How to set up your Instagram business profile

Remember back in the day when everyone had a personal Instagram profile, no matter what person or brand? No bells and whistles, just a simple bio and feed your Instagram.

It just goes to show how fast social media is really evolving, since Instagram launched business profiles in 2016 and they quickly took off from there.

For first, companies were afraid of swapping, or not. After all, the Facebook algorithm prefers content from family and friends over points, so why wouldn't Instagram owned by Facebook?

Yet the rewards are substantial. After business profiles began, contact buttons have been born, Instagram shopping has become more popular, the company has launched its own analytics and now everyone has an Instagram business profile, from companies to startups to influencers.

Why create an Instagram business profile

If you're a brand trying to build a following on Instagram and use the site strategically, you'll need a company profile on Instagram.

This is because there are so many added benefits which enhance usability as a brand. Let's dive into some of the major advantages of using a company profile versus a basic personal profile.

1.      You’re taken more seriously

Company profiles display the industry of the brand, its address and a contact button right on the profile.

Having the opportunity to provide even more up front information, as well as additional contact details, gives a more professional look to your profile. And it has never been a negative thing to provide even more ways for your audience to reach you.

Since the distinctions between the two styles are so evident, Instagram users can tell immediately when a profile is for a company, so it gives a greater sense of trust.

2. You get access to analytics

This one is tall. Switching to a business account helps you to access detailed information about your account and its results.

You can take a look at your success post, followers interaction and feedback from the audience. While these reviews are not incredibly in-depth, it is a great look at the progress of your account and will give you a clear understanding of how well your content is doing.

3. You can add links in your Instagram stories

Instagram is notorious for its inability to connect directly from your posts to blog posts and landing pages, hence the popularity of' connect in bio' and tools designed to compile all of your recent or significant links on one page accessible to Instagram. Accounts with more than 10,000 followers, however, gain access to swipe up links within Instagram Stories, but only if that account is an Instagram user.

While getting your Instagram account to 10,000 followers might take a while, if you're creating a successful Instagram strategy, you'll be linking content in your stories in no time. Using Story links is a perfect way to highlight your new content, highlight short-term offers or resurface relevant content and trend-based products.

4. You can take full advantage of Instagram advertising

Instagram advertisements and sponsored posts are created by the advertising manager for Facebook, which means you need to have an Instagram company profile linked to your Facebook account to build Instagram ad campaigns.

Your brand will take advantage of Instagram advertisements to help generate leads, boost sales and get to the 10,000 follower mark faster. When you're struggling to increase your reach and resolve some of the Instagram algorithm's obstacles that marketers face, paid ads will help you target key audiences.

5. You may also plan your posts in advance

Another big Instagram change that is now a few years old but has great value for advertisers has been the ability of users to automatically schedule their posts instead of merely scheduling a request to upload content manually.

6. You can tag products in your posts

Finally, the opportunity to transform your feed into an online store is another fantastic feature that is only open to business accounts.

Tagging items and transforming images into shoppable posts is a perfect way to open your brand's entirely new revenue stream, but first you need to move to or set up your business account profile. Given that after seeing a product on Instagram 46 percent of users make a purchase, and still more do more research on that product after viewing, it makes sense to encourage this form of searching as much as possible.

How to move to a business account on Instagram

Have you heard anything about the benefits of an Instagram account? Ready to turn your account over to a company profile for Instagram? Let's walk through the process, and you can begin to take advantage of these great benefits.

Step 1: Go to the settings in your Instagram account

Go to your profile, then press the App's top right corner hamburger menu. Tap Settings, and then tap Start Account.

Step 2: Change to Professional Instagram account

When in the account settings, at the bottom of the page you'll see a blue call-to-action for you to move to a Professional account.

Tap that to go ahead with your big turn.

Step 3: Choose between a Company or Creator account

Recently, Instagram rolled out a new form of business account-an account created by Instagram. These are more directly for influencers, public figures or other forms of content creators, while for companies and businesses that market a product or service, a business account is better.

It is part of Instagram's attempt to further differentiate influencers and companies, making it more obvious to its users that a collaboration is a campaign to influence rather than an ad.

The resources surrounding a creator account are somewhat different from those used in a Company account, but have been developed with marketing influencer in mind. There are also more apps relating to messaging and accessibility of profiles.

The core business profile features, including shoppable messages, remain open. It ensures influencers would be able to tag the items they endorse directly inside their Instagram posts, giving all interested parties even more seamless shopping.

When you're looking to work as an influencer with companies, you'll want to set up an Instagram creator account. If not, you'll want to build an Instagram business page, even if you're looking to work with influencers to promote your goods or services.

Step 4: Connect your Facebook Page

When you move on to build or migrate to a company profile, the next step is to link to your Facebook account. To take this step, you must have admin access to your Facebook Business Account.

Once you have verified which Facebook page you would like to link, your business profile is ready!

When you turn to a creator profile, all you need to do is pick a category according to the type of creator you are.

Continue to take advantage of Instagram business profile tools

Ready to scale up your marketing campaign on Instagram? You gain access to so many more great brand tools and advantages by moving to an Instagram business profile, enabling you to really impress your audience on the site.