How to create an Instagram business account, which is the best option for businesses and influencers who want to create a showcase on the most widely used social network today.
If you open a new profile on this social network, you should know that Instagram will create a personal profile automatically, so if you want to access the Instagram Business functions , you must convert your profile into a business account.
The change is completely free and can be done at any time. In this article we will analyze the main reasons to create a business Instagram account.
Business account vs Personal account for Instagram: Which one is better?
Like Instagram business profiles , personal accounts have access to a number of exclusive functions, but between these two types of accounts there are some big differences in terms of functionality.
Here are some of the main differences:
Instagram business profile features
- Access analytics dedicated to followers and posts
- Promote Instagram posts with ad creation
- Add links to Instagram stories with swipe up (only for those who have more than 10k followers)
- Plan and automatically publish posts on Instagram using external tools like Hootsuite or Buffer
The only thing you can NOT do with a business profile on Instagram is:
- Put your profile in «private»
Instagram personal profile features
- Get exclusive access to Instagram Creator Studio from your desktop
- Filter incoming mails on Instagram direct message
- Make your profile private
Advantages of creating an Instagram business account
Instagram is revolutionizing the way social networks are used and the interconnection between people. This also applies to companies, expanding the effective means to carry out B2C (Business to Customers) customer acquisition strategies.
How to create an Instagram business account?
Now we will see the main advantages that a company profile offers to achieve sales and expand the brand to potential clients.
1. Post scheduling: save time with post planning
This is one of the main reasons to switch to a business account. To take advantage of the new posting features within Instagram, you must have a business account on Instagram .
This is a requirement of Instagram, not a requirement for tools. Post planning offers a huge time saver for a brand with a social media team, as well as helping to stick to a plan and not wing it.
You can schedule posts with applications like:
2. Instagram Insights: control and improve the performance of your messages
The corporate profiles on Instagram allow you to access the analysis section of the application. This is important to understand what content is working best, what time of day your followers are online and it’s important to see if you are using Instagram effectively to achieve your business goals.
To view this data, click on the icon in the form of a graph (top right). The data is divided into three sections and refers to the moments in which our posts receive the most interactions.
For each of these sections you can click on “See more” to obtain more detailed data and apply filters for the analysis of a participation.
3. Instagram ads: increase sales
Having a business account gives you the opportunity to advertise on Instagram, rather than through the Facebook advertising tool. This offers you the opportunity to promote specific posts.
The ads Instagram can have a big impact, more than 30% of Instagram users purchased something after they saw an advertisement for the first time on Instagram.
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4. Add links to Instagram stories
If you have a corporate Instagram account with more than 10,000 followers, you can add links to your Instagram stories, allowing you to easily direct people to your website. This is a great advantage considering that more than 300 million people play Instagram stories every day.
5. With a better “bio” people can contact your company more easily
The companies have some additional features on their profile, including links for their followers to get addresses, their phone number or their email, depending on what has been planned. Personal accounts do not have this feature.
6. Connect your business page with Facebook
With a business profile, Facebook business pages can be linked to your Instagram account, giving you the ability to share your messages directly on your Facebook business page.
7. Higher probability that your account will be verified
It’s really hard to get verified on the platform, but if you have a company profile on Instagram, your chances of getting the blue badge will probably increase.
8. Instagram shopping
This new feature allows retailers to add product tags to posts so that users can learn more about the products through Instagram. It’s very simple: just click the “Click to view products” button to see the labels of all the products. Each label provides the name of the product and its price.
Users can decide to select the tag they want to learn more about the product by staying on Instagram. If you want to buy the product, click on the “Buy Now” link which will take you to the page in order to complete the purchase.
Steps to create an Instagram business account
There are many reasons to switch to an Instagram Business account. Obviously, we recommend you to switch only if you are a business owner, influencer or if you have a brand. For private use, it is not necessary to switch to Instagram Business .
But how do you create a business profile on Instagram ? Here is the step-by-step procedure:
- Open your profile and click on the button with the three lines at the top right of the screen
- Select “Settings” and then “Account”
- Tap « Switch to company profile «
- Select the Facebook page you want to link to your Instagram business account . If you don’t see your page as an option, make sure you are an administrator. If you don’t have a company Facebook page, Instagram will automatically create it
- Once you have selected the correct Facebook page, click and configure your company profile
Now you simply have to verify your business contact information, including phone number, main office address, and email address. Once everything appears to be correct, click “Done” to save your business Instagram account settings.
TIP: To switch to an Instagram business profile , make sure your profile is public. Private accounts cannot switch to a company profile .
Tips for a succesful Instagram Business account
Based on the advantages that we have just learned about, here are some simple recommendations that will help you increase the engagement and notoriety of your professional Instagram account.
Find out how other companies are using Instagram
Businesses flock to Instagram to harness the power of this social media blockbuster. This is partly due to the launch of Instagram for Business, which offers tips, brand announcements, API examples, and other useful information for both beginners and experienced users.
This blog, as well as analyzing the competition and being inspired by success stories from other sectors, will help you achieve your goals on Instagram.
Balance fun images with your corporate photos
Take advantage of your Instagram account and create a feed with publications of all kinds. You can mix work scenes from your company with other creatives such as tips or images with a humorous touch.
Instagram videos embedded in blogs
With the increase in mobile data on our smartphones, video consumption by users has skyrocketed, so it is highly recommended to offer content in this format, as it increases the brand’s memory in the user’s mind.
To maximize your efforts, embed Instagram videos anywhere, including your blogs, websites, and Facebook posts. This gives you fluidity and multichannel coverage as your brand reaches more people in a consistent format.
As in almost all areas of marketing and business planning is strictly necessary to achieve your goal.
To satisfy the Instagram algorithm, it is important to post often but not necessarily every day. Our recommendation is that you publish a total of 3 times a week.
Using your current inventory of content, create a schedule of what to post and when to post it. Keep track of your followers and responses to better determine what works.
Instagram has native apps like its image editor and Boomerang that helps users personalize photos and videos. However, there are many applications available on the Internet that offer even more opportunities and effects.