How to Grow your Poetry Instagram
Are you a poet with an Instagram account? With the ever-growing presence of social media, marketing yourself as a poet and growing your Instagram account has become a necessity. While it certainly may feel intimidating, anyone can learn how to market their poetry on Instagram with some helpful tips and strategic planning.
It is important to start by setting clear and attainable goals. Before you begin, consider what your account is all about, who your target audience is, and what you are hoping to achieve. Making a plan with objectives such as gaining more followers, likes, and engagement can help to provide your content with intent and focus.
A key element to Instagram success is visibility. Strategies like utilizing hashtags and geotags are essential to helping other Instagram users find and view your posts. Using relevant and popular hashtags specific to your poetry niche can help to boost visibility and engagement. You can also follow other poets and post regularly to increase visibility.
The type of content you post is also important for gaining followers. Creating multimedia content such as videos, graphics, and interactive stories can attract more attention than just one form of content. You can also create posts that integrate both visuals and your poetry; posts such as collages and poetry complete with relevant images.
You can also use other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Tumblr, to connect with your followers and widen your reach. By integrating other platforms, you create multiple opportunities to connect and interact with followers. Engaging with other poets and spreading your poetry across multiple platforms is key to building a strong and active followership.
When using Instagram to promote yourself and your poetry, it is important to ensure that your account is professional. Making sure you have a consistent theme and aesthetic to your account can create an overall cohesive look that followers will appreciate and recognize. You can also use tools like BuzzSumo, Twitter analytics and Followerwonk to track metrics and gain insights from followers.
In the end, whether you are just getting started or you are an experienced poet, growing your Instagram account is a great way to bring your poetry to more people. With strategic planning and creative content, anyone can learn to leverage their account and promote their poetry.
Hashtags are the absolute key to improving the visibility of your content. Not only do they help your posts get seen, but they make it easier for people to find you and discover your account. You can research hashtags relevant to your poetry niche, or create your own original hashtags to differentiate yourself. Geotags can also be beneficial in certain contexts; including a geotag on your post allows followers to easily search for other content in the same geographic location.
Hashtags are also useful for hosting contests and collaborations on your page. You can create a custom hashtag and encourage followers to use the hashtag when participating in the contest. This strategy can help to increase interaction, engagement and reach.
In terms of specific hashtags, aim to include approximately 10 relevant hashtags per post. Too many hashtags can appear excessive, while too few can limit visibility. If a post has a story that is unique and impactful, users may give it more attention if they know it is crafted by a poet. Including #poet, #poetry and #spokenword are some of the hashtags you can use.
Tip #2 – Aesthetic and Tone is Important
Many users appreciate an Instagram account that features a consistent aesthetic and an organized layout. Keeping your account visually appealing and making sure each post coordinates with the overall theme of your page can help you build a professional page.
The tone of your posts is also key; try to keep your posts positive and engaging. Making sure to highlight yourself and the work you do, not just the work of other poets, will result in more engagement. A good way to stay positive is to interact with other poets and share their work on your page; for example, you can thank them for their poem with a brief description on why it resonated with you. Doing so will not only promote their poetry but also showcase your support.
Tip #3 – Relevant Graphics and Design
Using graphics, design, quotes and other visuals are key elements in making your Instagram page more eye-catching and engaging. The Instagram algorithm recognizes the work you are putting in, and will prioritize posts that have more graphics, text and interactive elements, such as polls and surveys.
Creating visual elements such as typography and calligraphy is a great way to make your poetry stand out. Additionally, you can use tools such as Canva to create uploaded graphics for posts and stories. Graphics, infographics, and visuals are all great tools for helping draw in your followers and increasing engagement.
Tip #4 – Collaborate with Other Poets
Collaborating with other poets is a great way to build relationships, enhance visibility, and increase followers. Leveraging cross-promotion to showcase your work and the work of other poets you support can be beneficial for both parties. This can include inviting fellow poets to be featured on your page, or engaging in joint content creation and collaborations.
Utilizing the shoutout feature is a great way to connect with other poets and introduce yourself to new audiences. Doing so can lead to more potential collaborations, further visibility and more followers.
In addition, engaging with other poets at events is also beneficial. Attendance at open-mic events, book readings, and other poetry gatherings can be great opportunities to meet other poets and obtain shoutouts, which can result in potential collaborations and more followers.
Tip #5 – Track Your Data and Metrics
Using analytics services to track your followers and learn more about your audience can be a great way to gain insights on how to improve your page. Keeping track of followers, likes, comments, and feedback is important for understanding how your posts are being received and for refining your content strategy. Tracking your numbers can also help when making decisions on which collaborations to pursue and how to allocate resources.
In addition, analyzing competitor pages can help provide insights on how to better market yourself and improve your page. This is also a great way to stay up to date on the latest strategies and trends to get your work seen.
Tip #6 – Leverage Other Social Media Platforms
In order to increase followers and reach, social media platforms such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest can be great tools for promoting your poetry. Setting up a website for your poetry can also be beneficial for further promotion. Cross-promotion across multiple channels can help to create a bigger following and increase your visibility.
Creating content such as video, audio and podcasts is another great way to engage followers and promote your work. Releasing a podcast or video series on YouTube can help to spread your message and reach new audiences on multiple platforms.
Utilizing other social media platforms can also be great for obtaining feedback and obtaining insights on the current trends and topics. Through Twitter and other platforms, you can track conversations to better understand what followers are engaging with and interested in.
Tip #7 – Frequency and Timing
Having a game plan for when and how often you will post is essential for growing your page. Being consistent with your content and posting regularly will help to promote your page. You can use an app such as Hootsuite or Buffer to set up posts in advance and plan ahead.
Timing can also be important for when to post for best engagement. Posting during peak hours when followers are most active can help receive the most engagement and reach. Experimenting to see which hours and days of the week yield the most engagement can help inform when to post in the future.
Finally, mindful spacing of posts can be important for the overall look and organization of your page. Spreading out your posts over a day or week can help create a clean and aesthetically appealing look to your page.
