Instagram

What it does

Instagram is a social network built around photos and video. People follow accounts, see posts and stories, and message each other. Businesses and creators can switch to a professional account, which gives access to business features such as insights and Meta's APIs.

For a business, it is three things at once. It is a place to publish content to followers, a channel for conversations through direct messages and comments, and an advertising surface that you buy through Meta Ads.

Why you would need it

The pain is simple. If your customers spend time on Instagram, a business that is absent or posts at random loses attention to competitors who show up. The same applies to service providers whose proof is visual: before and after photos, products in use, people at work.

Used well, Instagram gives you a steady stream of proof and a place where customers ask questions. Messages and comments turn into leads, and posts give your ads and website something to link to.

Where it fits

Instagram sits at the top of the funnel next to LinkedIn and YouTube. Content ideas and design assets come in, for example from Canva. Scheduling tools such as Buffer, Metricool and Later publish to it through the Instagram API. Followers, messages and ad clicks flow out to your CRM or inbox tool. Help Scout, for one, lists Instagram messaging as a channel.

It replaces nothing on your list, but it often replaces a weak website blog as the place customers first meet you.

What stands out

• Professional accounts. Business and creator accounts can use the Instagram API for publishing, comments, messaging and metrics.
• Messaging API. Professional accounts can manage Instagram and Facebook messages in one place through Meta's Messenger platform.
• Sharing to Stories and Feed from other apps, and embedding of posts on your website.
• Shared ad system with Facebook. Ads for both run through Meta's ad tools, and email tools such as Mailchimp can sync audiences to both.

My take

I'd use Instagram when the product is easy to show and the customer is a consumer or a small business owner. I'd treat it as a channel to test for ninety days with a fixed posting rhythm before judging it.

What I'd watch is dependency. You rent the audience from Meta, and reach, formats and rules change without notice. Collect emails or leads off the platform as early as you can.

Verdict

Pick it when your customers are on it and your offer looks good in a photo or a short video. Skip it when your buyers are mostly senior B2B decision-makers who live on LinkedIn, or when you cannot commit to posting regularly.