10 Best Instagram Experts and Consultants to Hire for Better Engagement & Growth in 2024

With over 1.6 billion active users, Instagram is essential for brands looking to connect with diverse audiences and build an online community. What started as a photo-sharing app has turned into a robust platform for real engagement. The key to success on this platform is creating strategic, authentic Instagram content your audience can easily interact with, and with help from these vetted experts, you can do just that.

Our top picks

Top 10

1. Matthew T. - Overall best Instagram expert

2. Kate H. - Best for custom strategy

3. Maxime G. - Best for B2B & B2C Instagram CO

4. Hisham K. - Best for eCommerce Instagram

5. Howard S. - Best for influencer outreach

6. Bing H. - Best for growing accounts

7. Michael K. - Best for integrated SMM

8. Kathryn L. - Best for Enterprise Instagram

9. Tony H. - Best for Instagram PPC

10. Pouria N. - Best for data-driven SMM

What is an Instagram expert?

Instagram experts are well-versed in using Instagram as a marketing tool and are invested in making Instagram work hard for your business. Their role involves figuring out what content and tactics engage your followers, and they know what strategies to use to grow your brand and cash flow.

This role has gained significant importance in the digital age, where social media platforms, especially Instagram, play a pivotal role in shaping brand narratives and reaching target audiences.

Brief overview

Matthew is a versatile digital marketing specialist freelancer, specializing in SEO and PPC consultancy while operating remotely. With a holistic approach, he assists businesses in maximizing their online presence, including a keen focus on Instagram.

Why we chose Matthew

Matthew's expertise spans various industries, ensuring growth and scalability. He excels in Instagram account management, crafting effective marketing strategies, and fostering engagement to drive comprehensive digital outreach for his clients.

• Budget: $2K - $50K
• Experience: 8+ years
• Industries: Travel, Home & garden, Style & fashion, Food & drink

Brief overview

Kate is a diligent and detail-oriented marketing strategist who advocates for a holistic approach to enhancing business KPIs. She perceives campaign creation and optimization as integral components of a broader strategy aimed at fostering business growth and maximizing performance across all digital channels, including Instagram.

Why we chose Kate

Hired by an investment VC firm, Kate enhanced EBITA and cultivated a resilient, year-round customer base to elevate the appeal of the previously family-owned business for potential resale. Her expertise extends to Instagram, where she excels in managing accounts, devising effective marketing strategies, and driving engagement to bolster comprehensive digital outreach.

In her capacity as the principal marketing strategist, Kate oversaw a spectrum of responsibilities, including website wireframe design, content creation, site optimization, and supervision of digital campaigns, ensuring a cohesive and impactful online presence.

• Budget: $2K - $500K
• Experience: 8+ years
• Industries: Baby, Food & drink, Pets, Beauty, Style & fashion, Health & wellness

Brief overview

Maxime, a dedicated freelance marketer, channels his passion into Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), aiding businesses across B2B and B2C sectors in achieving remarkable marketing outcomes through holistic tactics.

Why we chose Maxime

More than just possessing robust Digital Marketing skills, Maxime offers clients comprehensive guidance and expert advice throughout their projects.

His overarching goal is to enable clients to make wise investment decisions by meticulously targeting the appropriate media and audience segments. Maxime operates with transparency and collaboration, openly communicating and collaborating with clients to address any concerns or discrepancies in approach or expected outcomes.

In addition to his proficiency in digital marketing, Maxime excels in Instagram management, leveraging the platform's capabilities to optimize conversions and engagement for his clients' businesses.

• Budget: $2K - $50K
• Experience: 8+ years
• Industries: Trave, Health & wellness, Education, Gaming, Finance, Food & drink, Stye & fashion

Brief overview

Hisham, a marketing professional with over a decade of experience in eCommerce, boasts a multifaceted background. Alongside his involvement with various eCommerce brands, he manages a portfolio of his own ventures in the field.

Why we chose Hisham

Hisham's collaborative approach involves working closely with clients to develop tailored strategies that address overarching business challenges and facilitate growth. In his role as Principal Consultant for marketing teams, he assumes a leadership position, guiding strategies towards successful outcomes.

