Last Updated: February 16th, 2020

You know at this point an Instagram business profile can be an incredible asset to use in regards to advertising. Converting your personal page to a Business Profile unlocks incredible features! Features on Instagram that no one else gets access too!

Today, we will investigate the advantages of the Instagram business profile as well as the cons of making the switch.

Frankly put, an Instagram business profile is an indicator for your supporters to perceive your personal Instagram feed as that of a brand.

Looking for that blue checkmark on your Instagram profile, switching to a business account with a proper backing can help you get that taken care of. Just one of the perks of making the switch!

At first glance, Instagram Business profiles seem like a no brainer. With the switch from personal to the business you get:

  • Free Insights and analytics
  • Instagram Story URLs
  • Direct Contact with Followers via phone, email or directions to the location
  • Easy to create promotions
  • Mobile In-app Shopping Experience

However, is changing to a business profile good for your brand or business? Before making the decision to switch you should know the pros and cons of an Instagram Business Profile.

Pros/Advantages of an Instagram Business Profile

1. The Switch is Simple and Free

Switching from a personal profile to a business profile is easy as cake. We are about to walk you through the process just below.

Navigate to your Instagram Account Settings look for the option “Switch to Business Profile”

Pros and Cons of Instagram Business Profile Pros and Cons of Instagram Business ProfilePros and Cons of Instagram Business Profile

You will then be asked to connect to a Facebook Page.

NOTE: You must be an admin of the Facebook Page in order to connect, in addition, you can only connect one Instagram Business Profile to one Facebook Page.

Instagram will then ask what type of contact information you would like to provide from your Facebook Page, such as phone number, email address, or mailing address/business location. A minimum of one contact is required to set up an Instagram Business profile.

Just like that, in 4 easy steps, you now have an Instagram Business Profile.

2. Direct Contact

When switching to an Instagram Business Profile you open a whole new channel of communication for users. Your following can now select the “Contact” button in order to reach you. Followers will be able to either

  • email
  • call
  • visit your location

Depending on the contact information you provide from your Facebook page.

3. Story Links

Instagram just recently released the Story Links function to 10k+ Instagram Business Profiles. This functionality is a huge plus for accounts. Instagram Account owners typically direct their following to their bio link in order to drive traffic to a specific location whether it be a product or website.

However, with the introduction of Story Links to Instagram Business Profiles, accounts can now direct their following to multiple locations. Story Links allow for creative ways to drive traffic to multiple URL links on one account for 24 hrs.

Pros and Cons of Instagram Business Profile

4. Powerful Insights

Instagram allows for Business Profiles to have a plethora of account insights. These insights allow marketers to know what type of content the audience is responding best to, what time the audience is most active, the audience’s location and so much more!

All the function of the insights include:

  • Total impressions for the week
  • Top 7 recent posts
  • Story Insights
  • Impressions, reach and engagement for each of the top posts of the past week, month, 3 months, 6 months, year or 2 years.
  • What days of week and times of day your followers are most active on Instagram
  • Gender breakdown
  • Age range
  • Top locations (country and city)

These insights are a powerful metric that can be utilized to maximize growth, conversions, and engagement of accounts.

5. Easy to Advertise

Creating an ad on Instagram is super easy. When Facebook acquired Instagram it’s Ads Manager became an integral part of Instagram Marketing. You can create a single image, carousel image, or video all in the ads manager.

6. In-App Mobile Shopping Experience

Thanks to Instagram’s most recent updates in 2019, Instagram Business profiles now have access to a full in-app shop. Facebook has since extended its Page Shop functionality to the Instagram world.

Now, Business profile users on Instagram can link their Facebook Product Catalog to their Instagram profile. Voila! You can now tag all of your products in your Instagram feed posts, stories, and shop! 

Not only that, Instagram has released a Shop Tab in the Instagram Explore Page. This allows the community to shop products from all the favorite brands and businesses that they follow. Creating a fully immersive mobile shopping experience all without leaving the comfort of your Instagram.

Cons/Disadvantages of an Instagram Business Profile

1. Labeled as a Business

Do you want people to see your account as a business page? Being labeled as a business can take the socialness out of an Instagram account.

Instagram’s foundation is based on building communities of like-minded individuals, who seek to share their experiences with others. The method in which they share their experiences is very informal. Usually, images or videos were taken by non-professional photographers that share some of their thoughts in the captions. This informal attitude allows others to experience the moment through the eyes of the author.

However, typically business profiles have a more formal layout. The content is normally much more professional and the captions are geared to convert followers into leads. But this formalness takes away from the individuality Instagram was founded on.

TIP: Focus on building a community of people that share the same characteristics instead of trying to sell them products.

business profile

2. Bye Bye Organic Reach

Instagram generates a large portion of its revenue from paid advertisements. When switching to a business profile you signify to Instagram that you are a business. Businesses are Instagram’s target audience for paid advertising. Therefore, they give Instagram Business Account owners a multitude of data analytic tools to optimize their account’s performance.

The so-called “free analytics” does not seem so free, do they?

There is always a catch when you hear the word “free”. It just so happens that Instagram uses this to lure in small businesses so they can market paid advertising.

In addition to giving business profiles “free analytics”, Instagram also reduces growth and engagement for business accounts to increase the likelihood of paid advertising.

3.  Less Visibility

Much like Facebook’s Newsfeed update, Instagram’s algorithm values updates from friends over businesses. Your post will have less authority on the explore page compared to a personal account post.

Final Thoughts

Although Instagram claims that it’s tools are free to new coming Instagram Business profiles, we know that they surely come with a price. However, the unlocking of these features after making the switch can help your business and social profile 10 fold.

Eventually, everything boils down to individual inclination. Consider your very own image, gauge these upsides and downsides, and after that make sense of what might work best for your brand push ahead.

Keep in mind, there isn’t one right answer! Before switching make sure to weigh the pros and cons of each.

Although you do get access to all these incredible: Free Insights and analytics, Instagram Story URLs, Direct Contact with Followers via phone, email or directions to the location, Easy to create promotions, Mobile In-app Shopping Experience, and more. Does this outweigh some negative aspects such as diminished organic reach, customer perception, etc.?

Test out the Instagram Business Profile for a month or two and get as much as you can out of the analytics.

Make sure to measure your growth of followers per month prior to starting this so you can compare the data. Compare the growth and engagement from personal to business.

If it turns out that growth and engagement were higher on personal then it is easy to switch back. Simply revert to a personal account and disconnect the Facebook page from the Instagram account.

How have your experiences gone with your Instagram Business Profile?
Share your experience in the comments below

 

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