Is it possible to grow a business without Instagram? Three of my clients run completely Instagram-free businesses, and today I’m going to tell you exactly how they do it. Yes, there’s more than one way to market your business. Instagram isn’t the only option, and it’s definitely not required to run a successful one.
I know that when you’re active on Instagram, consuming content about marketing on Instagram, it can feel like you’re constantly missing out on something huge. The cool thing about the three clients I’m featuring in this episode is that each of them markets their business in a totally different way.
My goal isn’t for you to quit Instagram after listening, but to give you ideas for what your marketing strategy could look like—some alternatives you might not have considered or didn’t think were possible for your business.
Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify
Table of Contents
Okay, a few disclaimers before we get into today’s episode. Just because of who I am as a person, I need to say these upfront so I’m not repeating them every three seconds.
First, yes, these are my clients, and no, I’m not taking credit for every single person’s success. My goal with this episode is simply to show that there are many ways to market a business, and Instagram is not required.
It’s also important to note that I don’t see these clients’ profit and loss statements, so when I say they seem successful, that’s based on what I do know. Obviously they’re paying me. I know one of them is a multi–six-figure business owner, one is a seven-figure business owner, and the third has never publicly shared their income, which is totally fine. This is based on what they’ve shared online and is not privileged info.
I’m keeping it anonymous on purpose. I know that can be a little annoying because it would be cool to tell you who these clients are so you could look them up everywhere, but even though I’m not sharing anything you couldn’t find with some light internet sleuthing, I still prefer to keep things anonymous.
Another thing to keep in mind: I’m sharing what I’ve observed in working with them. I’m very observant — to a fault — so I’m pretty confident I’m capturing all the ways they market their businesses. Still, it’s possible they have a marketing channel I’m not aware of. So just remember that what I’m sharing is based on what I see: three successful businesses, the marketing strategies I’ve noticed, and what appears to be working for them.
And again, the whole point is to highlight different ways to market a business. I think it’s very cool that I have three clients who are all Instagram-free and each uses a different approach.
Case Study #1: Service Provider in the Finance Space (with a Digital Shop and Evergreen Course/Program)
The first client I want to highlight is in the finance space — think CFO, accountant, bookkeeper, somewhere in that realm.
She has been in business for 15 years, and the business offers a mix of services, low-cost digital products, and a course or program. The digital products, from my perspective, mostly sell evergreen. They might mention them occasionally, but for the most part they have a shop on their website and the products are simply available.
They also have a course or program that combines a launch model with an evergreen funnel. By that I mean they launch it once or twice a year, and they also have a backend funnel — if you sign up for a class, you’ll get a discount for the course afterward. I don’t know the specifics of how their revenue breaks down but I do know they’ve had all three revenue streams for a long time.
What’s really cool is they’ve been off Instagram since 2017. We’re almost in 2026, so they’re coming up on 10 years Instagram-free. They did have a brief return in 2019 — a “maybe I’ll try again” moment — and shut it down immediately. So essentially, they’ve been off Instagram for almost a decade.
Here’s how she’s been marketing her business without Instagram
They have a seasonal podcast made up almost entirely of guest episodes. I mentioned last week that guest episodes can be a great way to grow your show because people search for the guest’s name. If you have an interview with that person, it’s a strong way to bring new listeners into your world.
They repurpose those podcast episodes into full blog posts designed to rank on Google, which brings more people to their website, their content, and their podcast. That’s their top of funnel. They also publish additional blog posts focused on their expertise, so the blog isn’t only interviews — though those are a big component — but includes content tied directly to what they sell.
When it comes to launches, one of the biggest things I see is that they have strong affiliates. When they launch their flagship program — the one they’re best known for — you’ll see recognizable names in their corner promoting it.
They also have an email list they email consistently. Sometimes it’s to share new podcast episodes, and since the podcast is seasonal, they still email periodically when the show is on break. They use those emails to stay top of mind, connect with subscribers, offer updates, and yes, sometimes sell something from the shop.
They also do podcast guesting and some speaking. They’re truly an expert in their niche, which brings more people into their world. And once people find her, they stick around because she’s brilliant — they can listen to the seasonal podcast, read the blog posts, sign up for the newsletter, and so on.
I’ll also add that I imagine she gets a high number of referrals simply because she’s been in business for 15 years and is excellent at what she does. If you’ve been in business that long, you should be getting referrals.
