If you joined Instagram early on, you may have started with a personal account. Is it time to change your personal account to a business profile? If you are new to Instagram, should you start off with a personal or business profile? Let’s take a look at the differences between the two types of accounts, as well as the pros and cons of an Instagram business profile, to help you make your decision.
Personal or Business Instagram Accounts: What’s the Difference?
Currently, both personal and business Instagram accounts are free to open and maintain. The personal account option allows you to make your profile private and share your images with only those you wish to share them with. With a business account, all of your images will be available for the public to view and comment on.
The biggest difference between personal and business Instagram profiles is access to marketing features. A business profile comes with more features than the personal account. Some of these advanced features include contact information, Instagram Insights, and the availability to promote your posts. None of these features are available with a personal profile account.
Benefits of a Business Instagram Account
As mentioned earlier, the business profile on Instagram opens the door to a variety of advanced features which are not available on a personal profile page. One of the benefits of these features is access to page analytics for free. See how individual posts performed and how people engaged with the post via the analytics feature. You can also use analytics to learn more about your audience, when they are online, where they are located, and much more. This information can guide your decision for the next business Instagram account benefit: targeted ads.
If you want to run ads on Instagram, you will need a business profile. Instagram runs ads the same way that Facebook does. You can set up, run, and track your advertising campaigns the same way you do on Facebook. The audience insight gained from Instagram analytics will help you target your advertising to the right audience at the right time.
Promoted posts are another benefit of having a business profile. Again, this is similar to the process used on Facebook, where you can promote the Instagram post within the app. A business account also allows you to add links to your Instagram Stories. This is a definite plus! Finally, the business profile includes a contact button, located near the top of the profile page. You can include a phone number, e-mail address, and even directions to your business here.
Disadvantages of a Business Instagram Account
There really are no disadvantages to a business profile on Instagram. The one concern that some influencers have involved algorithm changes. Some are concerned that if Instagram changes the algorithm for its feed in the future that they will lose their organic reach, as witnessed on Facebook several years ago. Presently, business profile posts are treated the same as personal profile posts as far as reach goes, and hopefully, that will not change.
The Verdict
In order to reach the biggest audience and maximize your marketing opportunities, the business Instagram profile is the clear winner! The added features of targeted advertising and contact information make a business profile the best option.