In addition to his expertise in Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and CRO, Hisham also demonstrates proficiency in Instagram marketing, leveraging the platform's potential to drive sales and engagement for eCommerce brands.

• Budget: $50K - $100K
• Experience: 10+ years
• Industries: Beauty, Style & fashion, Health & wellness, Professional services, Nonprofit & government

Brief overview

Howard, a veteran of online marketing since 2008, has dedicated the past six years to serving as a full-time media buyer and marketing consultant. His expertise primarily lies in collaborating with eCommerce brands to efficiently acquire new customers through profitable means, particularly utilizing paid advertising channels.

Why we chose Howard

Initially focusing on driving customer acquisition through paid ads, Howard specialized in platforms like Google and Facebook. However, his role expanded beyond mere ad management. He played a pivotal role in crafting comprehensive digital marketing strategies, incorporating elements such as email marketing, content marketing, influencer outreach, and conversion rate optimization to maximize results.

Howard's contributions extended to setting up and optimizing Amazon product pages and PPC campaigns, which led to a remarkable 100% increase in sales within three months. Additionally, Howard demonstrates proficiency in leveraging Instagram for eCommerce brands, effectively utilizing the platform's features to enhance customer acquisition and engagement.

• Budget: $10K - $100K
• Experience: 16+ years
• Industries: Pets, Beauty, Healthy & wellness, Sports, outdoors & fitness

Brief overview

With over a decade of growth marketing experience, Bing is dedicated to empowering clients in driving sales and retention. Passionate about growth strategies, Bing harnesses the power of data analytics to shape marketing strategies and craft innovative campaigns.

Why we chose Bing

Bing excels in various domains, including user acquisition and retention, paid search optimization, SEO, conversion rate optimization, web and product analytics, marketing automation (email), and content marketing. This comprehensive skill set forms the cornerstone of Bing's approach to advertising success.

Additionally, Bing is adept at utilizing Instagram as a platform for growth marketing, leveraging its features to enhance user acquisition and engagement for clients.

• Budget: $5K - $100K
• Experience: 10+ years
• Industries: Technology, Beauty, Automotive, Home & garden, Sports, outdoors & fitness, Food & drink

Brief overview

With a wealth of experience spanning 13 years, Michael is a freelance marketer and consultant who champions a digital-first approach. His methodology prioritizes defined processes, frameworks, and foundational strategies proven to generate revenue effectively.

Why we chose Michael

Michael's expertise as a marketer and consultant is characterized by a partnership-driven approach. Recognizing the uniqueness of each business, he emphasizes personalized marketing and advertising strategies tailored to specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs).

In addition to his proficiency in crafting tailored strategies, Michael excels in leveraging Instagram as a platform to enhance brand visibility, engagement, and revenue generation for his clients.

• Budget: $20K - $500K
• Experience: 8+ years
• Industries: Beauty, Electronics, Automotive, Finance, Education, Pets, Food & drink

Brief overview

For more than ten years, Kathryn has played a pivotal role in shaping data-driven strategic consulting and marketing solutions for political campaigns, nonprofits, and corporations throughout the United States.

Her extensive background encompasses overseeing numerous successful polling and data initiatives and a wide array of earned and digital media endeavors.

Why we chose Kathryn

Kathryn's expertise extends to managing email campaigns, orchestrating social media programs, and executing advertising campaigns with remarkable success.

Kathryn is proficient in leveraging Instagram as a powerful tool for political and nonprofit campaigns, engaging audiences and driving impactful outcomes.

• Budget: $2K - $100K
• Experience: 10+ years
• Industries: Professional services, Nonprofit & government

Brief overview

Tony, a certified Google advertiser, brings a wealth of experience in pay-per-click advertising and SEO to the table. With a diverse portfolio under his belt, Tony has effectively managed over 60 clients, catering to start-ups, national businesses, entrepreneurs, and personal brands alike.

Why we chose Tony

Tony's expertise transcends contexts, having honed his skills in both agency and freelance consulting capacities. He is adept at managing budgets of all sizes, ranging from as modest as $200 per month to exceeding $9 million.

