What Is A Professional Account On Instagram?

No matter the business you are in, social media is a huge boon to your brand.

Whether you run a local business, an online store, or are one of the many influencers on the web, sites like Instagram can help boost engagement and get people talking about you and your products.

To assist businesses and brands on their platform, Instagram added Professional Accounts.

You might be asking, what is a Professional Account on Instagram and how do I sign up for one?

We will cover the ways a Professional Account operates, what separates them from personal Instagram profiles, and how you can sign up for one today.

What is a Professional Account on Instagram?

Instagram provides Professional Accounts, also known as business accounts or business profiles, with analytics to track how their content is engaging with followers.

These tools are more advanced than the ones found in personal accounts.

Using these tools, businesses can find out what engages with their customers and tailor their content to match the customer’s desires.

What is the Purpose of a Professional Instagram Account?

Instagram created Professional Accounts for businesses and brands who want to have more data at their fingertips.

What information is on a Professional Instagram Account?

All businesses and people will be able to view their Impressions, reach, follower demographics and Interactions.

Who needs a Professional Instagram Account?

Instagram designed these accounts with businesses and brands that need lots of data in mind.

If that describes your situation, you might consider creating a Professional Account.

Instagram: Personal Profile Vs. Professional Account

While Professional Accounts come with several benefits that make them a superb choice for brands, they are not for everyone, and some will prefer the simplicity of a personal profile.

It is vital to choose the right account type for your needs.

Professional Accounts have more statistical tools at their disposal and can help businesses understand what makes their content engaging.

However, you sacrifice a few key features when you convert your profile to a professional one.

A personal account is suitable for most users and allows you to post pictures and engage with other users’ content.

It also gives you the privacy you may not have with the always public-facing Professional Account.

If you are new to Instagram or are unsure if you need a Professional Account, consider signing up for a personal account first to try out the site.

If you find yourself in need of more statistical data, then it might be time to upgrade to a Professional Account.

You can always upgrade a basic account to an Instagram business account, so you do not have to worry about being locked into one or the other.

Benefits of a Professional Account

If you need more data about your engagement on Instagram and want to better understand how your content reaches its audience, the bevy of features in a business account will serve you well.

We will highlight some of the features that set an Instagram business profile up to be an asset for your brand.

Insights

Nearly every business today uses advanced analytics to better understand its market and customers.

Instagram understands this and includes Instagram Insights with every Professional Account.

This is the main benefit of a business account and what makes them enviable for brands.

Instagram Insights is your one-stop shop to see how well your content engages with your audience and understand what is working with your marketing strategy.

Insights are free for all Instagram business profiles to use.

Every Instagram Insight will help you fine-tune your messaging and content to meet your follower’s needs.

You can view analytics detailing how posts, Stories, or reels you have shared are doing with your audience and quickly get an idea of the impression you have made.

The program also gives you insight into the type of people following your profile, such as their gender, age, nationality, and when they are active on the site.

Perhaps most importantly, a business account can see its reach and how many people have at least scrolled past the content.

Knowing your reach will give account holders a good idea if their content is reaching the desired market and if it is making the desired impression.

The most convenient part is that you can view all these analytics directly from the Instagram app.

You don’t have to bounce around between different websites to get data and implement changes.

It is all easy to do through the app itself.

Boosting Posts

If you have spent time on social media, you have probably heard of boosting posts.

Business accounts can boost their posts to appear in Instagram ads to better reach the desired consumer.

Once you have boosted a post, you can view how customers engage with it compared to your other posts in the Insights tab.

Instagram Shopping

If you are in the e-commerce field or a retailer, Instagram Shopping is a feature you will likely use often.

If you have a business account, you can create a tab directly on your Instagram page for users to shop from.

The benefit of this is you can showcase your products in boosted posts, and then drive those consumers directly to your store without ever having them leave the Instagram app.

Using Professional Account features like this in tandem, you can expand your reach and develop it into sales.

Swipe Up Links

Instagram Stories are a great way to engage with your audience, and professional accounts get bonuses too.

If your professional profile has more than 10,000 followers, you can add links to your Stories that users can swipe up to follow.

Using this, you can drive traffic to your main website without your customer needing to type in the address on their own.

Scheduled Posts

Scheduling posts is the perfect way to ensure you release content at peak traffic hours on your page.

With an Instagram business profile, you will have the tools to put out content exactly when you need it.

Personal accounts cannot schedule posts, and it is a hassle to set alarms to remember when to post.

Scheduling posts takes all the hassle out of posting and allows you to focus on other aspects of your company.

Contact Button

Instagram business profiles allow followers to directly contact your account with a designated button.

Physical stores can even include an address and phone number for users to know your location or call you.

Instagram business profiles also have access to “Quick Replies” which allow you to respond to direct messages with automated responses.

These responses give you a way to answer the most common questions and hold followers over until you can give them a personal reply.

Disadvantages of Instagram Business Account

While an Instagram business profile has several advantages for brands, the service includes a few downsides.

While these do not make Professional Accounts bad, it is something to remember when making the switch.

Organic Reach

Instagram gives priority for reach to personal accounts rather than business profiles.

Brands will likely have to pay to get the same number of impressions that personal accounts might enjoy.

Privacy

You cannot set Professional accounts to private.

While most brands will not mind this lack of privacy, smaller businesses or Instagram influencer accounts should keep this in mind.

Music Sticker

The Music Sticker is not available for business profiles as a way to avoid copyright infringement.

An Instagram Story with music is a popular tool to boost views, but it won’t be available to business accounts.

How to Create a Professional Instagram Account

Signing up for an Instagram business profile is easy, and you can do it with a few simple clicks.

You can also freely switch back to a personal account if you find you do not enjoy the features of an Instagram business profile.

When you are ready, log in to your profile on the Instagram app.

Is It Free to Create a Professional Instagram Account?

It is free to set up a Professional Account, so even unsure users can give it a try risk-free.

Instagram Business Profile Key Features

• Insight about your posts
• Shop on instagram
• Promoting post from the Instagram account
• Follower information
• Add contact information

How to Switch to an Instagram Business Profile

1. In the app, select the Main Menu in the corner
2. Select Settings and then tap Account
3. In the Account menu, tap Switch to Professional Account and then select Business
4. Optionally, you can connect a Facebook Business Page as well
5. Enter your business’ contact data and finalize the process

With the process complete, you will immediately access all professional features, such as Instagram Insight and Instagram Shopping.

How to Convert a Creator Account to a Professional Account

A Creator Account is typically used by Instagram influencers.

It is a different kind of Professional Account that is less focused on selling and advertising products and more on boosting engagement.

Converting a Creator Account to a business profile is completed the same way as transforming a personal account.

Go to the Switch to Professional Account menu and select Business.

Conclusion: What is a Professional Account on Instagram?

Whether you are a big business or just a startup, using an Instagram Professional Account is a great way to boost your social media footprint.

Instagram business accounts have multiple features that will help you better understand your customer such as Instagram Insight.

And you can drive that traffic directly to your store, Facebook page, or website.

Creating a business profile is fast and easy.

You have nothing to lose, so why not try it today and see if it can help you boost sales today.