Remember the good old times when Instagram served as a new platform to share funny selfies? Now this is a social media platform for businesses to thrive.
And at the beginning (when God created the world), there were only personal accounts. This is how everyone started. In time, Instagram also developed professional accounts that split into two categories: creator and business.
Now, when expanding the horizon of possibilities, starting in 2018, Instagram offers users the chance to choose. Marketers are caught in between the webs of creator vs business accounts.
We are here to bring light on this particular situation. Let’s see which are the differences, advantages and disadvantages of these two types of Instagram accounts.
Creator account vs. business account on Instagram
- What is a creator account on Instagram?
- What is a business account on Instagram?
- How to switch to a creator vs. business account on Instagram?
- The differences between an Instagram creator vs. business accounts
- The advantages of Instagram creator accounts
- The advantages of Instagram business accounts
Choosing between creator vs. business account depends only on your objectives and your Instagram marketing strategy.
Let’s put it this way, to make it simpler: A fashion brand has a business account and markets its products through influencers, who have creator accounts, displaying their products for their audience.
Both the influencer, and the brand will benefit from this type of interactions on Instagram.
1. What is a creator account on Instagram?
Creator accounts are perfect for public figures, artists, and creators, like influencers.
Generally, they use the platform to attract and increase their audience, while also establishing collaborations with brands.
This Instagram account allows creators to easily access insights and analytics to see how their content performs.
Moreover, they can become more creative when it comes to Reels, having access to more music.
2. What is a business account on Instagram?
Business accounts on Instagram are suitable for companies who have designed their monetization strategy and run ads.
An Instagram business account is a professional account meant to help businesses connect with their prospective customers.
Based on Instagram data, about 90% of Instagram users follow their favorite brands on Instagram. Therefore, this is a great environment to tune in with your prospective clients.
More and more brands have invested into Instagram Shop and a marketing strategy meant to attract more leads. Instagram business accounts were first developed in 2016.
3. How to switch to a creator vs. business account on Instagram?
When you want to kiss goodbye your personal account and switch to a creator or business account, depending on your preferences, you have to follow this step-by-step guide to choose your favorite.
How to switch to a creator account on Instagram
- Open your Instagram profile
- Tap on the '3 line button' in the top right corner
- Tap 'Settings'
- Select 'Account'
- Tap 'Switch Account Type'
- From the drop down menu, choose ‘Switch to Creator Account’
How to switch to a business account on Instagram
- Open your Instagram profile
- Tap on the '3 line button' in the top right corner
- Tap 'Settings'Select 'Account'
- Tap 'Switch Account Type'
- From the drop down menu, choose ‘Switch to Business Account’
4. The differences between the Instagram creator vs. business accounts
To establish which type of Instagram account benefits you more, you may want to know what are the differences between creator vs. business account.
Here is a list of things to consider when deciding to switch from one to another:
If you decide on a business account, you will get weekly updates on insights regarding your followers. A creator account offers you the chance to check your number of followers and users who unfollow you on a daily basis.
This way you will know what changes to implement in order to satisfy your audience and stop losing followers.
As a business account, in case you need to see even more metrics about your Instagram performance, you could use a third-party analytics tool, like Socialinsider.
On this app, you will be able to set a time frame and then look at your posts performance depending on the period you have selected.
When you decide to set a creator account, you will get access to more Direct Messaging features. You can filter the DMs you receive via 3 tabs, like Requests, General and Primary.
Requests contain messages from users you do not follow. General includes the messages that you do not get notifications for, and Primary is for the messages you also get notified.
Creators can use these filters to separate the messages they get from fans, from the ones they receive from brands and friends.
There is also an option that allows you to flag important messages that require your attention and immediate response.
Instagram users that set a creator account can develop shoppable posts in which they can tag products.
This way, when they are advertising for one of the brands they collaborate with, creators manage to increase engagement and interactions from their audience.
When users click on a product’s tag, they will land on a page with the product’s description, having the option to buy it straight from there.
Not only your audience will increase, but the brand you are working with will have a successful campaign, increasing sales and the number of clients.
Irrespective of the type of account you choose, business vs creator account, you can share your contact information in both cases, including your phone number and email address.
This way, people who would like to collaborate with you will find it easier to get in touch with you.
However, if you want to add your location, you have to switch to a business account. Instead, if you prefer that your audience or collaborators contact you via DMs, you can always hide your contact information.
On Instagram, your call-to-action (CTA) is your bio located under your profile picture. Business accounts establish for their bio “Reserve now”, “Book now” or “Order now” to attract prospective customers.
You can add these action buttons from your menu. First, tap the Edit Profile button, then tap Contact Options under Public Business Information.
Tap Add an action button and then you can choose from the button that appear below.
To see your Instagram performance and measure your metrics, you can use a third-party analytics tool for business accounts.
You can use the help of Instagram analytics for a creator account, as well.
The difference is that you won’t be able to schedule posts on a creator account via a third-party app. If you run a creator account, the Instagram API won’t allow you to integrate a third-party tool.
5. The advantages of Instagram creator accounts
An Instagram creator account offers more chances to content creators, artists and influencers to empower their creative process while also remaining in touch with their audience.
A creator account brings a lot of advantages for the user. Here is a list of benefits that can convince you:
- scheduling options - When running a creator account, you can schedule your Instagram posts from Creator Studio. There, you will also gain access to insights.
- contact data - You can decide whether your audience will see your contact infos or not
- more music - When creating Reels, you will have access to more original music, compared to business accounts.
6. The advantages of Instagram business accounts
As a company, when switching to a business account on Instagram, you get a lot of benefits that could help you increase brand awareness and leads.
Here are just some of the advantages of Instagram business accounts:
- third-party tools - You can use third-party Instagram analytics tools to obtain in-depth insights about your campaigns’ performance
- instagram ads - This will allow you to promote your content in order to reach a higher number of people. You can run ads through the “Ads Tools” tab.
- IG shop - Through the IG Shop you can set on your profile, you will be able to sale your products, while also tagging products in your feed.
- label - You can use labels to establish which is your business’ niche.
- audience customization - You can customize who is your target audience based on your demographics and insights about your buyer persona.
Final thoughts
Finding the suitable type of Instagram account for your brand can be a challenge. Most marketers tend to try them all to see the differences and benefits.
Now that you have got the chance to read all about it, you can stop testing and make a decision. Your main interest is to develop successful Instagram campaigns and eye-candy content that attracts leads.
Analyze your social media performance and benchmark competitors!
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