Moreover, Tony excels in utilizing Instagram as a pay-per-click advertising and SEO platform, leveraging its features to drive traffic and engagement for his clients across diverse industries.

• Budget: $2K - $50K
• Experience: 8+ years
• Industries: Art & entertainment, Food & drink, Home & garden

Brief overview

Pouria brings over 5 years of dedicated passion for paid media, ensuring client satisfaction through his work. His professional journey includes collaborations with esteemed brands and agencies across the United States, where he has left a lasting impact.

Why we chose Pouria

Pouria's approach is defined by a strong emphasis on data-driven insights and creative thinking. His expertise spans various channels and platforms, but his creative capability and strategic marketing approach consistently deliver impactful results for his clients.

Pouria also excels in leveraging Instagram's advertising capabilities, combining data-driven strategies with creative content to drive engagement and conversions for his clients.

Budget: $2K - $100K

Experience: 5+ years

Industries: Automotive, Finance, Health & wellness, Technology, Travel, Home & garden

What does an Instagram expert do?

An Instagram expert is a vital asset for businesses seeking to harness the full potential of Instagram to grow their brand, engage with their audience, and drive business objectives in a competitive marketing market. Their role involves the following:

Develop a cohesive brand aesthetic

An Instagram expert's responsibility is to develop a visual style and tone for your brand's Instagram feed that aligns with your broader brand identity. This involves creating high-quality images and captions, using strategic hashtags, and ensuring your content is cohesive.

Optimize content strategy

An expert will analyze performance metrics like engagement rates, follower growth, and content effectiveness to refine your strategy over time. This optimization loop allows them to tailor content posting strategies to your brand and audience, which improves results over time.

This involves curating content, scheduling posts, managing a link tree, engaging with followers, and leveraging Instagram's various features like carousels, Stories, Reels, IGTV, and Shopping.

Expand reach with influencers

Instagram experts are also skilled in influencer marketing, which involves identifying and collaborating with influencers who resonate with your target audience. By getting the right influencers to feature your brand, they can expand your reach and credibility.

Organic vs paid Instagram services

There is a distinction that must be made between organic and paid Instagram services. More specifically,  organic services refer to growing your following and engagement through more natural means, such as posting high-quality content, engaging with followers, and leveraging hashtags.

On the other hand, paid Instagram services involve investing money into promoting your posts or collaborating with influencers for sponsored content.

Both approaches have their own benefits and drawbacks, but a skilled Instagram expert will know how to strike a balance between the two to achieve optimal results for your business objectives. Generally, Instagram experts will specialize in either organic or paid growth -- but some have the experience and expertise to handle both as well. Make sure to ask this before you hire anyone.

What does an Instagram content creator do?

An Instagram content creator and an Instagram expert are not one and the same thing (not usually, at least.)  An Instagram content creator is someone who specializes in creating visual stories and posts that are optimized for Instagram. They use imagery and videos to communicate a brand's message, promote products or services, and engage with followers.

Contrary to popular belief, content creation isn't just about posting pretty pictures. It involves:

• Creating unique images (graphics) based on your company's style guide

• Taking and editing photos appropriately

• Curating user-generated content (UGC)

• Writing compelling captions paired with relevant hashtags

Some content creators will provide Instagram growth services as well, but that is all a matter of what they decide to offer.

Instagram growth services you can use an Instagram expert for

An Instagram expert who knows the ins and outs of Instagram's algorithms, tools, and trends will give you an upper hand by creating meaningful and impactful marketing content for your brand. Here's a snapshot of what they can help you with:

• Targeted advertising: They'll target your Instagram audience by leveraging options to filter by demographics, interests, behaviors, and location.
• Visual storytelling: Leverage high-quality images, photos, and videos to tell your brand's story in a more appealing and memorable way.
• Influencer partnerships: Collaborate with influencers to tap into their followers and gain credibility and broader reach.
• Instagram stories and reels: They'll use these features for time-sensitive offers and engaging, creative content for your follower base.
• Engagement metrics: Monitor likes, comments, shares, and Instagram Insights to understand audience engagement and refine your strategy.
• Sponsored posts: They can turn your best-performing posts into sponsored ads to reach a larger audience.
• Shopping features: Use Instagram's shopping features for direct product promotion and easy purchasing options.
• Regular updates and consistency: They'll help you maintain a consistent posting schedule and stay updated with Instagram's evolving features and algorithms.
• Advertising campaigns: get an Ads Manager to help you run Instagram ads to increase your reach even more.

