All business owners want to know how to grow their business. I always advise them to be on social media. Nowadays, there are so many different types of social networks to choose from. All of the social networks are important in their own ways, especially for different kinds of businesses. If someone were to ask which network they should be on, if they had to choose one, I’d recommend Instagram.

Why Choose Only One?

You might think when starting a business that you should jump onto every social network that exists. This is where you would be wrong. Jerry Potter’s YouTube video “How Many Social Networks Does My Business Need?” explains that it’s best to focus on one social network when you’re starting. This allows your business to stand out on one, rather than getting mediocre results from multiple platforms. Potter says that once you excel on your first platform, then you can think about adding more. I would argue that starting with Instagram is the best option.

Why Instagram?

My reason behind choosing Instagram is that I strongly believe it’s the most versatile platform and it can work well for a wide variety of businesses. All social networks have their differences in how they are used and therefore how we post on them. What I think is so cool about Instagram is that it combines so many different types of social media into one platform. An added benefit is that this allows your business to work on various types of content, even when focusing on one social network. This will come in handy later when you add more platforms because your social media team will already have the experience of creating the different kinds of content.

What Does Instagram Combine?

Instagram manages to incorporate four of the seven types of social media into one platform. In the Hootsuite Blog, “7 Types of Social Media and How Each Can Benefit Your Business,” Sarah Israel describes the different types of platforms. The first type of social media that Instagram has is their separate app Threads, a traditional social networking site, which Israel explains is a great way to communicate with your audience and promote any useful information. Although Threads is technically separate from Instagram, the two platforms are very much integrated. Users can select to follow the same accounts on Threads that they are already following on Instagram. Threads profiles can also be linked in an Instagram bio, allowing easy access. The Instagram app even shows some popular Threads in the feed and users can easily click to Threads through this. The second type of social media that Instagram has is what they’re most known for, which is image-based social media. Israel discusses that this is great for visual storytelling and social commerce. Social commerce is an excellent tool for businesses selling products. Instagram allows you to easily tag the products in your photos and users can shop right in the app. Instagram also has Reels, a short-form video social media. Israel says that short-form video content is great for creating more brand awareness. I would agree with this from my own experience as a social media user. I have found a lot of new brands through watching short-form videos. Israel also points out that these types of platforms always have new trends, so you can create content even when you’ve run out of ideas. The last type of social media that Instagram has is livestream social media. Livestreams are a great way to interact with your audience directly by answering their questions or showing something new and seeing their immediate reaction.

Conclusion

If you want to create a social media presence for a brand and you want to start with just one social network, Instagram is the way to go. Its versatility will give you the benefits of being on a lot of platforms at once, but it allows you to focus your resources on one.