Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over a billion active monthly users. Its popularity among writers and creative types makes it the perfect place to put your work. Launching a creative writing account on Instagram is easy and free, allowing you to build up a following and gain exposure for your work. In this blog post, we’ll tell you exactly how you can use Instagram to promote your creative writing.
Set Up Your Creative Writing Account
To start, you’ll need to set up a creative writing account on Instagram. The best way to do this is through the Instagram app itself. From the home screen, simply swipe right to access the menu, then select Create Account. You’ll see a link at the bottom of the screen allowing you to do this.
Once you have your account set up, log in and click on the gear icon at the top right of the screen. It will take you to your Account Settings page. Here you can change your account name, filter options, and bio.
If you’re happy with the basic details of your Instagram account, you can move on to the next step.
Find a Niche
Instagram is a place for pretty much everyone to share their content. It doesn’t promote or discourage specific topics, so you can pretty much find an audience whatever your niche is. The best way to stand out is to find a topic that no one else is covering. If you can become the go-to source for your chosen topic, you’ll be able to draw in some serious followers.
If you’re struggling to think of a niche, take a look at what other creators on the platform are doing. Explore their content and see what topics they are covering and promoting. You can then use this as inspiration for your own work. If you have a specific topic in mind, it’s a great idea to contact the creators who are already doing well in your niche and see if they’d be open to discussing collaborations.
Start Building a Following
Instagram doesn’t just promote content, it also allows users to follow and connect with others. So, to attract and retain followers, you need to be posting regularly. Not every picture needs to be gorgeous, with the perfect lighting and the perfect outfit. Just give some interesting content that will make your followers interested in your work.
To get started, follow these steps:
- Find a niche for your blog
- Find an interesting story to tell
- Post regularly
- Respond to comments
- Use hashtags
- Use the @ mention feature
- Follow and engage with creators
- Build a community
- Use platforms like Pinterest, Hootsuite, and Buffer to gain exposure
- Use online marketplaces like Shopify, Stripe, and PayPal to gain distribution
Post Great Content
If you’re looking to grow your Instagram account, the best thing you can do for yourself is to simply post great content. It doesn’t really matter what your niche is, as long as you’re posting interesting and entertaining content, people will come back for more. To get started, simply use the #bloggerprobonopepromo or #probono when you’re posting to Instagram to gain exposure and encourage potential clients to reach out.
When you post great content on Instagram, people will notice. They might not all follow you, but they’ll certainly notice your content.
Instagram Stories
Instagram launched Stories as a replacement for the old Instagram feed a few months back. The key difference being that stories are curated by the individual users themselves. So if you want to get your work out there and have it noticed, stories is the place to do it. To get started, just open the Instagram app and you’ll see a pin icon in the top right corner. Tap it to go to the home screen, then select stories.
Stories is a great place to post because it means your content will be seen by a potentially larger audience. It’s also one of the few places on the platform where you can actually engage with your followers. If you have a profile on Instagram, you can also reach out to users directly through messages. To post to stories, simply find a piece of content that’s about 10 seconds long. Larger posts will usually fit better in a story, but try to keep these to once every two weeks.
Most Popular Tags
To figure out what other creators on the platform are doing, you can use the popular tags feature. To access this, simply visit your Instagram profile, then tap the three dots in the top right corner. This will bring up the menu, from which you can select More. On the pop-up menu, you can select Popular Tags.
Some creators might just use popular tags to promote their content or to gain SEO benefits. However, you can also use this to find content that’s already been tagged with your chosen tags. To find images that are tagged with your chosen tags, simply search for these tags (with quotation marks) in the search bar, then scroll down the results.
If you’re looking for inspiration, simply open up the Instagram app and search for your chosen tags. You’ll then see a list of content that’s been tagged with your chosen tags. You can use this to find content that’s already been done, saving you the effort of having to re-invent the wheel.
Hashtags & Geography
If you want to use hashtags in your posts, you need to make sure they’re relevant to what you’re posting. If you don’t know how hashtags work, take a look at this handy guide to understanding hashtags in Instagram.
As for geography, if you’re not familiar, Instagram is a place where users can post from all over the world. To find your local Instagrammers, you can tap the three dots in the top right corner of the app, then select Nearby.
From the Nearby screen, you can select the city or region you want to see content from. You can then tap the map to see a list of Instagrammers in your area, whether you want to follow them or not. Just remember, if you’re posting from outside the United States, you might want to consider whether or not you should be using hashtags or geo-tags. The United States government has a no-posting policy on social media sites like Instagram, so if you want to post from America, make sure you have a VPN set up before you go live.
Instagram Slides
Instagram introduced a new feature known as Instagram decks a few months back. These are like regular Instagram posts, but with a vertical video front and center. The difference being that they can be used to highlight products or services, and can also be used to tell stories. To access these tools, navigate to your Instagram profile, then tap the three dots in the top right corner. This will bring up the menu, from which you can select Videos or Instagram Slides.
If you want to use videos to tell stories, Instagram slides are a great choice. To create one, tap the video icon, then select Create Slide. From there, you can add images, videos, or a mixture of the two.
As for videos, if you want to use them to highlight and engage with your audience, Instagram videos are the perfect choice. To create your own video, navigate to your Instagram profile, then tap the three dots in the top right corner. From there, you can select Videos or Create Video.
Use Videos To Tell Stories
Instagram stories are a great place to post because they’re curated by the individual users themselves. This means anyone can follow along and see content that’s relevant to them. If you want to get your content out there and have it noticed, stories is the place to do it.
To create a story, navigate to your Instagram profile, then tap the three dots in the top right corner. From there, you can select Stories or Create Story. Once you have your story set up, add videos, images, or a mixture of the two.
Videos are a great tool for storytelling because they can be used to add a human element to content. To use videos in your stories, simply find a clip of yourself or an interesting event and add it to your story. You can also add short videos of yourself talking about what you’re posting.