How to Create an Instagram Business Account and Grow It 🪴

Are you on the fence about using Instagram in your marketing strategy? You shouldn’t be.

By creating an Instagram business account, you’d join 200 million other businesses with a presence on the platform.

70% of shoppers turn to Instagram for their next purchase, so it’s a great idea to set up an account there.

People reach out to business Instagram pages to connect with brands as they consider their next buy. A professional account is a great way to boost brand awareness and engage with your followers. 

Yet, most importantly, it lets you drive more sales and even sell on the platform with an Instagram Shop.

In this article, we’ll explain the difference between the Instagram account types, how to set up your Instagram business account, and what to do next.

What is an Instagram business account?

You bolster your online presence with an Instagram business profile by staking your claim on the platform. As your target audience is likely already spending a chunk of time here, creating an Instagram account for your company or brand to manage and market your business makes sense. 

Like a Facebook Page, you add contact details and other information to make it easier for the Instagram contingent of your followers to find you and connect with you. They’re here already.

It works differently than a personal profile because you can access more information and new tools and features to help grow your business. 

With an Instagram business account, you can track the performance of your posts with audience insights and other performance metrics. You can also advertise with Instagram ads to grow your audience and expand your reach with engaging posts, Reels, and Stories.

Instagram business account vs. personal account

Using a professional business account is very different from a personal Instagram account. A business profile has more moving parts than a personal account, with many more places to add contact information or website links to reach your business goals.

Secondly, you have access to Instagram Insights, which paints a much fuller picture of your business's impact on Instagram. You can track engagement and interactions with your content, advertise, and have multiple people working on your account.

A personal account is for individuals, and Instagram business accounts are structured to show your business’s best side on a visually focused platform.

Whether you’re a small business, influencer, creator, or startup, there’s an Instagram business account type with your needs at heart. 

Here are the three different types of Instagram accounts you can create:

• Personal - for individuals
• Creator profiles - for creators or personal brands without all the Business features like scheduling but access to exclusive creator tools
• Business profiles - the Full Monty of Instagram’s business tools and features for brands and companies

What are the benefits of using an Instagram business account?

An Instagram business profile has many benefits, and we will discuss the pro features later, so I’ll sum it up for you here.

1. It’s much easier to manage your business Instagram page. You can schedule content, set up automated responses, and respond to DMs and comments from the Meta Business Suite.
2. It’s free to set up and unlocks a whole new audience to tap into. Plus, you get the tools to amplify your presence, increase engagement, and grow your following.
3. It opens up another sales channel for your business. Your Instagram business account becomes an entry point that ushers the customers ever closer to the finish line - making a purchase.
4. Instagram helps you tell your brand stories in fun and engaging ways. Between Reels, Stories, Carousel posts, and videos, you have more bandwidth to use when you showcase your products or services.

How to create a business account on Instagram

You can convert an existing Instagram account to a business one or create a new one. You can use the web or Instagram mobile app to do this.

How to create a new Instagram account

1. Head to Instagram.com and sign out of your account if you’re already signed in.
2. Click sign up to create a new account.

3. Enter the required information and click the ‘Sign up’ button.

4. Enter your date of birth, then the confirmation code.

Now, you can log into your new account, and we’ll switch to a business account next. If you have an existing Instagram profile you want to convert, you can also log into your account.

How to switch to a business account on Instagram

Whether you’re using the Instagram app or the web, head to your “Profile” and click the Settings icon ⚙️

Then, choose “Settings and privacy” on the menu popup.

Scroll down the middle column until you find “Account type and tools.” Click the arrow next to “Switch to Professional Account.”

Choose your professional account type and click “Next.” We’re choosing Business so we can get access to all the features.

Check the box if you want to display your category tag on your profile. Choose the category that best fits your business from the list and click “Done.”

First, you can choose to show your contact info on your profile. Then, you can set the contact details on your public profile, like your business phone number, general inquiry email address, and street address if you have a physical store.

Once you’ve switched to a business account, you should link it to your Facebook Page. This step is essential if you plan to run Instagram ads in the future. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to do that.

What does a business account on Instagram do?

