Looking to leverage your efforts on social to reach your goals? Then you had better roll up your sleeves and make Instagram your best friend this year. With a potential TikTok ban pending in the United States, Instagram is the social platform you can rely on for now. Here are our suggestions for how to achieve your goals on Instagram:

BRAND GOAL: Increase Engagement

If you’re looking for engagement, brands report 4 times the engagement on Instagram than on Facebook.

But Instagram has changed a lot in terms of culture over the years. You’re no longer required to show up in an overly polished way, and actively the platform will discourage too many crafted graphics and polished photography. Keep it real on Instagram and show your brand’s personality. A photo snapped on your iPhone is great!

Use the carousel feature, use the editing feature in the app to add some text to your photo, and post!

The main key to boosting engagement is to actually ENGAGE! Reach out – make sure that you are liking and commenting on the content that your audience is producing. Don’t be shy! Engagement is all about creating connections and inspiring others to want to learn more about you.

BRAND GOAL: Improve Reach

To reach new audience members, Reels should be your focus. And to get in front of new people, don’t share them to your feed. Use trending audios and join in on social trends.

If paid reach is an option for you, Instagram advertising remains cost-effective, but the field is more competitive. If paid advertisements are not in the budget, then it’s time to get up close and personal with hashtags and trends.

Hashtags are essentially search terms. So, if your audience is interested in a particular topic, be sure to include the hashtags that pertain to that topic. For example, #dogsofinsta is a highly popular hashtag for dog lovers! If you own a pet store/dog food company/dog walking service, these are your people. Using hashtags on your Instagram content ensures your content reaches people who are already interested in what you do. Create content that is highly shareable (think educational, entertaining, and engaging).

BRAND GOAL: Increase Conversion

By switching to a “business” profile, Instagram will give you the opportunity to link to your business and provide location details in your profile. There are some downsides to this, such as limited access to trending audios.

But the privileges of Instagram ads that can be tailored to drive website clicks, app downloads, or mass awareness depending on your goals.

Whatever your social media goals are for 2025, we are certain that Instagram still deserves a role in your strategy so, have fun with it! Tell your story and be yourself. Your audience will love it.