By Princess Jones
When Instagram started, it was a very simple photo sharing app. It was available on iOS only and the options were to post, like, or comment. When Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, it began to integrate the app into its own existing ecosystem. That required a number of changes to the simple app and recently, it underwent one more change: the inclusion of business accounts.
Why You Should Do It
When you joined Instagram, the default account was a personal account. As a business account, you’ll have the option to choose how your followers get in touch with you — email, call, or direct message. This is important for a business that wants to keep a strong connection with its customers
Another benefit of an Instagram business profile is the ability to access analytics. Much the way Google Analytics gives you the stats on your websites and Facebook insights tell you how your Facebook business page is doing, Instagram insights will tell you which posts are popular and what type of users are interacting with it. This can help you make informed decisions about content and calls to action.
Finally, a business account opens up advertising opportunities in the Instagram app. Like Facebook and Twitter, Instagram will offer promoted posts from users who buy ad space. You’ll choose a post to promote and an audience to promote it to. Based on your call to action, users will be sent to your store, your website, or another URL you choose.
How to Do It
If you’re ready to get your Instagram business page, here’s how you do it.
Open up your Instagram profile on your mobile device. Take the settings wheel to open up your profile options. Tap “Switch to Business Profile.”
On the next page, you’ll see a list of Facebook pages you currently have administrator privileges on. Tap the one you want to connect to your Instagram account. (Please note that you have to have a Facebook page to convert your Instagram profile to a business profile. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create one or obtain admin privileges on one to move forward.) You’ll be taken to a new page to review your business contact information. When you’ve done that, tap “Done.”
Let’s say that you moved to a business account and realized it was a mistake. You can roll those changes back by tapping the settings wheel and tapping “Switch to Personal Account.” You’ll tap it one more time and then “Done” to complete the process.
