How Instagram Fell to the Bottom of My Marketing Priority List
For years, Instagram was the backbone of my business. It wasn’t just a platform; it was the strategy. I poured my energy into creating content, curating my feed, and engaging with my audience, convinced that success lived in the algorithm’s good graces.
And for a while, it worked.
Back in 2019 and 2020, Instagram was a powerful tool for building connections and attracting clients. Because of the pandemic so many of us were spending a lot more time online, so it makes sense that Instagram would be successful at that time. But over time, the return on investment, both in time and energy, began to dwindle. By the end of 2021, and a return to "normal," things were shifting. Then, by 2023, it was clear: I was still showing up for Instagram, but Instagram wasn’t showing up for me.
No matter how much effort I put into crafting engaging posts, it often felt like I was shouting into the void. Engagement dropped, reach became unpredictable, and ultimately, the platform no longer felt like a sustainable way to grow my business.
The Rise of Social Media as a Career Path
Like many millennial entrepreneurs, I came into adulthood during the girlboss era. I graduated college in 2014, at a time when the job market was still recovering from the 2008 financial crash. Traditional career paths felt uncertain, and social media was emerging as the hot new industry to break into. Many of us were navigating this landscape in real time, pioneering careers in a field that had no rulebook.
When I graduated, I not only struggled to find a job in biology (I earned a degree in Human Biology), but I also realized I didn’t want to pursue that field at all. Around this time, brands and businesses were rapidly growing on Instagram, and I saw the potential of social media as a career opportunity. My intuition (and the Aquarius in me) just knew this space was going to take off. And it was. In the wellness space, brands like Yoga Girl and Tone It Up skyrocketed to fame. In the small business space, influencers like Jenna Kutcher and Danielle LaPorte were becoming household names. I even saw friends of mine thriving and building entire businesses on Instagram.
The dream Instagram was selling felt real. Success and abundance via social media seemed completely attainable. It was the new frontier, where anyone with enough grit, creativity, and consistency could build a brand, a following, and a lucrative business. The proof was everywhere. Businesses were thriving, influencers were securing brand deals, and everyday people were transforming their passions into full-time careers. It felt like all it took was mastering the right strategy, understanding the algorithm, and staying ahead of trends. And so, we were all trying to achieve that dream—one post at a time.
Eventually, I started supporting small businesses with social media marketing (and later shifted into branding and web design, but that’s a story for another time). At the time, the role felt exciting, fresh, and even glamorous.
That being said, I definitely entered the field with rose-tinted glasses. Social media marketing as a career didn’t exist before my generation entered the workforce, and that became abundantly clear the longer I worked in it. Everyone—my bosses, my peers, the platforms themselves—was learning in real time what it meant to work in this space. It was unpredictable and constantly evolving, and yet, it remained the gold standard for building a successful business.
Instagram, in particular, was positioned as the key to entrepreneurial success. To me, and to so many others, it felt like the formula for making it was simple: post consistently, curate an aspirational brand, and show up in the most strategic, on-trend way possible. That was the path to success, or so we believed.
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