With tricky algorithms and plenty of competition, building an organic and engaged following on Instagram is not easy. In order to capture the attention of book lovers scrolling through their ‘Explore’ tab on Instagram, you have to create a feed that appeals to the everyday Instagram user. Get a head start on your social media presence this year and get to work on creating unique content that will truly make your Instagram stand out amongst the rest with these easy tips and tricks.

Find Your Style

Lucky for you, Instagram is chock-full of beautifully constructed profiles, making it easy for you to find the style you’d like to emulate on your own page. Look at the colors, subjects and aesthetic of brands you love and use that as inspiration to launch your own profile. Whether it’s downloading photo presets from your favorite photographers or picking up styling tips and tricks from popular bookstagrammers, finding your style is the first thing you’ll want to do when trying to create an Instagram feed readers won’t be able to ignore.

Learn How to Stage Photos

When it comes to taking pictures of your books or books you’d like to share with your readers, it’s important to understand the ways of staging photos. To stage your photos properly, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• The rule of three - You don’t want to overcrowd your shot with miscellaneous items that don’t contribute much to the photo but you do want to make the shot seem natural. Keep the rule of three in mind while arranging photos, making sure to minimize any possible clutter.

• Lighting - This is by far one of the most important elements of a good photo. Although editing photos can work magic, you can’t correct a poorly lit photo. Keep to using natural sunlight and avoid using the flash on your camera or smartphone.

• Adding human elements - Photos can lose their personal touch when they strictly feature items. Add a hand reaching for the book, have someone take the photo while you read the book, take a photo of the book in your lap—there are endless ways to make these pictures look more realistic and natural. For more inspiration, check out @deebibliophilia on Instagram.

• Learn from the pros - Before you get to taking photos, take a few minutes to see what other book bloggers and readers are doing on their feeds. Find shots you like and try to replicate them with your own props. This is a great way to get practice shooting quality content and finding a style you love.

For more staging tips, check out this article from Santa Margherita.

Quality Content Always Wins

The better the quality of your content, the better your overall feed and engagement. It doesn’t take longer than a few seconds to assess someone’s feed and decide whether or not you want to follow them— the same goes for those looking at your profile. Being selective about the photos you post and only choosing the ones that will work the best for your grid is extremely important. Once you’ve found your niche and know the direction you want to take with your photos, use your best judgment and stick to posting photos others will enjoy and want to see while scrolling through Instagram.

Filters Are Your Best Friend

If you’ve ever downloaded VSCO, you know the power of a good photo filter. If you’re struggling to get all of your pictures to align and look great together, the best thing to do is find a filter you love and apply it to all of your photos. This simple method will increase the aesthetic of your overall feed and ensure that your photos share a common theme. With so many free photo editing apps on the market, it’s easy to find a filter you will like. Once applying the filter, play around with the exposure and contrast of the photo to seamlessly blend together the filter and the photo.   

Plan Your Feed Ahead of Time

While this all sounds like a lot of work—trust us, it is—there are ways to make the entire process easier. Say you’ve taken a batch of photos that you love and are ready to post at any time. Now, you can easily load them into apps that help you plan out your feed. All you have to do is plug in the photos you’re eager to post and move the images around until you’ve found an arrangement you like. Once you know the lineup of your photos, you can draft up posts within your Instagram account and before you know it, you’ll have an entire feed ready to publish.

Learn how to successfully draft Instagram posts now.

Now that you're ready to curate your feed, learn about the best ways to use Instagram as an author and find examples of other writers who are successfully utilizing the platform.