Hey bookish besties! <3
I think we’ve all heard at least once in our lives since we started a Bookstagram (Instagram for books) that engagement is everything, that publishers and brands reach out if you have a good engagement, not even the follower count matters anymore T.T
But let’s rewind
Why engagement is so important, and what is it exactly?
here’s the thing nobody tells you when you’re starting out: instagram doesn’t show your content to all your followers anymore.
the algorithm looks at your engagement rate and decides “is this content worth showing to more people?” if your engagement is high, instagram pushes your post to the explore page, to people who don’t even follow you yet. If it’s low? it gets stuck.
here’s the formula (I promise it’s the only math):
engagement rate = (likes + comments + saves + shares) ÷ followers × 100
example time: you have 5,000 followers and your last post got 200 likes, 25 comments, 40 saves, and 15 shares. that’s 280 total interactions ÷ 5,000 × 100 = 5.6% engagement rate. You can use social cat website to automatically do the calculations, click here.
this is especially important for bookstagram because:
- we’re trying to build a community, not just collect followers
- if you’re selling digital products (reading planners, templates, etc.), you need people who actually SEE your promos
- the book community is so engaged compared to other niches – we should be using that to our advantage
- saves and shares are huge for book content (people LOVE saving book recs and reading challenges)
what counts as “good” engagement?
real talk, it depends on your follower count. smaller accounts usually have higher engagement rates because your audience is more tight-knit.
here’s the general breakdown:
- 1-3%: you’re doing okay, but there’s room to improve
- 3-6%: solid! algorithm is working with you
- 6-10%: bestie you’re thriving
- 10%+: are you a wizard? teach me.
For bookstagram specifically, I see a lot of accounts in the 4-8% range if they’re doing things right. Book people are engaged people (we literally sit and read for hours, we’re committed like that).
the different types of engagement (and which ones actually matter)
saves = the VIP of engagement. when someone saves your “12 books that changed my perspective” post or your reading tracker template, instagram thinks “wow, valuable content” and boosts you.
shares = also huge. if someone’s sending your post to their book-loving friend or sharing to their story, that’s valuable. It means your content is good enough that they want to be associated with it.
comments = great, especially if they’re real conversations, “nice pic 🔥” helps a tiny bit, but “omg I just added 5 of these to my tbr, which should I read first?” is what instagram wants to see. This is why question prompts in captions work so well.
likes = cute, we love them, but they’re the least powerful now.
how to actually improve your engagement rate
okay so you know what it is and why it matters. now what?
create saveable content. Book recommendation lists, reading challenges, tracker templates, tips for reading more – anything people want to come back to later. I literally plan at least 2-3 “save-worthy” posts per week.
ask questions that people actually want to answer. Not “what are you reading?” (overdone) but “what’s a book you DNF’d that everyone else loved?” or “be honest, how many books are on your currently reading pile right now?” specificity gets more responses.
use the save reminder. I’m not saying do this on every post, but on your really good content? a simple “save this for later!” or “bookmark this for your next reading slump” works. People need reminders sometimes.
post when your people are actually online. Check your instagram insights. if your audience is most active at 8pm, don’t post at 2pm and wonder why engagement is low. I post my best content (the stuff I really want to perform) during peak hours, for me that’s 3pm, if you are not available to post at your peak hours, just make sure you post when you are available to engage before/after.
make carousel posts. They get more engagement because people swipe, and each swipe counts as an interaction. Plus you can pack more value into them.
engage 10 minutes before posting. Go to your following tab and engage with everyone who you follow for ten minutes, this signals the algorithm that you are active and your new post will be pushed out to those people.
respond to every comment (at least in the first hour). This signals to instagram that your post is creating conversation, which = good content = show it to more people. also it’s just nice and community-building.
what about when you’re trying to monetize?
this is where engagement rate becomes REALLY important.
Brands and collaboration opportunities to get book mail, look at engagement rate more than follower count now. I’ve seen people with 50k followers get passed over for someone with 8k but a 7% engagement rate. why? because that smaller account has a more engaged audience who will actually click links and buy products.
when you’re selling your own digital products (like I do with reading planners and templates), your engagement rate directly impacts sales. If instagram isn’t showing your promo posts because your engagement is low, nobody’s buying.
the thing nobody tells you about engagement as you grow
your engagement rate will probably drop as you gain followers. Not everyone who follows you will engage with every post, and the bigger you get, the more varied your audience becomes.
engagement rate is one of those things that seems like annoying influencer math until you realize it’s literally the key to getting your content seen.
you can create the most beautiful bookstagram posts, have the best reading tips, sell incredible digital products… but if your engagement rate is low, instagram isn’t showing your stuff to anyone, and if nobody sees it, nothing else matters.
BUT (and this is important), don’t let engagement rate drive you crazy. Don’t start creating content you hate just because it “performs well.” The sweet spot is content that YOU love creating that ALSO gets good engagement. For bookstagram, that’s totally possible because book people are genuinely engaged people.
quick action steps:
- check your last 10 posts and calculate your average engagement rate (I’ll wait)
- identify which posts performed best and why
- plan 3 “saveable” posts for this week
- add engagement-boosting questions to your next 5 captions
- stop stressing about follower count and focus on the people who actually engage
Make sure to check my youtube video on this that I created a few months ago and also my Canva templates with 80 made for you posts to save time in creating.
Here is my cozy Youtube video where I talk more about this <3: