The answer to this question used to be “maybe” or “yes, if you have the time”, but with the addition of Instagram Ads, the answer has shifted to a strong “yes”.
Sure, there are quite a few limitations of Instagram that bug us. It’s a hassle- it’s hard to schedule, you can’t have multiple accounts under a single login, you can’t upload photos from your laptop, and you deal with a lot of spam- just to name a few. Some of those issues can be alleviated via tools (we LOVE Schedugr.am), but they cost money or don’t fully fix the issue. For whatever reason, Instagram loves to take their precious time when added features that are no-brainers (why the heck did it take so long to add non-square images?).
That being said, Instagram Ads make it all worthwhile. The fact that it’s part of the Facebook Ads platform (something you should be running anyways) makes it super easy. You get to use Facebook targeting and the clicks are still pretty cheap. Also, Instagram is a great opportunity to show off your brand. The whole platform is a big exercise in branding.
Try this: take a bunch of photos one day of your business, employees at work, behind-the-scenes stuff, etc. Spread them out over months. Boom! There’s your content for your business’s Instagram channel.
And run Instagram Ads sooner than later. In the meantime, enjoy the Short Answer video on the topic…