A personal account is stock standard with no bells and whistles. A new world awaits when you upgrade to an Instagram business account because you can:

• Add a call-to-action button to your profile where users can call you or make a booking, an appointment, or a reservation
• Add links to Stories and Reels
• Add more details to your bio, such as category tags
• Unlock post scheduling to plan and manage your social media content and ads easily
• Integrate your account with third-party tools to help manage your page
• See Insights like your audience demographics and your best times to post, along with a host of other metrics to track performance in the Professional Dashboard
• Add a label explaining what your business is about below your display name
• Advertise your business with promotions or Instagram ads
• Collaborate with other brands and businesses on Instagram
• Create shoppable posts if you have an Instagram Shop
• Customize your audience targeting to put your content in front of the right people
• Create automated replies for quick responses to your most common questions

These features make managing your presence on Instagram a breeze, so it’s worth upgrading your account to a professional one.

Instagram insights and analytics

A professional Instagram account unlocks the Instagram Insights and Analytics tools. These features allow you to track the performance of your social media content and ad campaigns. 

This data is pure gold. It helps you learn what resonates with your audience and what doesn’t, allowing you to base your next campaign on your findings.

Using the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu with the three lines. Another way to see your insights is to go to your Professional Dashboard, which appears below your bio, as in the image below.

Head to the section “For professionals,” where you can find your business account tools. Tap “Insights.”

You won’t see much data if you’ve just gained access to this feature, but you should check back regularly to monitor your post and ad performance.

Here is a summary of what Instagram means by “Accounts reached,” “Accounts engaged,” and “Total followers.”

Ads and promotions on Instagram

Promoting your business on Instagram means paying to advertise your business page.

An Instagram business profile lets you turn any of your posts into an ad. You can pay to advertise on Instagram in two ways:

1. You can run promotions from the Instagram app. While this appears to be a simple option, it’s both limiting (you have fewer options than advertising using the Meta Ads Manager) and expensive. Apple charges an additional service fee if you use the Instagram app to boost posts or promote your page. 
2. You can run ads from the Meta Ads Manager. This route is the way to go because you have more options regarding the types of ads you can create and fewer restrictions in terms of customization and managing your ad. 

You can use the Instagram app to boost posts or promote your page while you’re on the go.

Yet, setting up a Meta Business Manager account and an ad account to run your Instagram ads is highly recommended. This strategic move will significantly enhance your advertising efforts on the platform. 

We have a great article about the ins and outs of Facebook advertising to help you if you get stuck. Remember, Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, so you must learn how to use the Meta Ads Manager to run great Instagram ads.

Tips for running Instagram ads

• Avoid making changes to your ad during the learning phase. It is better to apply or recreate what you have learned in the next campaign.
• Use a digital power tool like Madgicx to help you monitor and optimize your ad account. Madgicx offers you one place to view and manage all your Meta ads. Plus, it enables you to identify your winning ads and spot the poor performers. It’s the AI ad sidekick most advertisers wish they had when they started. Give it a spin with a free trial.
• Link to your store products if you don’t have an Instagram Shop in Reels and Stories.
• Prioritize creating mobile-first video ads, Reels, and Stories before static images for your ads. 
• Try different creative variations and A/B test your ads so you learn what works best and what doesn’t.
• Browse the Madgicx Ad Library for inspiration ahead of your next Instagram ad campaign. You can filter ads by brand, type and format, industry, and more. 

Using Instagram shopping and checkout

If you’re in a region that supports it, setting up an Instagram Shop is a great way to increase sales because users can buy from you without leaving the platform. This, combined with creating shoppable posts, makes buying from you much easier.

For a transaction fee, Meta will handle the payment on your behalf using Facebook Pay. Plus, if you have a store, you can integrate it with your Instagram Shop in the Commerce Manager.

People can buy from you without leaving their IG feed, making this a precious tool for business owners because it increases your chances of a sale. The easier you make it for people to buy from you, the more sales you will make.

Unfortunately, Instagram Shops are not supported in many countries outside of the US. So, if you are eligible, you should set yours up. See if you’re eligible to set up an Instagram Shop here.

How to grow your business on Instagram

1. Use all the new tools at your disposal

Instagram has created many tools to help you reach more customers and achieve your business goals. On principle, you should use as many of them as possible to get the most out of the Instagram platform. 

Use stickers, links, hashtags, and product tags on your posts, Reels, and Stories to help get more eyes on your assets. Schedule your posts ahead of time in batches to save time, check your Insights to find your most popular times, and discover more about your audience. 

I recommend deep-diving into exploring the app and its capabilities once you unlock the business tools.

2. Extend your reach with a link in the bio page

You’ll know by now that even with an Instagram business account, the number of links on your profile is limited, and you can’t add clickable links to captions. To circumvent this, you should create a link in the bio page or link tree. Brands use this customizable landing page where you can add your logo and brand colors and add extra links over and above the Instagram default. 

