Instagram is a visual platform relying on beautiful images to catch the attention of the everyday scroller. Many creatives have found wonderful success on IG, especially photographers and visual artists. It seems exceptionally suited for their creative outlets. But what about those of us who are word artists, aka writers? I’ve often heard writers ask how they could use a visual platform like Instagram to create a community.
What many people may not realize is there is already a large community of writers on Instagram, so it is possible for writers to find a home there.
But what can you post besides pictures of your book?
And what if you don’t have book yet?
Or what if you aren’t even planning to write a book?
How do you use Instagram? Hopefully, I can help with a few ideas on how you can utilize Instagram as a writer, so you can join the growing community of writers and readers who already populate the platform.
Five Posts Writers Can Post on Instagram
Pictures of books
Yes, of course you can post pictures of your book, but don’t overdo it. Instead, be a good writing community citizen and share pictures of the books you are reading. I hope if you are a writer, you are also an avid reader and people love to see what writers read. Don’t be afraid to be creative with your pictures because the book photo game is strong on IG. But even if you post basic photos it can get noticed.
Pictures of your life
People love to see your personal side, so share as much as you are comfortable. I often share photos of things like my coffee/tea cup, or blurred photos of pages from the book I’m reading (which is a different kind of post than a picture of the actual book), with some sort of cool background. I share pictures from travel locations or flowers or really whatever I find interesting. It helps that I love to take photos and consider myself a bit of an amateur photographer, but you don’t have to be a photog to take attractive pictures.
Selfies
Yes, I said it. And I hate them, too. And honestly, I rarely post them. But even I must admit that posting selfies of you doing something interesting is always a good way to win over scrollers. Again, it helps make you and your writing more personable and easier to connect to. People are more apt to follow and share if they like the person behind the words.
Shots of your posts on Twitter
Twitter is known for its large writing community, so I bet you are over there tweeting away. Take some of your more interesting posts and screenshot them to create Instagram posts. I see writers do this a lot and it not only provides you with content for Instagram, it also cross promotes your social media platforms. It is a win-win!
Word graphics
This is one of the best ways to get your writing noticed. Create a graphic out of a line in your work in progress or an inspiring quote from an article you are writing. People adore quotes. I am no exception. Creating quote graphics are simple with tools like Canva – a writer’s new best friend.
Bonus
Short poetry graphics
Some say Instagram revived poetry. I don’t know if that is true, but it is certainly popular. A graphic with a short poem on a plain background will likely get noticed by poetry and other word lovers. If you are poetry inclined, don’t hide this talent any longer. Use it to showcase your voice and promote your writing.
There you go, five ways to use Instagram (plus a bonus) if you are a writer. I didn’t talk about the captions you should write that goes along with your awesome new visual content, but you are a writer, so I’m sure you’ve got the words.