Looking for Instagram book promotion ideas? That’s no surprise — according to Rival IQ, brands have a 13.5x higher median engagement rate on Instagram than on Facebook, and 27x higher than on Twitter. And in this survey, 87% of people said that they took action after encountering product information on Instagram, whether that was following a brand, visiting a website, or making a purchase online.
If you want to use instagram to promote your books but aren’t sure what to post, take a look at what publishers are doing. We’ve collected some great instagram content ideas thanks to your awesome posts!
You are reading: How to promote books on instagram
The publisher instagrams featured here have their own content strategies, executed with unique goals in mind. While we don’t have metrics on how these campaigns affected book sales, we hope these examples can inspire you, whether you work at a large publisher or are a freelance author.
Also note that we have chosen to display posts in a book promotion style, where one or more books are the focus of the image. But all of these publishers post a variety of photos on Instagram that provide insight into their brands. we encourage you to scroll through their feeds to see what other types of photos they post.
1. post timely content during the holidays.
even when a book wasn’t directly related to an upcoming holiday, simon & schuster presented them in a festive setting to tie in with the event and included relevant event hashtags in the caption to position these captions as holiday gifts and show the photo in member instagram searches.
2. hold contests. get creative with prizes!
knopf regularly hosts sweepstakes featuring author-inspired gifts as prize items, including items like necklaces, shirts and tote bags. these items feature prominently in instagram photos.
3. promote new or upcoming releases.
penguin teen has used instagram to build excitement around new and upcoming books, whether it be entire stacks of them or a single title.
4. display books in relevant and interesting settings.
A common trend is to post photos of books on a table with a variety of accessories. instead, kensington books placed the book in a scene relevant to the book being promoted.
5. show teaser quotes in stunning images.
orion books displayed trailer text in unique ways. They got creative with a timely Valentine’s Day quote from one author and beautiful graphics in words from another.
6. provide a look behind the scenes.
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penguin random house offered insight into their brand and work processes by providing a behind-the-scenes look at their workspaces and shelving.
7. pose with the book and the relevant props.
Instead of taking a direct photo of a book, the Disney post features models posing with the books and holding or wearing relevant props to make the book stand out in user feeds. This could be a great strategy for camera-shy authors!
8. shows a reader enjoying the book.
abrams books published photos showing people reading their books, without revealing each person’s face. another great strategy for those who are camera shy!
9. source photos from fans. give credit where credit is due!
chronicle books created hashtags for fans to submit photos of specific books, offering to share their favorite fan posts using the hashtag. not only did all of those users’ followers see their photos, but chronicle got great content for their feed.
10. present the spoils of a book in an artistic way.
Wednesday books used loot from their books to create imaginative and immersive backdrops for new and upcoming titles.
11. host book giveaways.
When lume books ran giveaways for their books, they made it clear that the pictured book was up for grabs by including the word “gift” in a bold banner.
12. promote temporary offers and discounts.
allison & busby created images clearly advertising his discounts to make sure his instagram followers knew about the limited time price promotions.
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13. marks a book by matching its tone in the image.
bloomsbury used creative props and lighting in her instagram posts to set the appropriate moody or vintage tone for the featured books.
14. show animals reading and/or lying on books.
Viking books used cute and cuddly animals to create shareable content that appealed to book and animal lovers alike!
15. repost great photos and promotions.
grand central publishing reposted beautiful fan photos, making sure to credit the original photographers in the captions.
16. ask questions.
crownpublishing often asks their instagram audience questions, sometimes in the image and sometimes in the caption, to encourage followers to engage with their posts.
17. call related media.
As new TV shows began airing, Harlequin called for books with similar themes, leveraging trending media to capture new audiences. for example, they used the bridgerton buzz to promote their liberated ladies miniseries and the adaptation of virgin river to promote robyn carr’s latest book.
what other ideas to promote books on instagram do you have? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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click to tweet: here are some great ideas on how to promote books on instagram, based on what publishers have been doing! 👀 http://bit.ly/1ul6ldu
click to tweet: how publishers promote books on instagram: ✅ run contests ✅ display books in relevant settings ✅ show sneak peek quotes ✅ behind the scenes looks ✅ show a reader enjoying a book ✅ source fan photos for more cool ideas: http://bit.ly/1ul6ldu
This post was originally published on March 31, 2016 and has been updated with all new examples.
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