How are you using Instagram for marketing?

[Ned Marcus]

Is anyone here making Instagram work as a marketing tool? I've just started and am still playing with it. Definitely not worked it out yet.

How are you using Instagram for marketing?

 

[Plinto]

I'm not into the marketing aspect yet, but my wife and I have discussed options for the future, and one thing that constantly comes up is BookTok. Its like a subcommunity on Tik Tok where people promote their work in authentic ways. Instagram seems pretty straightforward, but in terms of popularity and "modern" approach, Tik Tok is one of the most active right now.

 

[Finchbearer]

I’ve just deleted my Instagram profile that I had for years because the platform has just become so oversaturated with crap. I think that there are too many features now, once it was all about posting photos, then the platform became a place where ordinary people could monetise their posts, so then you have an onslaught of ‘influencers’ trying to peddle Hello Fresh or whatever big company is currently doing an influencer campaign. Then of course you have stories, and now reels. There is a bit of a book review community over there but it’s nowhere near as popular as booktok as mentioned above. You can also post your TikTok reel to both Instagram and Pinterest. As a marketing strategy you could approach bookfluencers, otherwise what is your own content centered around?

Maybe I should mention that a lot of people are moving over to Threads along with a number of decentralised platforms, or which I couldn’t tell you the names of for the life of me. Decentralised platforms have the advantage of potentially reaching your niche audience better.

 

[pmmg]

Just another thing becoming a different sort of monster.

Incidentally.... Hellofresh is America's most popular mealtime kit, it takes the stress out of food... And its easy to use.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I occasionally drop in a book cover or a graphic poem or something of that sort but I'm not very ambitious about promoting the writing there. Instagram is mostly where I post pictures of the designs I offer on tees and merchandise, which is an whole other business (though the two overlap occasionally). Is it useful for promotion? Don't really know but I figure it doesn't hurt any.

 

[Insolent Lad]

Maybe I should mention that a lot of people are moving over to Threads along with a number of decentralised platforms, or which I couldn’t tell you the names of for the life of me. Decentralised platforms have the advantage of potentially reaching your niche audience better.

I moved over to Mastadon (having finally and permanently given up on Xitter a while back), specifically mastodonbooks.net. Yet to see whether it's effective for marketing but the vibe is way, way better.

 

[Prince of Spires]

How are you using Instagram for marketing?

I'm not. But from what I've read, many people are using it similarly to TikTok. Make small clips that draw interest to the book. Post other photos to draw attention, that sort of thing.

Other than that, most people seem to use it to connect with Bookstagrammers. As in, people on instagram who post stuff about books.

 

[Ned Marcus]

the platform has just become so oversaturated with crap.</p>

I don't doubt it. But this seems to be true of TikTok, too. And pretty much every other major platform.

Maybe I should mention that a lot of people are moving over to Threads along with a number of decentralised platforms, or which I couldn’t tell you the names of for the life of me. Decentralised platforms have the advantage of potentially reaching your niche audience better.

I've looked at Threads, but it doesn't look active enough yet. It's growth has slowed recently. I'd use it if I thought it would work

 

[Ned Marcus]

Just another thing becoming a different sort of monster.

Incidentally.... Hellofresh is America's most popular mealtime kit, it takes the stress out of food... And its easy to use.

We must navigate a world of monsters! And, perhaps, get them working for us.

I've never heard of Hellofresh. Is that a type of monster, too?

 

[Ned Marcus]

Post other photos to draw attention, that sort of thing.

Other than that, most people seem to use it to connect with Bookstagrammers. As in, people on instagram who post stuff about books.

I've been trying these ideas. Too soon to see whether they will work for me.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I don't specifically use Instagram, and specifically make sure my FB ads don't run on Instagram as it tends to ramp up spend without effect. My latest experiments rather conclusively demonstrated that for low-budget advertising (at least) FB outperforms Amazon ads for me, and I stick them in the Feed and only the FB Feed. Nothing else. One shape, one ad, nothing too fancy.