Differences between an Instagram expert and an Instagram consultant

Several key differences can be identified when comparing an Instagram expert and an Instagram consultant.

Scope of work

An Instagram expert typically focuses on in-depth knowledge and skills related to Instagram, such as content creation, algorithm insights, engagement strategies, and staying updated with platform changes. An Instagram consultant, on the other hand, provides broader strategic advice, which might include not only Instagram but also how it fits within the overall social media and marketing strategy of a business.

Role and responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of these professionals differ significantly. An Instagram expert is usually involved in the hands-on implementation of Instagram strategies, such as managing posts, stories, and ads, and often engaging directly with the audience. An Instagram consultant advises on best practices, creates strategic plans, and offers high-level recommendations rather than executing the daily tasks themselves.

Client interaction

Interaction with clients varies between an Instagram expert and an Instagram consultant. An Instagram expert often works as part of a team or as an individual contributor, collaborating closely with content creators, graphic designers, and social media managers. In contrast, an Instagram consultant works with higher-level stakeholders like business owners, marketing directors, or senior management to shape and align Instagram strategies with business goals.

Focus on results

The focus on results differs between these two roles. An Instagram expert concentrates on growing followers, increasing engagement rates, optimizing posts for the algorithm, and achieving short-term goals. Meanwhile, an Instagram consultant focuses on long-term strategic outcomes, such as brand positioning, overall social media ROI, and integrating Instagram efforts with other marketing channels.

Skill set

The skill sets required for an Instagram expert and an Instagram consultant are distinct. An Instagram expert possesses specialized skills in content creation, analytics, hashtag strategy, influencer collaborations, and Instagram-specific advertising. Conversely, an Instagram consultant combines a mix of skills in marketing, business strategy, and social media analytics, with a strong understanding of how Instagram contributes to broader marketing objectives.

Why invest in Instagram?

Hiring an Instagram expert can provide significant advantages for your business. Here are three to four key reasons to consider:

Specialized knowledge and skills

An Instagram expert brings specialized knowledge and skills tailored to the platform. They understand the intricacies of Instagram algorithms, the best times to post, effective hashtag strategies, and how to create engaging content that resonates with your target audience. This expertise ensures that your Instagram presence is optimized for maximum reach and engagement.

Efficient content creation and management

Managing an Instagram account requires consistent content creation and management. An Instagram expert can handle these tasks efficiently, creating high-quality posts, stories, and reels that align with your brand’s voice and aesthetic. Their ability to produce and manage content on a regular basis helps maintain a strong and consistent presence on the platform.

Improved engagement and growth

With a deep understanding of Instagram’s features and tools, an Instagram expert can implement strategies to improve engagement and grow your follower base. They can analyze metrics, identify trends, and adjust tactics to ensure your content reaches the right audience, resulting in higher engagement rates and increased followers over time.

Staying ahead of trends and updates

Instagram frequently updates its features and algorithms, which can be challenging to keep up with. An Instagram expert stays informed about the latest trends and updates, allowing your business to adapt quickly and take advantage of new opportunities. This proactive approach ensures your Instagram strategy remains effective and relevant in a constantly evolving digital landscape.

Hire an Instagram expert and reap the benefits

When it comes to making the most of Instagram for your brand, it pays to have an expert in your corner. They'll elevate your social media marketing strategy and ensure that you are effectively reaching your target audience.

Using AI-powered matching, Mayple can help find the best fit for your needs. You'll be able to assess their portfolio, read testimonials, and consider their expertise comprehensively. There's no contract, it's a flexible month-to-month plan.

Want a consultation? Reach out to us today!