Having a link strategy for Instagram helps to extend your reach because you can create links to subscribe to your newsletter, your latest blog posts, specials, product ranges, any other web pages, and links to your accounts on different social media platforms. 

My favorites for personal brands and businesses are Linktree and Linkin.bio by Later, an Instagram post scheduling tool.

3. Get creative with your content 

Since Instagram is such a visually immersive platform, it is THE place to get creative with your content.

You can create standard image posts, video posts, Reels, Stories, and carousel posts to add a mix of images and videos. You can also create shoppable posts linking to your store to simplify purchases. 

Then, using the Instagram creator tools, you can enhance these post types with stickers, links, shopping tags, hashtags, polls, and text to make them even more enticing to interact with. 

You can also get creative by finding ways to gather user-generated content that you can use in your marketing campaigns. Encouraging people to leave reviews or create videos of them using your product helps you do this. User-generated content works wonders as ads.

4. Use hashtags like keywords

Instagram was the birthplace of hashtags, so if you’re on Instagram, you should use them. Using hashtags in your bio and captions helps add additional ‘categories’ to your page. Instagram users follow hashtags, which is a great way to extend your reach organically, yet only if you choose the right hashtags.

Hashtags also help you sort your posts, and you can create new hashtags for competitions or contests. Doing so lets you easily track entries by viewing or following the hashtag.

Hashtags are a powerful way to grow your account for free and manage your own content efficiently. 

5. Advertise on Instagram 

It’s no secret that business accounts on social media platforms have minimal organic reach. A surefire way to connect with your target audience is to advertise on Instagram. You can piggyback on Meta’s incredible targeting ability and algorithm to put your ad in front of people who are most likely to take the action you want them to take.

But don’t stop there! You can use an AI-powered software tool like Madgicx to help you create winning ads, launch, automate, and optimize them. Madgicx enables you to manage all your ad accounts in one place while telling you exactly how to improve ad performance and automating the rest. A media buyer in your pocket! Try Madgicx for your next IG ad campaign.

6. Monitor your performance

Unless you analyze your post performance and analytics, you won’t know what works and what doesn’t. You may think you know what your audience will like and respond to, but you can’t predict it. 

By monitoring your data, you keep tabs on the front lines of your business and learn more about your audience and followers. Tracking performance lets you improve your content and ad campaigns every time you create a new one because you can apply what you’ve learned before.

You can use Instagram Insights, Meta Business Suite, and the Meta Ads Manager to view your Instagram analytics. 

Instagram business account FAQs

Here are some answers to the most common questions about setting up your Instagram business account.

Is an Instagram business account free?

Yes, it is. Creating an Instagram business account costs nothing unless you pay a professional to create it for you. It costs money to advertise your business on Instagram, though.

Can I switch back to a personal account after switching to a business account on Instagram?

Yes, you can. Following the steps outlined in this article, you can switch your Instagram business account back to a personal one. Just reverse your choices. 

It’s important to know that if you switch back to a personal account, you will lose access to your historical data and insights.

What is the difference between an Instagram business account and a creator account?

Instagram recognizes that influencers and business owners have different needs. 

Many features overlap, such as:

1. Access to Instagram Insights to track the performance of your posts and ads in the Professional Dashboard
2. Access to Meta Business Suite to manage your account
3. A two-tab inbox to help manage your DMs
4. Saved replies to help you manage inquiries efficiently
5. Shoppable posts that link to your Instagram Shop
6. The Paid Partnership tag for brand collaborations

The differences between a Creator and a Business account are:

1. The profile categories for a Creator account include things like chef, dancer, writer, or gamer, whereas the options for a Business account are entity-based, like hotel or resort, advertising agency, or bakery.
2. Content scheduling is unavailable for Creator accounts. However, you can use Instagram’s Creator Studio tool to achieve the same result. You won’t be able to integrate a third-party software tool to do the same.
3. While both account types let you display more contact information, you can’t add a location link to a Creator account, but you can add it to a Business profile. 
4. Creator accounts have fewer call-to-action button options; they only include ‘book now’ or ‘reserve,’ whereas Business profiles have the complete list and can also use ‘order food,’ for example.

You'll find these features when you visit your “Business tools and controls” menu in “Settings and activity” in the mobile app.

Conclusion

It’s plain as day that Instagram is a powerful way to reach more customers and help them buy from you. Even more so when you use all the tools and features. Plus, when you advertise on Instagram, using an AI sidekick like Madgicx to help manage and optimize your campaigns increases the chances of your success. Give Madgicx a whirl for free and see what I mean.