quotes about writing or any other subject, you’re sure to get some engagement. They’re easy to digest and extremely shareable.

You can post your own quotes or from people you idolize. What’s important is that your post evokes emotion from your followers.

3. Promotions, upcoming releases, freebies

Posting about your current or upcoming projects, freebies, or discounts is a great way of rapidly spreading the word. But always keep the 80/20 rule in mind.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a professional designer to create your posts. A simple image designed in Canva will suffice. What matters is you get the word out.

Final Thoughts on Instagram for Authors

Instagram is an excellent marketing tool for a writer. It’s easy, entertaining, and popular. With the proper care, you’ll soon be looking at thousands of followers.

But you have to invest time and effort. Growing your brand is not an overnight process. You’ll start off slowly, but once you gain momentum, things will move at a consistent and rapid pace.

Make sure not to lose sight of your original goals. Your followers follow you for a reason, and if you lose that quality they like about you, it will drive them away.

Have fun growing your brand!

Have you tried Instagram? Share your experiences in the comments below!

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