Using Instagram Stories and Reels to Boost Book Sales and Reader Engagement

Using Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories for book marketing may or not be a vague concept to you depending on your familiarity with and overall attitude toward social media. Nevertheless, Stories and Reels are indispensable marketing tools for any author—especially those who are publishing their first book and marketing it mostly by themselves.

Stories and Reels are a great way to capitalize on the popularity of video as a form of content. Even better, they are short-form content, so they have an even better chance of being viewed by even the most casual viewer, especially if they are your target audience and your posts are right on the money in terms of subject matter, tone, and creativity. They are an excellent way to communicate directly and promptly with your audience—which is how you establish connection. Let’s explore this.
 

Instagram Reels and Stories—What’s the Difference?

First things first: How do Reels and Stories differ from each other? 

They differ in terms of audience. An Instagram Story is normally content created to engage loyal followers. An Instagram Reel, on the other hand, is a public video created to attract potential new followers (that is, your target audience and potential readers). Instagram Stories are more personal, Reels are less so and are more focused on your brand, your product/service, etc.

Learn more: Reels, Stories

Heads Up!

Before we get into how to boost your book sales and reader engagement through Instagram Stories and Reels, take note first of a few important thing about using Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories for book marketing.

Changes are constant on IG.

Expect random drastic changes to Instagram’s algorithms, features and layout. Changes in algorithm, in particular, can result in glitches that will affect your number of views. This in turn can potentially affect your book sales. If using a marketing tool that is in a considerable state of flux stresses you out beyond normal, then it’s probably best to look at more stable alternatives. 

Technical issues can lead to loss of files.

Troubleshooting technical issues with the app often involves uninstalling and reinstalling it on your device. This results in loss of saved drafts. (Interestingly, uninstalling the app will not cost you your saved sounds.) Prevent loss of files and waste of time by always saving your drafts to your phone before uploading them. 

Views don’t always translate into book sales.

Be wise to the reality that a high number of views don’t necessarily mean robust book sales. As in thousands of view for one post (or thousands of views for multiple posts, for that matter) could generate zero sale. And believe it or not, that’s fine. That’s just how it goes, and you should not let it frustrate your book marketing efforts, because as it turns out, you’re just getting started, as we will see later.

How to Boost Your Book Sales and Engage Your Readers with Instagram Reels and Stories

Now that you have a clear idea of what to expect from using Instagram Reels and Stories for book marketing, we can look at the ways you can leverage Reels and Stories to boost book sales and increase reader engagement. 

1. Personalize and customize trend-based posts.

When creating Reels, remember to make use of entertaining clips and catchy music—not all the time, of course, but do keep in mind that Reels are often lighthearted content, perhaps the equivalent of a warm “Hello” and a clever observation. 

Trends abound in Reels and Stories, which are useful in your marketing efforts if you approach them smartly. With trends, you’ll want to think beyond getting exposure in a bigger audience pool to building your brand courtesy of the choices you make for your posts. Rather than simply copying what others are doing in their posts, do something different but consistent with your author brand. 

Personalize and customize your posts—that’s how you create engaging content that makes a positive impression on your audience (readers and potential readers). For instance, with trending Reels sounds, many users tend to copy the post of the original poster or go for the literal interpretation of the Reels sounds, but why not find a different angle? For example, you can use a trending beach-vibe music for your Instagram Stories featuring your cat lounging on top of your keyboard while you’re trying to edit your book. Or you can create a promotional reel using the same beach-vibe music for your rather dark psychological thriller as a beach read, in which case you’ve just added a rather comic twist to your trend-based reel. 

Here’s a useful article to get you up and running on your “trendy” Instagram Reels and Stories.

2. Use and follow hashtags.

The right hashtags can help increase your visibility and discoverability among your target audience. This in turn can yield an increase in engagement, number of followers, and more books sold. But that’s not all. Not only should you use hashtags, you can also follow them. Following hashtags keeps you updated on the latest posts that are relevant to your genre, your book’s subject matter, your book specifically, your author brand, etc. This is all your posts that directly reference your work should include your book title as a hashtag, along with your name. The best place to start with hashtags to follow is #BookTok. This hashtag allows bookstagrammers and authors to showcase content focused on books and writing.

Here’s how to use hashtags effectively: 

• Include your name and the title of your book. 
• Use the appropriate hashtags if your post is about a specific event, person, topic, etc. 
• If using time-specific hashtags, use them within the appropriate time frame (e.g., #WorldBookDay2024).
• Use all relevant hashtags for essential posts that require widespread attention, but prioritize the most important ones. 
• Use no more than three hashtags are ideal if you want to engage your audience on a more personal level. 
• Observe both conventions and exceptions when it comes to style: Hyphenation and the use of apostrophe with possessive forms and the plural of letters, numbers, and other nonstandard terms don’t apply to hashtags. Capitalize every word of your book title and author name headline-style to prevent any confusion and misreading (e.g., #TheThrillOfWritingThrillers, #SeanBayer).

3. Include a description and explanation in book promo reels.

Don’t miss the opportunity to pack your promotional reels with vital information. Use fifteen to thirty seconds of your reel to highlight the most interesting aspects of your book, as well as the most interesting facts about you.