Knowing the ROI of your marketing
One thing she always says that I want to share is that it’s so easy to overlook whether your marketing is actually producing a measurable result. And of course, she’s a finance person, so she looks directly at the data. If your marketing isn’t giving you a clear, “I put in X and I get out Y,” you really need to pay attention to that.
I talked about this last week with podcasting. The lines are getting blurrier, and it’s harder to see exactly which marketing efforts lead to ROI because people check you out in so many different places now. It’s not always straightforward. But since this episode is about quitting Instagram, I think it’s worth asking: do you actually know how much you’re getting from Instagram?
If you look at Dubsado, HoneyBook, or whatever you use, how many people say they found you through Instagram? And if you’re not asking people where they found you, please start. If you run a retail business, check your Google Analytics. I can almost guarantee fewer people are coming from Instagram than you think.
That’s not to say no one should be on Instagram. For some people, especially in highly visual industries, it can be a top platform. But the point isn’t “I don’t want to be on Instagram.” It’s more, “When I track my time and my mental energy, this isn’t producing an ROI — so I need to cut it.”
And sometimes it really is that simple.
Case Study #2: Niche Business Coach With a Group Program Selling On Evergreen
Okay, my next client is a business coach and consultant. She has a very specific niche, which is worth noting. Her primary funnel, at least from what I can see, is a strong YouTube channel that leads to a free webinar, which then leads to the sale of her course or group program.
She does solid numbers on YouTube. She doesn’t have a million subscribers, but she’s in the multi–five-figure range, so I imagine she earns some income from YouTube each month as an additional revenue stream. Then, like I said, she has this free training that feeds into her coaching or educational program. And usually when people run that type of evergreen funnel, there’s a discount offered on the program, which is how you encourage people to purchase on evergreen.
How she markets her business without Instagram
She also repurposes her YouTube content into blog posts, which she then pins on Pinterest. So she has strong SEO in place and is being found online for multiple keywords her target audience searches for.
That becomes her top of funnel: SEO, YouTube, Pinterest — all places where people discover her. And this is the part of SEO that isn’t as “exciting,” but it matters: she also has a really strong backend funnel. Once people find her, they’re guided to the free training, and from there the course is positioned so well that people want to buy. It’s very clearly been refined and running smoothly for a long time. She’s brilliant.
Is it possible to grow a business without Instagram? Yes, but people will still vet you there.
And here’s another way I know her funnel works and that people love her content. She last posted on Instagram about 180 weeks ago, which is wild. But on those posts — and I didn’t read every comment — the engagement was high, and I saw comments as recent as 30 weeks ago.
That brings me to something important: whether you use Instagram or not, people will look you up there. They’ll vet you there. That’s exactly why I posted my own nine-grid this morning. It’s been planned for a while, but the timing is funny considering this episode. If you want to check me out, you can see what I did.
I don’t know if, back when she stopped posting, people behaved this way, but now they absolutely do. If you’re going to stop posting on Instagram, it helps to have some kind of signal that it was intentional — that you didn’t just disappear. And I think it speaks to the strength of her content that people see an old video and still feel compelled to comment things like, “Yes, this is exactly what I’m dealing with,” or “Oh my gosh, so relatable,” or “This is so good.”
My guess is people find her through YouTube, Google, or her website, then look her up on Instagram, and then binge what’s there — even though she hasn’t posted in 180 weeks.
And honestly, on our sales call I told her the same thing. I said, “I went to look you up on Instagram,” because of course, whenever someone inquires, that’s where you go.
Doing less, but better
The funnel has fewer moving parts, but each part is incredibly strong. The YouTube content is a 10 out of 10. The webinar or masterclass — whatever you want to call it — is a 10 out of 10. The sales page? Also a 10 out of 10. I want to buy it, and I am not the niche she serves. You know what I mean?
A reminder that SEO is still important in 2026
On the topic of SEO, I just want to add: it’s not going anywhere. I always say this, but I was literally reading this morning that Adobe is set to acquire SEMrush — one of the biggest SEO tools out there, one I’ve talked about here before — for 1.9 billion dollars. Adobe buying SEMrush for 1.9 billion… I could say it ten times and still not fully process it.
SEO honestly feels like it’s just at the beginning. With AI search evolving, Google changing, and everything shifting so fast, your online content is becoming one of your most powerful business assets. I believe that wholeheartedly. It’s why I’m working harder than ever to prioritize it in my own business — and I’ve always prioritized it.
3. B2B Product Business Prioritizing SEO And Capitalizing on Trends
Now, the third business is honestly the least relatable to most listeners. They sell a specific type of product to businesses — business to business. It’s not a hair salon distributor, but using that example is probably the easiest way to explain it. If you were opening a salon, you’d need the hair dryers, the salon chairs, all the equipment. They’re that kind of company where you need a physical product to start or run your business.
This business is completely SEO- and word-of-mouth-focused. The other two clients I mentioned used to be on Instagram and just aren’t anymore. This one has never used Instagram. They may have posted once or twice back in the old Instagram era — like when we were all throwing up those not-very-pretty graphics before Canva existed, maybe back when we were using PicMonkey. Does anyone remember that, or is that just me?
What’s cool about this client is that we do very specific SEO on their products because their audience is solution aware.
Prioritizing Solution-Aware Searches
Let me back up, because I could do a whole episode about this.
Sometimes we try so hard to create “problem aware” content like, “If you’re struggling with X, here’s what you need.” But in this case, people already know what they’re looking for. Sticking with the salon example: they’re not searching, “Why do I need salon chairs?” They’re searching, “Best salon chairs,” or, “Salon chairs for new salon.” They don’t need to be educated on the existence of the problem.
That means we can keep the product pages extremely specific and targeted. It’s not like an online course sales page where you have to walk people through the whole journey. It’s more like, “Here’s why this is the best option,” and, “If you’re considering alternatives, here are a few.” That’s the bulk of their SEO.
You often hear me talk about blogging for SEO on the podcast, and that’s because I don’t work with many product-based businesses. Not that I wouldn’t want to — they just don’t typically reach out to me. But what’s cool about this client is that this isn’t a “we blog every week” setup.
Capitalizing on Trends and Industry Buzzwords
I actually think they would benefit from blogging, but that’s not what we’re doing. Instead, we’re going all in on SEO for the specific product pages. And one thing they do really, really well is watch for buzzwords.
They look for specific buzzwords customers were asking about and created content around those terms. Usually that content is a roundup of products containing that ingredient or products that solve whatever specific problem people are searching for. And I know that’s different from service providers, so you might be thinking, “How does this apply to me?” But I think the lesson here is:
- Are you capitalizing on trends in your industry?
- Do your services each have their own page?
From an SEO standpoint, specific service pages are far more effective than a single general services page. So if you’re a wedding planner, instead of only having “Services,” you’d also have:
- a Day-of Coordination page (even though everyone hates that term),
- a Full-Service Planning and Design page,
- a Wedding Consultation page, etc.
The “slug” — the part of the URL after your domain — should reflect the specific service. For example: thekarareport.com/wedding-planning-services (obviously not something I offer, but you get the idea).
Your navigation text doesn’t even need to change. That can stay as “Services.” Ideally, though, you’d update the link in the navigation so it points directly to the new URL instead of relying on the redirect — not a huge deal, but better practice since your navigation appears on every page.
And look, I get having a general services page that links to everything. Totally fine. You can put each service in the navigation, but if you don’t want a cluttered menu, they don’t all need to be there. They don’t even all need to be linked on your services page.
Can you grow a business without Instagram?
A couple of episodes back, I talked about how if I were going to go all in on one marketing funnel as a brand-new business owner, I would use Instagram. Not forever, but to get in front of people quickly, have more conversations, learn the lessons early, figure out what I want to offer and what I don’t — all of that. I do think there’s value there.
But I hope this episode showed that you don’t need to stay on Instagram forever, and you don’t need it at all if you want to market your business another way. And it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can do Instagram and use these other strategies. But as one person, splitting your focus can be tough. It’s different if you’re outsourcing your marketing, but if you’re doing everything yourself, it’s hard to be everywhere. I hope this episode has helped you see that Instagram is optional and can be just temporary!
LINKS MENTIONED
- Hire us to write SEO-driven blog posts for you
- Learn more about our Pinterest management services
- Join Blogging for Bingeable Brands (Use Code PODCAST10 for 10% Off!)
- Learn more about working with our marketing agency here
- Follow me on Instagram
