Before we start, just a couple of notes on Facebook which tie into Instagram for reasons not the least of which have to do with Meta, the company that owns both Facebook and Instagram. First, Mark Zuckerberg revealed some details to Joe Rogan in a recent interview having to do with the Government (FBI) “informing” Facebook employees about the possibility of Russian hacking and misinformation during the 2020 election. When Facebook detected this they limited the reach that organic posts have and seemingly haven’t restored it for other reasons Even though it’s their space this should concern you in the course of trying to get your organization noticed on social media and the consequences of going against their fact checkers. “Getting banned” from Facebook is now a joke used in comedy routines.

The second piece of news is more on topic here in that a recent interview from a company I deal with as they were talking to an expert on TikTok noting how much Facebook, Instagram, and others are altering their ad strategies to compete against a company with 1/60 their market share…for now. This leads us to Instagram which, among the video adn image sharing sites, was here first making a name for themselves in multimedia before anyone else. Instagram is the original content platform for images, memes and especially videos. Instagram’s model is that you follow friends, and get to see their content, just like Facebook. The difference is that where Facebook leads with articles and posts of words along with pictures and video, Instagram leads with pictures and video with words optional. With that said, it’s becoming more like TikTok every day adn in later posts we’ll explain what that means.

All this is to say that if yu want to make money on Instagram or attract ore customers, you need to shift your thinking from trying to attract as many followers as you can as in times past. Instead, focus on the content you make treating Instagram, and videos on it, as but one outlet to spread the word about what you offer. Instagram at present, like Facebook and unlike TikTok, leverages the power of Meta ads and their local targeting capability. You can hyper-target groups or small areas that TikTok can’t match yet. This brings a better bottom line value for your ad spending.

So what does this all mean for the average small business? First, you should be using Instagram in conjunction with Facebook for your video ads and content. Dont’ worry as much about images or articles with Instagram. Second, learn to repurpose videos by recording them for making them compatible sizes for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and more for maximum value. Finally, focus on the content of your videos and make them interesting standing out for the right reasons that attract positive attention. This is how TikTok is disrupting social media and why all the big names are moving to copy them. Instagram is worth your time and your money creating content even though you have to advertise it to get it noticed.