What Instagram’s Head of Business Wants You to Know About Growing on the Platform in 2025
August 21, 2025
Insider tips from Instagram for Business on how brands can post smarter, entertain audiences, and turn engagement into real results.
When it comes to Instagram growth, most advice floating around online comes from marketers, creators, or agencies who are experimenting in real-time. But what happens when you get tips straight from inside the building?
Recently, Thomas Fenetto, Head of Instagram for Business, shared candid insights on the Build Your Tribe YouTube channel on what works, what doesn’t, and how brands of all sizes can win on Instagram. While these aren’t official Meta statements, they’re worth paying attention to.
Here are the biggest takeaways from that conversation:
1. Leadership Needs to Trust the Process
Fenetto stressed that one of the biggest differences between thriving brands and stagnant ones comes down to leadership. When executives trust their social teams to move fast, experiment, and ride trends, those brands tend to excel.
Examples like Duolingo, Away, and Ryanair show how giving teams creative freedom—while accepting the occasional misstep—pays off with massive engagement. As Fenetto put it: “It’s all upside and very little downside. Social moves on so quickly.”
2. Small Teams Should Create Fast (and Post More Often)
For solo entrepreneurs or two-person teams, speed and volume matter more than perfection. Fenetto advised posting often, even multiple times per day, because you learn faster.
Don’t worry about “letting a post breathe.” Instead, gather data quickly, figure out what resonates, and repost your best evergreen content. As he explained, only a fraction of your audience sees any given post, so recycling strong content is smart strategy.
3. Brands Must Entertain
Three years ago, “brands as entertainers” might have sounded radical. Today, it’s the baseline. Entertainment doesn’t mean dancing on Reels—it means delivering stories, relatability, or even comedy that people actually enjoy consuming.
Fenetto reminded us: a story is 22 times more memorable than a fact. Whether through customer stories, employee spotlights, or humor, brands need to capture attention by entertaining first.
4. Creative Instagram Use Cases to Watch
Some standout strategies Fenetto highlighted:
- Close Friends Lists – Brands like Away are adding creators and fans to their “close friends” list to share exclusive product drops. That little green ring? It feels like a VIP pass.
- Employee-Generated Content (EGC) – Letting employees act as creators not only produces authentic content but also boosts morale. In one example, an employee-made video outperformed every polished ad the brand had ever run.
- Creative Collabs – Local businesses like UK donut shop Dough Hut tapped into creator partnerships and entertaining Reels to turn viral moments into local foot traffic.
5. Stop Overthinking and Copying Competitors
One of Fenetto’s spiciest takes? Stop doing competitor analysis. It only positions you to become “second best.” Instead, analyze the platform itself, see what works in other industries, and adapt it for your niche.
This kind of cross-pollination is how a realtor using Gen Z editing styles suddenly dominated their category. Don’t zig with your competitors, zag with the platform.
The Bottom Line: Be Entertaining, Be Bold, Be Fast
Fenetto’s advice circles back to one theme: social media rewards speed, experimentation, and entertainment.
- Trust your team (or yourself) to create without overthinking.
- Prioritize content that entertains, whether through humor, story, or relatability.
- Don’t fear mistakes—they disappear faster than you think.
- Look beyond your industry for inspiration and ideas.
📌 Source: Conversation with Thomas Fenetto, Head of Instagram for Business, shared via Build Your Tribe YouTube Channel.
Q1: How often should I post on Instagram for growth?
Fenetto recommends posting more often than most brands do—even multiple times a day. This accelerates learning. With Stampede Social, you can quickly see which posts drive actual conversions so you’re not just posting blindly.
Q2: Should brands focus on entertainment or education on Instagram?
Entertainment should come first. Even educational content should be delivered in a way that entertains—through storytelling, humor, or relatability. Stampede Social helps track which style of content your audience engages with most.
Q3: Is it okay to repost the same content on Instagram?
Yes. Only a small percentage of your audience sees any single post. Reposting evergreen content is smart, especially when paired with tools like Stampede Social that identify top-performing posts worth repeating.
Q4: How can small teams keep up with Instagram without burning out?
Focus on fast content creation, avoid over-editing, and let tools do the heavy lifting. Stampede Social automates DM responses, giveaway tracking, and engagement reporting so small teams spend less time managing and more time creating.
Q5: How do I know if my Instagram content is actually working?
Instead of relying on likes and follows, track conversions, clicks, and conversations. Stampede Social provides real attribution—connecting influencer posts, lives, and Reels directly to sales and leads.
