As Instagram becomes more complex, the different types of accounts have become more important than ever for influencers and brands looking to get the most out of their Instagram marketing strategy. When examining Instagram Creator vs. Business Accounts, we found several advantages to having a business account as an influencer. But, what’s the difference between Instagram Business and Creator accounts?

The results may surprise you! Business and Creator accounts have many similarities, but each is geared toward a slightly different user. Creator accounts work well for personal brands and influencers, while Business accounts are meant for brands and influencers who have already built in their monetization strategy.  

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Personal Instagram Account

A personal account is pretty self-explanatory, so we won’t describe this too much here. A personal account is perfect for the average Instagram user, but it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of Business or Creator accounts. That’s why this article is examining primarily Instagram Creator vs Business accounts.

These users are typically sharing Instagram stories and posts about their day-to-day life and do not think of their Instagram account as a personal brand or business.

Business Instagram Account

Business Instagram accounts are meant for brands and other businesses, so these accounts are made with features that will help businesses.

With Business accounts, you can add additional Call-to-Action buttons so that visitors can book an appointment, contact customer service, or even make reservations.

From the experts:

If you’re doing anything outside of just being a casual Instagram user with friends you need a business account. Only business accounts are able to use Social Media Post Scheduling tools like Later or Buffer. In order to run any types of advertisements you need a business account. In order to get more in depth analytics and insights you need a business account. Anyone who runs a business, has a personal brand, or is trying to be an influencer needs to have a business account.~John Frigo, Digital Marketing Lead

Having a business account has been very advantageous for Breukelen Rub. It allowed for free to low-cost marketing; a tool very useful to a small business. having a business account also allowed me to cross-promote by creating partnerships with other brands and their content.~Isalia Lebron, Breukelen Rub

We prefer an Instagram business account because of the options for representing your products. Instagram business accounts allow you to enter product details, descriptions, and links directly in your posts. This vital information is great for the casual consumers that are surfing your page, who might be looking for a little more information about the products in your post.~Michael Nemeroff, Founder of RushOrderTees

For my personal page as an influencer, I have a business page. I prefer the business page because it allows me to see which post do better. I’m also allowed to see what my demographic is and who is following me. This is important when I’m working with other brands. Often brands want to see what my audience is to see if it coincides with their audience, I’m able to book more deals now that I have a business profile. I’m able to send brands the information necessary for them to want to continue with the collaboration. Brands often ask for my insights to see if we are a good fit. Your insights should support the traffic you receive on your page. Switching really allowed me to see what posts did well on my account. Now that I have this information, I post more things that my audience likes to see.~Kenny Screven

Your Business Instagram includes:

• Detailed insights into your audience demographics, the best times to post, and other metrics.
• Add additional Call-to-Action buttons to your profile so that you can add contact information or a website.
• Integrations with third-party tools so that you can automatically publish to your profile.
• The ability to promote Instagram posts as ads.
• A label, beneath your display name, that lists what your business is about.
• Instagram Shoppable posts, when you sync your store with Instagram.
• Customized audience targeting to amplify your content.
• Better access to influencer networks, like Carro.

Creator Instagram Account

Instagram added this option in mid-2019 to meet the needs of content creators. Unlike regular business profiles, Instagram Creator profiles are meant to fulfill the needs to influencers and creators that don’t yet have a business. They are trying to build fan communities, gain brand partnerships, and share within a specific industry. Instagram creators are an important part of the Instagram eco-system.

Creator accounts provide some additional features so that they can build a creator’s personal brand on social media. An Instagram creator account allows them to be a part of our community, while also gaining additional insights.

Your Creator Instagram includes:

• Detailed insights into your audience demographics, the best times to post, and other metrics.
• Add contact options with additional Call-to-Action buttons. Creators have less options for buttons than Business accounts.
• Get the daily number of follows and unfollows, so that you can see which content performs best.
• Access to Instagram’s “Creator Studio,” which displays all your stats in one convenient location.
• Inbox sorting so that your DMs can be sorted into Primary, General, and Requests boxes.
• A label, listed beneath your display name, so that visitors know what your niche or specialty is.

How do I switch to an Instagram Business Profile?

To switch the type of account you have on Instagram, you can go into Settings.

You can also change the type of account at any time to best suit your needs.

Instagram Creator vs Business Account — Which is better?

In the great battle of Instagram creator vs business accounts, there’s no right answer about which account type is best for you. However, Instagram’s Creator and Business accounts are nearly identical in features now, so a Business account with the added perk of auto-publishing seems to take a narrow lead. Auto-publishing and being able to schedule posts in advance seems to rank high on the list of benefits.

Instagram offers these business and creator accounts so that both groups can get the features that they need to work together and succeed. Switching to a business account can help you unlock the additional insights you need to succeed.

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