Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Louisa
If you’re looking to start a Bookstagram, you’re going to need to read closely. Bookstagram, a term given to an Instagram account dedicated to books, is a fast growing niche on social media.
Everyone and their nan is now sharing their favorite reads online, so it can be a challenge to stand out against the masses.
Whether you want to grow your audience, or spark more engagement, here are some top Bookstagram tips for boosting your engagement, growing your audience, and keeping a loyal social following.
The Best Bookstagram Tips for 2023
1. Define your niche
Before you start posting, think about what makes your Bookstagram unique. Is it your love of rare books or perhaps you want to dedicate yourself to your love of romance books?
By defining your niche, you’ll attract a specific audience and stand out from the crowd.
However, don’t be too niche. You’ll find there are many very niche romance tropes like “brother’s best friend romances” which just don’t have the large following that general romance does.
I recommend you find a genre that you love and stick to that.
2. Take great photos and reels
Bookstagram is all about the visuals, so invest in a good camera or smartphone to capture high-quality images.
Play around with angles, lighting, and props to make your photos pop.
Be sure to define a style and stick to it in every photo. You want to be consistent with what your putting out there so that people recognize your style.
Reels have really taken off in 2023 and are excellent for getting your Bookstagram exposure. Invest time into learning how to do fun transitions, pick a fun and upbeat music, and make your reels stand out.
You can learn about transitions by following YouTube tutorials.
3. Engage with your followers
You’ll hear a lot of social media markets talk about engagement a lot, and this is because it’s absolutely crucial for keeping your followers after you’ve got them.
If you ignore people’s comments, they are likely to unfollow you.
So be sure to keep up with your engagement when building a community on Bookstagram.
Respond to comments, ask questions, and participate in book-related discussions with your followers. Use the stories to run polls and quizzes, and give your followers a chance to ask questions as well.
Your followers don’t want to feel invisible, so make sure you are regularly giving them opportunities to engage with you.
4. Collaborate with other Bookstagrammers
Collaborating with other Bookstagrammers can help you reach new audiences and build relationships with like-minded individuals.
Consider co-hosting a readathon, reading challenge, or book club, or participating in a photo challenge together.
5. Be genuine and authentic
Above all, be true to yourself and your love of books. Don’t chase likes or followers by posting content that doesn’t align with your values or interests.
Once your following grows, you will start receiving outreach from people asking for exposure on your account that are just not in your niche.
Bookstagram is a community built on authenticity, so even if you’re being paid $10,000 to share a lawnmower – you’re probably going to lose a lot of trust in your audience if you do.
Be true to yourself and share your thoughts and opinions honestly and respectfully and stay true to the overall goal of your Bookstagram.
6. Use eye-catching captions
Eye-catching book captions on Instagram are a crucial component of a successful Bookstagram as they are the foundation for sparking engagement.
With thousands of Bookstagram posts being shared daily, it’s easy for your content to get lost in the noise. Using an eye-catching caption can make your post stand out and capture your audience’s attention.
They can also help contextualize your photo and give your followers more information about the book you’re sharing.
If your goal is to grow your audience, it’s your first impression, so you want to make sure you put in your best effort when captioning your posts on Instagram
7. Ask questions
Using Bookstagram questions in your captions is an effective way to engage with your audience and encourage interaction.
It can spark conversation among your followers and not only have them talking to you, but also with other book lovers.
You can also use questions to encourage your followers to provide feedback on your post, such as whether they’ve read the book or what they think of the cover art.
This can help you better understand your audience and tailor your future posts to their interests.
It also helps them to feel more connected to you as a person, and not just someone behind a screen. This personal approach not only allows you to engage with your followers but keep your followers loyal.
8. Run competitions
As your account gets a bigger following, you might want to start running competitions.
Running competitions can be a fun and effective way to engage your audience, as well as expand your reach by having participants share posts.
A competition is a great way to reward your loyal followers for staying with you, as well as show what kind of brands or authors you value and recommend.
9. Use the appropriate hashtags
The best way to grow your audience is to use hashtags.
And yes, they are still relevant. You might not find people using hashtags as a tool to browse on social media, but what they do is tell social media engines what your post is about.
By including hashtags, you can tell search engines, “Hey this post is about a new romance book” and Instagram can say “Great, Nancy was looking up new romance books recently, I’ll display this post on her feed.”
Bish bash bosh, engagement.
A great resource for finding hashtags is Best-Hashtags.com.
10. Know the best time and day to post
Knowing the best time and day to post when sharing on a Bookstagram can significantly impact the success of your account.
Typically, a good time to post on Instagram, according to Hootsuite, is early in the week, between 9.00 am and 12.00 pm.
You want to schedule your posts for when your audience is most active as this will increase the likelihood of your post being seen by more people.
What you don’t want to do is post while your audience is sleeping, otherwise, they will never see your post.
Posting when your current followers are online will give you more success, as they are more likely to share your post and offer you more visibility.
Final Bookstagram Tip
My last and final tip for you is to manage your expectations. Growing a social media following takes a really long time, especially if you want to do it organically.
By following my tips for Bookstagram, you can build a thriving Bookstagram account and connect with fellow book lovers from around the world in no time.
Just remember, Bookstagram is all about sharing your love of books, so have fun and let your passion shine through. Happy posting!
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