Should accountants use Instagram? Only if your clients are there, and here is how to tell

The short answer

It depends on who your clients are. Instagram suits accountancy firms that want younger business owners, sole traders, creatives and local clients, because that is where many of them spend their time. It suits almost nobody as a first channel if most of your work comes from referrals and LinkedIn.

If you decide to use it, keep it simple: a clear bio, one or two useful posts a week, and no client details anywhere. If you decide against it, that is a sound choice too. Put the time into LinkedIn and your website instead.

Which firms Instagram suits

Instagram works best for firms whose ideal clients run small, visual or consumer-facing businesses. Ask one question: if I scrolled through my best clients' phones, would I find Instagram open? If the answer is yes for a good share of them, it is worth trying.

• Firms serving sole traders and young business owners. Hairdressers, personal trainers, photographers, cafés, online sellers and tradespeople often run their own business accounts on Instagram and look there for services too.
• Firms with a niche. A practice that specialises in creatives, hospitality or e-commerce can speak directly to that group, and the niche gives every post a clear angle.
• Local, high-street firms. A practice that wants clients within a few miles can show the office, the team and local events, which helps people feel they know you before they visit.
• Firms hiring young staff.Trainees and junior staff may look at a firm's Instagram before they apply. A friendly, active profile helps recruitment even if it wins few clients directly.

When to skip Instagram

Skip Instagram, at least for now, if any of these describes your firm. The time is better spent elsewhere.

• Your work comes from referrals and established companies. Directors of limited companies, finance teams and professional referrers are far more likely to see you on LinkedIn. Our guide to LinkedIn for accountants shows where to start.
• Your LinkedIn page or website is not in order yet. Get the channel your best clients use working first. A second platform on top of a neglected first one only spreads the effort thinner.
• Nobody can produce an image or short video each week. Every Instagram post needs one. If that is a struggle, the account will go quiet within a month.
• You are only doing it because a rival firm is. Their clients may not be your clients. Copying a channel without a reason rarely brings enquiries.

A dead account does more harm than no account. A profile whose last post was a year ago tells a prospect the firm has stopped trying. If you are unsure whether you need social media at all, our guide on whether accountants need social media sets out the minimum that still works.

Set up the profile first

Most people who find you on Instagram will look at the profile before they look at any post. Get it right before you publish anything.

• A bio that says who you serve and where."Accountants for hairdressers and beauty salons in Leeds" tells the right person in two seconds that they are in the right place. "Chartered accountants. Passionate about numbers." does not.
• One clear way to enquire.A link to your website's contact page, a phone number or a booking link. Pick one and make it obvious.
• A recognisable picture. Your logo, or a friendly photo of the partner if clients mainly deal with one person.
• A professional account in the firm's name.It keeps firm posts separate from anyone's personal life and gives you Instagram's free insights on how each post performed.

What works on Instagram for accountants

The posts that work are short, useful and about one thing. You do not need to be entertaining. You need to be clear. These four formats cover nearly everything a small firm will post.

Short reels answering one question

A reel is a short portrait video. Answer one question a client asked this week in under a minute, with captions. Instagram lets you record reelsof up to 20 minutes but says reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences, so keep yours well short of that. Our guide on whether accountants should make videos for social media covers the phone, the light and what to film.

Carousels explaining one deadline or change

A carousel is a post of several images people swipe through. It suits a deadline or a change explained step by step: what it is, who it affects, the date, what to do now, and how to get in touch. Keep one point per slide and large text that reads on a phone. Check every date and figure against GOV.UK or HMRC on the day you post.

Stories for behind the scenes

Stories are quick, informal posts that expire after 24 hours. They suit the human side of the firm: a new starter's first day, the team at a local business event, the office dog. They need little polish, which makes them the easiest way to show the firm is real.

Single image posts for the simple things

A clear graphic with one tip, office hours over the holidays, or a welcome to a new team member. Plain is fine, as long as the caption says something useful.

That carousel outline is written by us to show the shape: a hook, who it is for, the rule, one next step. Fill in the rule and dates from GOV.UK yourself, because they change.

What does not work

The firms that give up on Instagram usually made one of the same few mistakes.

• Stock graphics with generic captions.A calculator photo and "Tax season is here! Contact us today" looks like every other firm and gives nobody a reason to follow.
• Posting daily with no point. Volume without substance tires followers. One useful post beats five empty ones.
• Chasing follower counts. Follow-for-follow schemes, bought followers and viral trends bring numbers, not clients. Followers outside your area and your type of client cannot hire you.
• Copying LinkedIn posts word for word. A long text post pasted under a logo does not suit Instagram. Rework the idea for the format.

How much time it takes

Be honest about the time before you start. One or two posts a week, plus a few stories, is a realistic rhythm for a small firm, and it is plenty. As a rough guide, allow an hour or two a week once you have a routine, and more in the first month while you set up templates.

Steady beats bursts. One or two posts a week for a year will do far more than daily posts for three weeks followed by silence. Our guide to a social media content calendar for accountants shows how to plan Instagram alongside LinkedIn and Facebook from the same set of topics.

The quickest way to keep going is to plan and schedule in one sitting. Pillr, for example, drafts a month of posts from your firm's website, including image posts and carousels for Instagram, and schedules them only once a partner has approved each one. That leaves your Instagram time for reels and stories, the parts only your team can make.

What never goes on Instagram

Instagram is more visual and more casual than LinkedIn, which makes it easier to slip. Agree a short list of what never appears, and check every photo and video against it.

• Anything that identifies a client, including names, faces, logos, premises or a story they would recognise, unless the client has agreed in writing to that specific use.
• Client figures, even rounded or anonymised. "We saved a client £12,000" invites questions you cannot answer.
• HMRC correspondence, even blurred or partly covered.
• Screens, files and whiteboards in the background of office photos and stories.
• Claims you cannot back up, such as "the best accountants in town", and digs at other firms.

Who may post on the firm's account, and who approves before anything goes live, belongs in your wider rules. Our guide on whether accountants should have a social media policy covers both.

How to tell if it is working

Judge Instagram by whether the right people act, not by likes. Instagram's story insights include profile activity, such as profile visits, follows and website clicks, and the account insights let you look back over the past 90 days. Those are the numbers worth checking each month.

• Profile visits and website clicks after a post goes out.
• Messages and enquiries that mention Instagram. Ask every new client how they found you and note the answer.
• Who follows you. Local business owners and your niche are a good sign; other accountants and random accounts are not.

Give it three to six months of steady posting before you decide. If it has brought no enquiries and no useful followers by then, stop and put the hours into LinkedIn. Our guide on how accountants turn followers into clients covers what to do when someone does get in touch. To see a month of posts drafted for your own firm, paste your website address on the home page.

Questions accountants ask about Instagram