How to Decide If Instagram Fits Your Marketing Strategy
When you’re a solopreneur or a school manager wearing many hats, including the social media one, deciding where to put your energy and time is a survival skill. For this reason, it’s important to ponder the benefits and the drawbacks of committing to a new social media platform.
In a recent fun LinkedIn post, I saw ELT professionals debating whether or not to start an Instagram account. Comments like “I’m starting to think that maybe I should (be on Instagram)” or “I started 4 months ago and I’m so lost” caught my attention.

About me: Hi, I’m Gina Rodriguez. I’m a qualified Digital Marketing Specialist and I work as a Social Media Strategist & Consultant for the language education sector . I have 25+ years experience in the English Language Teaching (ELT) industry. I have covered various roles from EFL teacher, teacher trainer to Sales & Marketing Consultant in educational publishing.
What I do: I help language schools and independent language professionals build an engaging social media presence through training, consultancy and tailored social media strategies.
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If these ELT professionals came to me for consultancy, here’s what I would ask to advise them and help them make the best decision. Would you like to know how to decide if Instagram is a good fit for your school, too? Read on!
Table of Contents
- 1. Why do you want to promote your language school on Instagram?
- 2. How familiar are you with Instagram?
- 3. Have you got a social media strategy?
- 4. How do you build a successful Instagram content strategy?
- 5. What Visuals Should I have to promote my language school on Instagram?
- 6. Is Instagram Worth My Time for Promoting My Language School?
- To be or not to be on Instagram -Final Thoughts
1. Why do you want to promote your language school on Instagram?
Is it because other colleagues are there? Or because you heard the latest guru or coach say Instagram is the place to be?
If you said YES, then here’s my verdict: wrong answer!
The right considerations to decide whether to be or not to be on Instagram are:
- Where are my potential clients spending time on social media? If the majority of your potential students or their parents are on Instagram, then it’s a strong reason to be there.
- What do I need Instagram to do for me? Are you looking to:
- Attract new students (lead generation)?
- Build a reputation as an EFL teacher (personal branding)?
Your objectives—lead generation or personal branding—will influence your strategy (how often you’ll post, what format, and how to position yourself), your content (topics to post about), and your budget (time and money).
2. How familiar are you with Instagram?
If you’ve never used Instagram before, I recommend starting with a personal account to experiment and get comfortable with posting. Simultaneously, invest in training to learn how to use Instagram strategically and avoid fatal mistakes for marketing your language services.
Even if you aren’t directly managing your school’s Instagram account, it’s worth taking the time to experiment and learn. Understanding what the platform offers, its netiquette, and its style will enable you to better assess the content and performance of your school’s Instagram page.
3. Have you got a social media strategy?
You create your page and you start posting to find out very soon that you don’t know what to keep posting to attract new students on Instagram. That’s absolutely normal when you don’t have a social media strategy to guide you.
The solution? Work on creating your strategy first. Think and plan all the actions you will take to achieve your social media SMART goals. How often will you post? What topics will you focus on? When will you share information about your courses versus sneak peeks, testimonials, or other engaging content?
This implies having a a well-thought-out content strategy plan. If you struggle with generating social media post ideas for Instagram, avoid the trap of using loose ideas from Instagram’s’ gurus. They will help you post something but they won’t drive the results you need because they aren’t aligned with your objectives.
Without a strategy, you’re likely to fall into the trap of “posting and praying.” However, what you want is to post and be noticed, loved and trusted. These are important factors that encourage potential students to get in touch or even enrol with you. Basically, you need to post smarter to enrol faster.
4. How do you build a successful Instagram content strategy?
Consider creating a content plan based on a bottom-up approach. This means starting with a self-assessment of :
- Your unique strengths.
- Your students’ needs, aspirations, and pain points.
- The solutions your language school offers.
While creating a content plan may seem time-consuming at first, think of it as an investment. Once it’s in place, you’ll always have a “reservoir of post ideas” to draw from, even on days when inspiration runs low. Simply refer to your plan, pick a topic, and plug it into your social media calendar.
5. What Visuals Should I have to promote my language school on Instagram?
Starting an Instagram account without a visual library, i.e.. a collection of photos and short videos of your school is something you need to avoid. If pictures speak a thousand words, videos speak a million! Although everyone is raving about videos at the moment, don’t put all your eggs in one basket!. The best strategy is to have a mix of videos, photos and graphic posts.
As you know, on social media the principle that works well is “show, don’t tell” , that’s why having authentic photos and videos in your social media strategy is crucial.

Photos and videos allow you to convey your message effectively, especially on a highly visual platform like Instagram.
However, it’s not just about using any photo or video. The visuals you share should:
✔️Trigger emotions that connect with your audience.
✔️Showcase your school’s strengths.
✔️Tell a story.
The good news is, you don’t need to be a professional photographer or videographer to take amazing visuals that help sell your language courses. What you need is a strategic approach to gathering the right photos and videos for your visual library. This is something I guide you through step by step in my Generating PLUS course or during one-to-one consultations.
Having a visual library isn’t just a time-saver: it’s the foundation of a consistent, authentic, and effective Instagram presence that sets your school apart!
6. Is Instagram Worth My Time for Promoting My Language School?
Finally, ask yourself:
- 🗨️How much time and budget do I need to invest to build a presence on Instagram for my language school?
- 🗨️What return on investment (ROI) can I expect from promoting my language school on Instagram?
If Instagram aligns with your goals and your target audience is active there, the time and effort you invest in promoting your language school will likely pay off. However, if your potential students are more engaged on other platforms, it’s perfectly fine to focus your energy elsewhere. Please note, this does not affect your content plan and visual library!
I should also add that if you’re starting your language school’s Instagram page from scratch, relying only on organic posts won’t take you far in the short term. To reach potential students faster and grow your school’s presence effectively, make sure you include social media ads in your strategy. Combining organic content with targeted ads will help you achieve more impactful results for your language school quicker.
To be or not to be on Instagram –Final Thoughts
Deciding whether to be or not to be on Instagram to promote your language school comes down to understanding your audience, defining your goals, and ensuring that your posting schedule is sustainable in the long run.
A poor social media presence can alienate parents and potential students, so it’s important to approach it strategically.
If what’s holding you back from being on Instagram—or any other platform—is a lack of ideas about what to post, take a look at Generating PLUS, my social media toolkit (a.k.a. course) for language schools.

It’s designed to take the stress out of social media content creation by equipping you with:
- Templates, cheat sheets, and checklists for faster and easier content planning.
- Video resources that guide you through strategies step by step.
- Tools to build a content plan tailored to your school’s unique strengths.
- Insights to create a visual library that saves time and authentically showcases your school.
Start promoting your language school on Instagram or any other platform confidently with a content plan and visual library thought-out to boost enrolments through social selling.
Ready to create an Instagram strategy that works for your language school? Start by exploring Generating PLUS today!”
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