You probably have everything you need to get started

Instagram can seem like a lot of work—photography, captions, hashtags, stories, reels. Like you’re supposed to become a full-time content creator while trying to run a business. But for most small businesses, Instagram doesn’t have to be nearly that complicated. In fact, one of Instagram’s biggest advantages is that it requires very little writing, very little technical knowledge, and almost no special equipment.

You already have a camera in your pocket. You already have things happening around your business that people might find interesting. And if you have a Facebook business page, you can connect the two accounts and publish to both at the same time. The trick isn’t figuring out how to become an Instagram influencer… it’s figuring out what’s worth sharing.

Instagram is basically visual storytelling

At its simplest, Instagram is a place to show people what’s going on. That makes it particularly well suited to small businesses because you don’t necessarily need to sit down and write a 500-word post every time you want to say something. A good photograph and a sentence or two can be enough. And those photographs don’t have to be professionally produced. We’re not talking about a glossy advertising campaign. We’re talking about giving people an occasional glimpse of your business, your people, your community, and the things that make your business what it is.

• You just washed the delivery truck? Take a picture.
• Somebody brought their dog to work? Take a picture.
• “Employee of the month?” Take a picture.
• Staff members arm-wrestling on lunch break? Take a picture.
• You’re attending a conference or community event? Take lots of pictures.

The bar for photography on Instagram is remarkably reasonable. Nobody expects every small business to have a professional photographer on staff. You don’t need to understand aperture or own a $4,000 camera. You mostly need to pay attention.

Is the subject actually interesting? Is there enough light? Is the thing you’re photographing reasonably well framed? Is there something happening in the picture that someone might care about, or find interesting, or entertaining? Something lots of people might be able to relate to? If yes, take the picture.

You may have more to photograph than you think

This is where many small businesses get stuck. They think: “What would I possibly post?” If you sell a product, the obvious answer is to photograph the product. But that doesn’t mean your Instagram feed should become a catalogue. In fact, the product itself may be less interesting than everything surrounding it.

A chiropractor, for example, could photograph new equipment, an interesting piece of technology, a staff member demonstrating a useful stretch, a community outreach event, a conference, a seminar, or a milestone at the clinic. With appropriate permission, they might also show the people and interactions that make the practice feel welcoming and human.

• A restaurant has its kitchen, staff, ingredients, suppliers and the preparation of food—not just finished dishes.
• A landscaper has projects in progress, dramatic before-and-after shots, equipment, crews at work and seasonal changes.
• A retailer has new arrivals, interesting displays, staff recommendations and the people and places behind the products.

A professional service business might have much less obvious subject matter, but there’s still a story to tell. Your office, your team, an event you’re attending, something you’re learning, a community organization you’re supporting, or even an interesting detail about how you do what you do can all help people understand the business behind the logo.

And that’s the point. People don’t want to see your business advertised to them. They want to see your business.

The Facebook connection makes it even easier

If you’re already using Facebook for your business, Instagram becomes an especially easy addition. The two platforms can be connected so that a post created on Instagram can also be shared to Facebook. And for many small businesses, Instagram-to-Facebook is a surprisingly good combination because the basic ingredients work well on both platforms: an image, a short description and perhaps a link or call to action.

The reverse — Facebook-to-Instagram — isn’t quite as straightforward, in my opinion. Instagram posts rely on imagery, where as Facebook imagery is usually complementary, and often come tied to rants and diatribes that nobody wants to read. A compelling photograph with a concise description can work in both places. A Facebook diatribe pasted underneath an Instagram photo probably won’t.

Don’t turn your Instagram feed into a flyer rack

There’s an important distinction between being visible and being annoying. One of the easiest ways for a business to make Instagram boring is to treat every post as an advertisement.

New product! Buy now!
20% off this weekend!
Another house just listed!

Certainly you should promote your products, services, and events. That’s part of having a business account. But if every post is essentially an ad, there’s not much reason for anyone to follow you.

Think about what makes you stop scrolling. It’s usually something that catches your eye, makes you curious, teaches you something, makes you laugh, shows you something you haven’t seen before, or gives you a glimpse into somebody else’s world. Your business can do the same thing.

A real estate agent, for example, might get more mileage from showing an interesting architectural detail, a neighbourhood they know well, a behind-the-scenes moment at an open house, or a local market update than from posting another photograph of a house with “JUST LISTED!” splashed across it.

The same principle applies almost everywhere. Don’t use Instagram as a digital bulletin board. Use it for networking, and as a window into your business.

The best Instagram photos are often the least “commercial”

This is probably the biggest mindset shift for a small business. You may assume that people want to see the thing you’re selling. Sometimes they do. But usually customers are more interested in the people, places, processes, and personalities surrounding what you sell. That’s partly because good imagery gives people something that traditional advertising doesn’t: a sense of familiarity.

They get to see the person behind the business. They see the shop on a normal Tuesday. They see where something comes from. They see your staff laughing at an event. They see what your workplace looks like. They see the season changing.

None of those things necessarily sells anything directly, but they can make a business feel more familiar, more approachable and more real. And familiarity matters when someone is deciding who to call, where to shop or which local business to trust.

One of our clients is now Instagramming like a pro

We have a client, DiLiso’s Fresh 2U Produce, whose Instagram presence is a great example of how little you actually need to make this work.

When we first suggested the account, there was a perfectly reasonable question: What are we going to share? It’s a produce business. How many pictures of vegetables can you really take? As it turns out, quite a few!

The feed has become one of the most naturally interesting parts of the business’s digital presence. The photographs are colourful because, well, produce is colourful. They reflect what’s fresh and what’s in season. They give followers and potential new customers a sense of what’s available. They show the kinds of products that interest retail customers directly to wholesale buyers.

And there’s something else going on. The feed feels like the business, rather than advertising for the business. You can see what’s fresh. You can see the seasons changing. You get a sense of what’s popular. And because food is something virtually everyone has an opinion about, the subject matter is naturally relatable.

Nobody needs to be convinced that a beautiful display of fresh produce is worth looking at. That’s a pretty good recipe for an Instagram account.

So what’s the recipe?

It really isn’t complicated.

1. Take pictures of interesting things
2. Share them regularly enough that people remember you’re there
3. Keep the captions short when a short caption will do
4. Show people the human side of your business
5. Avoid turning every post into an advertisement

And above all, look for things that might be interesting to others, even if you feel they’re everyday boring, rather than things that are merely available to sell.

You don’t need to post every day. You don’t need to chase every new Instagram feature. You don’t need a professional camera, a professional photographer or a social-media strategy with a 47-page content calendar. You just need to start noticing your own business differently. Once you do, you may be surprised by how much there is to see. And that’s really the beauty of Instagram for a small business. It doesn’t have to be another job. It can simply be a way of letting more people see what you already do.