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I was in high school when I uploaded my first Instagram post, and now that I’m almost 30, I can say for sure I’ve changed a lot since then.
The same can be said for the social media platform, and those changes have led to a few pros and cons of Instagram marketing.
With Instagram being around for so long, you may wonder if the platform is still relevant in marketing or if the pros of Instagram marketing still outweigh the cons.
Fortunately, I asked an expert for her thoughts, and I consulted the findings of our most recent Instagram Marketing report.
Here’s what I’ve discovered:
In our 2024 Instagram Marketing Report, 88% of responding marketers say Instagram marketing has been effective for their company this year.
Furthermore, 71% of marketers who sell products directly within the app say its social shopping features yield high ROI.
With those numbers in mind, I’d say Instagram marketing is still valuable and effective in 2024. Samantha Meller, head of social media at HubSpot’s The Hustle, agrees—but with a condition.
“Without a doubt, I’d say pretty much every brand should be on Instagram,” she says. “That said, the traditional playbook of Instagram has gone out the window.”
Meller says marketers must be nimble and adaptable to succeed on the platform.
“You can’t just rest on your laurels of what’s worked in the past,” she says. “You must always continue to innovate and have that ear-to-the-ground mindset about what’s happening right now that you can relate to your business.”
Moreover, think about how your content can provide value to their audience.
For example, one of my favorite Instagram accounts is Fenty Beauty. The makeup brand doesn’t just post gorgeous images of its products; it also uses Reels and Stories to show its audience how to use the products for timely looks.
Its latest video features a tutorial by beauty influencer Alegria Jimenez, showing viewers how to create a holiday look.
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While Instagram certainly has its value in marketing, it’s not without its challenges. I asked Meller about the pros and cons she’s experienced in Instagram Marketing. Here’s what she told me:
Like 40% of marketers in our Instagram Marketing Report, The Hustle’s top goal on Instagram is to raise brand awareness.
“It’s a way for us to connect with our audience and to reach potentially new audience members who would ideally turn into customers at HubSpot,” she explains. “It’s a way for us to showcase all the different content we’re doing across The Hustle brand, such as videos, podcasts, long-form editorial stories, our newsletter, etc.”
Meller notes that Instagram followers are more valuable than on other platforms because they are more invested in the account and its content. They’re also likely to continuously see your content.
“When you follow someone on Instagram, it’s a lot more of a commitment than following someone on TikTok,” she says. “If you’re following someone on Instagram, it’s because you want their content to appear in your feed. But, if you follow someone on TikTok, you still might not see their content for months.”
“Instagram is valuable in finding out what type of content our audience is into, what kind of stories they want to hear about, and what they don’t want to hear about,” Meller explains.
“I’m a big believer that knowing what your audience doesn’t want can be even more helpful or valuable than knowing what they do want.”
Meller says The Hustle uses these insights to enrich its content, including podcasts, newsletters, and more, both on and off the platform.
54% of marketers say their goal in 2024 is to increase engagement on Instagram, and Meller says engagement is one of the platform’s perks.
“We’ve made many changes to our Instagram and social media strategy in the last few months, and we’ve seen some really exciting metrics come out of our new strategy,” she shares.
“We’re getting a big increase in impressions and engagement, which means our audience is responding to our content a lot more than they had been in the past.”
Interacting with your audience is the most popular and fruitful strategy for engagement. You can do this by replying to comments and sharing images and videos of your followers using your products.
This pro didn’t come from Meller. Instead, it is my own observation as both a creator and an Instagram user. Instagram has implemented new features and algorithms that help push your content to new audiences.
For example, collaborative posts allow for the same content to appear on two different accounts. Let’s say I’m a smaller business that managed to have a well-known creator showcase my product in their Instagram content.
Said creator can post the content in collaboration with my account and their followers will see both my account and the product, granting my brand more exposure.
Instagram is also experimenting with showing recommended accounts on users feeds.
If there is one thing my creator friends and I complain about about Instagram, it is its constantly changing algorithm. Meller relates.
“Instagram’s algorithm is always doing something new. Just when you think something’s working, it changes, and something isn’t working,” she says. “You could have one week or month where your content is really hot, and then the next month, you’re thinking, ‘What’s going on? Did people forget about us?'”
New features aren’t always bad, but they can be overwhelming for marketers if new rollouts are constant and if these features are pivotal in getting your content seen.
“A lot of social managers joke that every time Adam Mosseri posts a video, there’s panic,” Meller laughs, “because we’re thinking, ‘Now what? What feature are they going to introduce that the algorithm is going to favor, that we all have to bend over backward to cater to so our content continues to be seen?'”
Again, this isn’t from Meller, but based on my own observations.
For many marketers, influencer marketing seems out of reach — after all, don’t you have to spend big bucks to partner with mega influencers? Fortunately, there are ways to incorporate influencer marketing into your budget, even if you’re a small or upcoming business.
While it seems like a best practice to partner with influencers with many followers, HubSpot’s Instagram Engagement Report says your efforts are more worthwhile if you partner with influencers who may have fewer followers but a more engaged community (known as micro influencers).
Micro-influencers provide smaller, highly engaged audiences without the hefty price tag of a mainstream celebrity, making this type of marketing more accessible to various brands.
With 86% of marketers saying influencer marketing was effective for their company, I still say it’s worth a try.
“There’s a lot of competition with not only other brands or content on the platform but also Instagram itself is competing with other apps, such as TikTok,” Meller explains. “All the apps are vying for your attention, so the more other platforms grow in popularity, the fewer people are going on Instagram.”
To summarize, Instagram is challenging for many brands because of its unpredictable algorithm, fierce competition, and constant rollout of new features that must be prioritized.
But, Meller says marketers shouldn’t let these factors intimidate them. Instead, they should roll up their sleeves and start researching.
“I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing for the better part of a decade now,” she says, “and there’s a bunch of resources, newsletters, and people that I follow in the social media space to make sure I have a pulse on everything.”
Here are some sources Meller’s recommends:
“For better or for worse, I am just so chronically online. I’m ways consuming content, reading, watching, and listening,” Meller says. “I like being in the know. That’s what makes a good social media manager. You really do have to live and breathe being online, online culture, and knowing what people are talking about.”
Instagram constantly evolves, but it remains an excellent platform for businesses trying to increase brand awareness and audience engagement. That said, it’s not without its challenges, such as an ever-changing algorithm.
However, the above resources and tips can help you navigate the platform and build a valuable Instagram marketing strategy.
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