How to Grow Engagement On Instagram

If you've felt the effects of the Instagram's algorithm recently, I understand. It's an inconspicuous being that wrecks how many unique visitors will see your posts but I have cracked several ways that will promise more engagement. My Instagram, @pardonmywritings, is a bookstagram. If you haven't come across the 11,969,203 posts under #bookstagram, they are styled photos of books. Some of the tips below therefore refer specifically to bookstagrammers.

1. Find your niche.

Find what ticks for you and make your page an expression of everything you love. For me that was books and the power of the written word hence my username, @pardonmywritings. You can only find what your niche is by experimenting however. I love to travel my city and always end up with a lot of photos of bookshops and parks in London. After posting about books strictly for a year, I had a sudden urge to share these other interests and I'm much happier with this amalgamation.

2. Interaction is key.

You can't expect to post a beautiful picture of The Wrath and The Dawn and gain a hundred likes in twenty minutes. Maybe in a pre-algorithm era. Legend has it that replying to comments beneath your post, interacting with pages you follow and commenting on posts under the hashtags you used within the first hour boosts your posts up on Instagram. Replying to comments also shows that you care that someone has taken the time to respond to your post. 'How do I get a lot of comments?' you may ask. Ask questions in your captions that will prompt responses. Questions like 'what's on your tbr?' or 'what did you think of Kite Runner?'

3. What you post matters. 

This is said with a heavy heart because Instagram was (read: should be) about people expressing themselves. However it is really about posting your best selves. How many times do you retake the same photo? Or edit it with filters and apps? I'm guilty of all of this. Also, long captions without paragraph breaks can be a turn-off so capture attention with short engaging captions. 

4. Good quality photos.

A clear and bright photo will be more eye-catching so use lighting to your advantage. I prepare and take most of my photos between 10am and 12pm when natural sunlight filters into my room. Others have purchased light boxes to take photos late in the day but again: experiment. Grainy or blurry photos are also not pretty but you don't need to sell a kidney to own a camera. I use my iPhone 6S and while I bought a camera, I'm still, urm, learning to use it. Editing will be your best friend if you know how to. I use three apps: Photoshop Express, VSCO and Afterlight. Experiment filters. Find a editing process. Stick To. It.

5. Consistency is important.

This refers to your feed. If your post carries someone to your page, having more posts in similar styles and colours will appear aesthetically pleasing when scrolling down. Maintaining your posting time and frequency means that your followers can expect your posts. I usually post daily, between 17:00 and 19:00, because more of my Western and Eastern followers are online and I'm free enough to respond to comments and generally interact on Instagram. It's okay if there is a day or two when you can't post but consistency is key. 

6. Have something to offer.

Even though posts of Harry Potter and stacked bookshelves are an easy 1000-likes because they appear on the Explore page, strive for meaningful posts with something to offer. If you consider yourself a blogger, think of yourself as a business or a service. Posting about a book or bookish candle or second-hand bookshop are all recommendations - good or bad - that get people thinking they need to follow you. Be aware of trends and news in the publishing industry like which book was newly released, won the Man Booker prize or found itself in controversial debates. Doing all this may seem like a chore and you may decide you don't want your Instagram going in the direction but if you do, it seems more professional.

7. Be positive.

The important thing is to maintain a positive personality. It doesn't have to be fake but being positive means followers can approach you or are inspired by you. This may be hard especially when you feel disappointed that you're not getting enough attention in return for the effort you put into your posts. But you have to act as though the muggles haven't got you down. Believe me, complaining on your Instagram posts or stories that the algorithm sucks doesn't invite people to check out your posts. It may be out of pity but you want active followers, not sympathisers. If you feel uninspired, take a break from posting to regain motivation. 

8. Hashtags are your friends.

Instagram usually allows thirty tags. Use a mixture of generic ones like:

#instagood #vscocam #photooftheday #literature #reading #books #bookish #booklover #bookworm #bibliophile #bookstagram #vscobooks #igreads #bookphotography #instabook #goodreads #blogger #currentlyreading #blogger #bookgram #classic #epicreads

But having smaller tags help to get your posts seen if you're a smaller account. I would change a few up based on every post such as including the book's title, author or publisher or the props you're using in your post for example #eating #nigellalawson #food #vintageminis #vintagebooks #penguinbooks #penguinstagram to start discussions with people reading or posting the same.

9. Use Instagram story for marketing.

To the best of my knowledge, Instagram Stories isn't affected by the algorithm in the same way as Instagram posts are. Stories is similar to Snapchat whereby your posts disappear after twenty-four hours. Every time you post to Story, your profile icon will appear at the header of yours and others' Instagram interface. A good way to promote a new post is to announce it on Story with fancy handwriting and stickers and again a couple hours later for followers who may have missed it. Stories are a great way to interact with followers in a way that doesn't restrict you to post a really good quality photo.

10. Getting partnership opportunities.

One of the most asked questions I get is how to establish yourself as a book blogger in order to get rep packages or free arcs from publisher or authors. It's not something that has happened to me overnight. I would say that doing all of the above helps establish oneself as a book blogger. Reviewing books, reading and having opinions whilst interacting with your followers promises to publishers, authors or literary companies that you're someobody who maintains an engaging page. Follower counts does matter to some sense because I was getting approached more after reaching 5000 followers but that is not to say someone at 2000 or 500 cannot work with an author or bookish shop.

I hope all those tips help! Let me know what you already know and what you're going to try. Whatever you try, I can't insist enough to make Instagram a reflection of YOU and what you love. What is your experience with the algorithm? 

You can find me here:
•Instagram - @pardonmywritings

•Twitter – @pardonmywriting

•Facebook – Pardon My Writings

•Blog - PardonMy Writings

•Goodreads – Rima Rashid

Is an English Degree Useless? | Responding to Outlander's Diana Gabaldon

Dear Poodles,

I'd like to get something off my chest (figuratively). A few weeks before, Outlander author Diana Gabaldon replied to a fan on Twitter asking advice on her selection of a major. She claimed she was an aspiring writer hoping to study English to which Gabaldon tweeted: 

English major = “Want fries with that?” 🍟. Pick something that will give you enough money to write what you want.

As an English undergraduate in my third and final year, I took serious offence. I may just be overly emotional since my last ever seminar as an undergraduate was this Friday and so the next time I see my lecturers and friends will be on the day of our graduation but. that. was. not. okay. I'm more disappointed with Diana Gabaldon than angry because I love her Outlander book series (the two that I've read so far) and I used to thank her every other day for blessing the fictional universe with the character of Jamie Fraser.

To add insult to injury, Gabaldon decides to explain herself (badly) on twitlonger.com:

ENGLISH MAJORS, in 140 CHARACTERS (or less) So, yesterday, as I was driving from Santa Fe to Scottsdale, I (cont) http://tl.gd/n_1spmnl5 

Everything wrong with what she said:

> The insult to food service industry:

For some employers in this industry, the job is their main source of livelihood. 

> Highlighting that two of her children completed English degrees but one took a nursing degree soon after and the other is a successful novelist and comic book writer despite not viewing the degree 'of value [...] to someone who wants to write for a living.' 

While I am an aspiring writer - have been since the age of ten - I did not necessarily choose to study English because it would make me an overnight bestselling author the second my graduation cap was flung into the air. That's not what happens. Nor does it happen to any other degree - unless you have an internship secured at Penguin or KPMG in the months prior (good on you).

> Suggesting any occupational degree is better than one in English because the practical skills are desired for employment. 

The critical and analytical skills that I have honed at university mean that I can read or hear a piece of information from the news or social media and form my own judgement. My ability to skim/speed read or balance reading several texts play to my advantage when it comes to deadlines as a journalist or presenter. Knowing also how to tailor my writing in an email or letter or over the phone comes from assignments set up as blogs, essays or blurbs.

> Boasting the 'five university degrees' between her husband and herself and the abundance of choice her children had before going to college. 

It's clear that Diana Gabaldon comes from a privileged background and that's grand and all but many students do not possess the luxury or funding to be so carefree. In the current political and economic climate, university fees are only getting more expensive making the choice of 'the degree' even more important (and stressful).

> Thinking the content of her dabble in an English minor from the 70s has remained somewhat similar to English degrees in 2017.

After three years at it, I can proudly say that my degree has been one of the most valuable things I've done so far. I'll explain how. Yes, we read three or four novels, plays or poems a week that range from the Medieval, Renaissance, Postcolonial (my favourite) and modern age but the exposure to the 'cultural history' as Gabaldon phrases it is far greater now in a world that is demanding more diversity in literature and institutions alike. This representation varies across universities but it is the one that I attended in East London that made me 'woke'. A popular term originating from the 2013 'Black Lives Matter' movement, 'woke' is used to describe someone who thinks for themselves and is aware of how racism, classism and sexism affects our daily lives.

Some of the best books that I've discovered came through my degree (and I'll update this post-graduation). They are:
- Dreaming of Baghdad by Haifa Zangana (about the psychological trauma of Iraqis under Saddam's regime)
- Things Fall Apart by China Achebe (breaking racial prejudice surrounding rural Africans)
- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (which highlights the beauty and difficulty of migration).

Was anything she said right?

Diana Gabaldon should have saved herself the trouble and just replied to the aspiring writer in 140 characters that no degree guarantees immediate stardom (if I just did it, she can). An English degree is as useful as any other degree. The world needs scientists and engineers just as much as it needs historians and artists. 

I've always known that writing is a precarious lifestyle but if you've made it, YOU'VE MADE IT. However, having spoken to and being friends with several rising authors through my Instagram account, they frequently advise to have a stable job unless you're happy to eat takeaways for a long time. That's all sound, USEFUL, advice but discouraging a fellow writer from studying English is not. Especially when for many, the desire to write stemmed from a love of literature. How can you separate the two?

Study English. Or study what your heart (and reason) wills.

*** Did you study or are you studying an English degree? What did you make of Diana's tweet? ***