The world has turned to social media for ideas. Companies, publishers, and possible sponsors do as well. If you don’t exist on social media, then you simply don’t exist. And if the numbers aren’t in your favor, then it’s even harder to catch the attention of much needed help. That’s why marketing on social media, especially platforms like Instagram, gets you ahead of the curve and in front of more people. Customer base, sponsors, product creators, publishers. Everything you need is an account and some savvy market knowledge away.
Quick note: I’m still working on the marketing side of my platforms. I’m no where near perfect which is why I’m qualified to speak on this. Here’s why: I know the struggle, I know the fear of watching things rise and fall. I’ve consulted many, many sources in order to find the answers I need and I’ve talked to people who are doing better than me with followers and likes. I’m in the same ocean you’re trying to navigate, and I’m hoping my side will give you a little help and a little hope.
TIME!!!!!
Number one thing we need to cover: progress on social media takes TIME!!! A whole lot of it. This point is partly why I waited so long to get started. That and fear that nobody would like me. Anywho, like everything in life, time and effort need to be put in and even more time needs to pass before the fruit produces. You’re introducing yourself to the world; it’s gonna take a minute before you hit a hundred likes or fifty follows.
There are ways to get ahead. A friend of mine was part of another account’s giveaway and because her content matches the topic, a lot of those people followed her. But she had family and friends as her supporters for a long while. Some do hit the thousands when it comes to followers, but the real key is growing a connection with your base and increasing through them. Again, it’s slow, but every path will take time.
Content 6: Instagram Profile Theory
First time I heard about Content 6 was in a Serious Writer course I purchased. If you haven’t heard of it, you’ve probably unknowingly seen/done it. Content 6 is a list of six broad topics about you. These six things showcase you to the world and define your brand. They also determine your posting content. All six might not be in the photo, but if you look at the first six panels of a bio, you’ll see them collectively.
Coupled with Content 6 is photo quality. Don’t ask me why, but the picture is everything. It should tell a story, be engaging, and look similar to everything else you’re putting out. That means filters or a common color. I’ve had filter success with VSCO; the free version offers a lot of options and allows you to keep one created filter, but one is all that’s needed. A lot of people like Canva for graphics; I have an account and play with it here and then, but preferences always vary. The same trick won’t work for everyone so you have to find what describes you best.
Hashtags/Commenting
I knew very little about hashtags before I started my business account. Since then, I’ve been continually learning. Think of a hashtag as a file folder; if you want to see images of books, look up #book and you’ll get images from many, many instagramers. Attaching hashtags to your posts puts them in these folders so more people can access them and find you.
Before using a hashtag, look it up and scroll through the content. Does your post fit this category? How many people post into it? For example, #blog is crammed with all kinds of bloggers whereas #authorblog is a little narrower and the content is more focused. I use both because a broad market will put me in front of many people who might follow and a narrower market brings me closer to people of the same thinking.
Next is commenting, and this takes some effort. Adding a hashtag gets you in the folder, but commenting on similar posts spreads your name around. Go into a hashtag you used, look through the top posts, and comment on them. Be intentional; getting a response takes more than a smiley emoji. Gary Vaynerchuk’s $1.80 method says to comment on the top 9 posts of 10 of your hashtags.
I tried this method and you do get some results, but because of time and me not wanting to sit on social media for forever, I’m trying a similar, modified method. Follow a hashtag that you normally use or fits your Content 6 (I have #bookstagram) and when posts appear in your feed, comment to the ones you like, no matter the number. The $1.80 method’s purpose is to get your name on different people’s posts and therefore in front of different eyes.
Commenting on posts is the key, so doing so in a hashtag or on people your following works too. This way I can still be intentional with posts and converse with people without searching a lot of hashtags (I’ll be increasing the number of hashtags I follow though). Some good ways to get responses is by asking relevant questions; I also like answering the poster’s questions or congratulating them on a success.
Consistency
If you post every day, post every day. If you post Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, post on those days. Consistency is how often you post, when a post goes out, and what the overall look is. Everything must be cohesive and connected.
I may have taken such methods too far by mapping out a schedule of what goes out (Bible verse, author quote, short story, personal story, character study, book appreciation, blog post), but there are people who only post quotes and memes. That means consistency is how you define it. As long as the theme is pink and doesn’t suddenly become green, you’re all good.
Evaluate
Consistency can get twisted in this area. Evaluating posts is taking an inventory of what works and what doesn’t. Which style gets more likes, which is viewed more, etc. Facebook has designed the Creator Studio where you can create and schedule content for Facebook AND Instagram (this tool has been an absolute blessing and makes life way easier). In this studio, you can click on a post and get stats on the likes, interactions, and outreach of the post. It even divides who found the post through their home feed and through a hashtag (meaning you learn the success of your hashtags).
Evaluating posts means checking if the engagement is where you want it or not. For example, I thought I was a genius to create a quick graphic based on a song lyric I liked. Success was very marginal and didn’t hit anywhere near my hand-drawings or even the apology doodle I made one time. Through that evaluation, I changed Mondays until I hit quotes (though everything else in my schedule eventually changed too). Figure out what is most important, normally engagement, and see how your posts fair. Try a style for a month, record the numbers, and see if there needs to be a change or more time to allocate info.
Final Thoughts About Instagram
I’ll reiterate that time is a huge factor. Time for research, for posting, for writing, for commenting, and for WAITING. Time is big and it will feel like a waste. Especially when you come across accounts with thousands of follows but only a hundred posts. Or when your feed fills with stylish, quirky pics and it makes no sense how it got fifty likes in two minutes when yours got ten in two hours. That’s the challenge with social media; you get the filtered, professional end of everyone else’s chaotic or expensive mess instead of seeing the grind you personally go through every day.
DON’T GIVE UP! If it wasn’t hard, everyone would be an Insta-star. It’s the people who put in the time and effort (and sometimes money) that move forward and grow their base. The engagement seems low now or the followers keep dropping, but that’s okay. Because tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities for you and your Instagram. Stay on track and keep grinding. The marketing end is easy; the process and upkeep is constant effort. But you CAN do it.
