Best Practices for Podcasters on Instagram
Social media is an important tool for any brand, business, public figure, and yes — even podcasters! The evolution of social media platforms and their capabilities are ever-changing, but one platform you should consider using is Instagram.
According to AdEspresso by Hootsuite, there are nearly 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram, with 50% of them active daily. Instagram’s unique leverage against other social media platforms is its requirement to include visual elements like photos or videos before making a post, story, or reel.
However, you do not have to be a professional photographer or graphic designer to make your Instagram presence known! Here are a few simple tips and tricks podcasters can use for Instagram:
Make use of the Carousel feature.
The basic goal of any social media strategy is to increase engagement with likes, comments, or views. Unfortunately, content variation is increasing, attention spans are decreasing, and algorithms are changing. Each of these prevents your posts from being seen by everyone. Fortunately, the Carousel feature does more than allowing you to share a collection of up to 10 photos or videos in one post.
If you design the Carousel deck carefully, you can get Instagram users to interact with the post as they swipe through the collection. Podcasters can create a cover page to tease a podcast episode, then swipe to a headshot, audiogram, graphic quote, or other visuals to further promote that episode. Check out this example.
If you are an entrepreneur with other products and services, you may want to learn more about “mobile education” posts.
Include hashtags but don’t overdo it!
Hashtags have been an effective way for digital marketers to categorize their posts since 2007. Instagram is hashtag-friendly, meaning you can include them on your posts or stories to be featured in that category. Instagram users can also follow specific hashtags to always see related posts on their feed.
There are various reports about how many hashtags to use, but do not overdo it! Hashtags become overwhelming for followers if they see large amounts of black and blue text together. To clear the clutter, you can post the hashtags after a few spaced lines or in the comments section.
Create a Linktree page and include it in your Instagram bio.
One caveat to using Instagram is its inability to conveniently share links. According to Business Insider, only verified accounts or accounts with 10,000+ followers can share a “swipe-up” link in an Instagram story.
All Instagram users can share a proper hyperlink featured in their bio, or post links as plain text in captions. Unfortunately, a typical follower is not inclined to open their mobile web browser and type the web address character-for-character.
With new links for new episodes being created all the time, podcasters can use Linktree!. Linktree is “[a] free bio link tool used by…brands, creators and influencers.”
You can create a unique, mobile landing page that provides users the opportunity to share multiple links to other landing pages (i.e. podcast episodes, podcast website, etc.) Users can also edit, delete, and rearrange the links on their Linktree. If you are an entrepreneur with other products or services, you can share links to your personal webpage, book, contact form, etc.
Once you place your Linktree link in your Instagram bio, you can simply write your captions on posts and stories saying, “Link in bio!”
Share Spotify podcast episodes directly to your Instagram story.
In 2018, Spotify and Instagram announced a partnership to make it easier for users to share their favorite Spotify sounds on Instagram — including podcasts! If you distribute your podcast on Spotify, use the mobile app to share episodes directly to “Instagram stories.”
You will automatically switch to the Instagram app, with an Instagram story draft. Once you publish the Instagram story, your followers will see a new button on the top left that says, “Open with Spotify.” If they click on it, the Spotify app will automatically open to that episode, ready to be consumed!
BONUS: “Copy” photos in to make collages on your story.
When sharing a podcast episode from Spotify through Instagram stories, the episode art will be displayed on the screen. If you do not change the episode art before publishing that episode, your podcast show art will be shown by default. However, the episode title will change every time.
If you would like to add a different image like a headshot through the Instagram story, you can “copy and paste” photos from your camera roll. Here’s a suggested guide on how to do that.
Christopher Morales is the Social Media Director at Turnkey Podcast Productions. If you would like to learn more about our social media services offered, contact social@turnkeypodcast.com for a free consultation.