For starters, you can include the following:

• Your reason and/or motivation for writing your book
• Your journey as a writer
• An explanation regarding unique/compelling aspects of your book

4. Repost Reels with the highest engagement. 

If a Reel gets a substantial number of views—or, even better, goes viral—then they deserve a repost. It obviously resonated with viewers, so repost it on Stories for the next batch of new viewers. Reposting is an excellent way of expanding your reach.  You can also pin your popular reels to your profile, or even share them to your feed (use the screen recording or the download method). 

5. Repost readers videos about you and/or your book.

Videos created by readers are an effective—maybe even game-changing—form of word-of-mouth marketing. These kinds of user-generated content, especially if they go viral, are the social proof that signals to your target audience that your book is worth buying and reading. This is where those hashtags come in handy—they allow you to find all the posts pertaining to you and your book.

6. Ensure quality and variety in your content.

Plan out your posts so you can create and edit your videos according to their scheduled posting while ensuring their quality at the same time. Have a content calendar so you can prioritize, as well as plot your posts according to variety. We’re talking about variety in material, subject matter, and tone, among others. Of course, you should have an overall tone that’s consistent with your branding (and perhaps your genre), but you can always go from an outright hilarious Reel to a Story with a more serious undertone. (For example, you share about having a frustrating day of trying to whip a short story into shape, but you talk about it with humor, even though the subject of challenges of writing is serious.)

7. Choose aesthetics that echo your book’s subject matter or story.

Again, consistency is key—this time in terms of your book and the marketing collaterals you use on your Instagram Stories and Reels. When it comes to any flourishes on your posts (like font style, size, color for the text on your video, the treatment of certain images or illustrations, and so on, take your cue from the artwork on your book cover and  the graphics on your website. Uniformity and consistency help emphasize your branding. When viewers see your Reels and Stories, they can immediately recognize them and associate them with you. 

8. Include a call to action in your Reels and Stories.

A call to action (CTA) is the prompt on a website (on multiple webpages, in fact) and social media posts that tells people to perform a specified action. It is a component that you want to make the best use of for your Reels and Stories:  

• to turn viewers into followers
• to increase engagement
• to increased your reach
• to build and intensify brand awareness
• to drive traffic and increase leads
• to increase ROI

In the case of books and authors, CTAs could read like “Buy the Book,” “Read an Excerpt,” or “Watch the Trailer,” along with the standard CTAs like “Sign Up” or “Join the Mailing List,” or “Learn More.”  

With calls to action, you want strategic placement and prominence without getting too “loud,” especially on your website. On your Reels and Stories, you have plenty of options for call to action.  

Here are what you can invite viewers to do:

• follow you
• visit your website
• head straight to your sale page or the online bookseller (e.g., Amazon)
• read a preview of or an excerpt from your book
• sign up to your mailing list (by providing a link to the sign-up form)
• join a promo or contest 
• take a survey
• reply to a poll regarding, say, date or venue for a book launch party or a book signing 
• download a freebie (e.g., a first draft of a chapter from your book or a short story from a collection that is still a work in progress)

9. Post consistently.

Keep these two marketing terms in mind: the rule of 7 and top-of-mind awareness (TOMA).

In marketing, the rule of 7 states that potential customers will need to be exposed to a brand's marketing message at least seven times before they decide to purchase a product or service. This applies to Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories for book marketing. But first, it also means that just because your Reels and Stories are getting massive views, those views may be first-time exposure for many viewers, which means they’ll need to see six more posts from you before they can decide whether or not to buy your book, especially if you’re a first-time author. 

Seven or more posts viewed at consistent intervals (unless, of course, the viewer heads on over to your page and scrolls through your posts) should ensure top-of-mind awareness. That is, you and your book are now among the first in viewers’ minds when they think of books, reading, or your subject matter (e.g., DIY landscaping). 

The rule of 7 and top-of-mind awareness are also influenced by how much viewers trust, like, and/or are impressed by you, as well as by how compelling your book itself is. So not only should you post consistently, it also goes without saying that you post quality content. 

10. Engage the comments section.

Social media allows immediate interaction with your audience, which is why you should make yourself available in the comments section. Read the comments and reply. And by reply, we mean personalize your responses instead of copy-paste a “Thanks!” and a smiley, or just a smiley, as the case may be. And just as important as sincere, personalized response is a prompt reply. Try to respond within twenty-four hours of a comment being posted. If you have ever read a comments section where the poster engages with the viewers, you’ll sense a crackle of energy, similar to the energy in a room filled with people engaged in conversation. That’s the atmosphere you want to create, because the payoff will be people paying attention to you and your book. The Sprout Social Index™ 2023 reports that 51 percent of surveyed consumers easily remember brands that respond to customers on social media. Seems a good number, right?

The Takeaway

Using Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories for book marketing is an excellent way to expand your reach and convert more people into readers and fans. High-quality short-form content in video format that are consistent with your branding and consistently being shared on your Instagram can be a game changing marketing tool, as long as you’re willing to engage with your viewers and/or would followers and would-be readers.