Overview

If you are at the point of creating your presence on Instagram, it is very important to know about the types of accounts.

Every social media platform will have an option for each type of account. You can avail all the features provided by them or with some restrictions depending upon the type of account that you choose to create.

Takeaway skills

• Purpose of different account types
• Account types right for you

We’ll cover the following:

1. Types of accounts in Instagram
2. Choosing between account types
3. Changing your account type
4. Summary

1. Instagram Account Types

There are three types of Instagram accounts, divided into two categories: personal and professional.

Personal

Let's start with personal accounts, which are designed for personal usage. Every person who has created an Instagram account is assigned a personal account by default.

• This account type has no analytics or API access, this implies you can't schedule posts, utilize Facebook Creator Studio to manage Instagram, or obtain third-party tools access.
• Additionally, you can't use contact buttons on your profile, gift card or delivery stickers, or the swipe-up feature in Stories.
• However, there are certain advantages to personal accounts. They have access to all of the music selections in Reels and Stories, which is not the case for other account types. Personal accounts are also the only account type that can be private.

Professional

Professional accounts are made up of business and creator accounts on Instagram. Both have similar features, such as Instagram Insights access, contact buttons, and gift card delivery stickers. They also enable you to collaborate using branded content capabilities with other accounts.

Instagram Business accounts are intended for real businesses, such as beauty salons and e-commerce shops, rather than individuals.

In most cases, a Business Account functions similarly to a Personal Account. However, you have access to several business-specific tools, including the opportunity to:

• “Insights” that shows how far your postings reach, how fast your followers are growing, and other data.
• Running ads.
• Create posts for and linking to an online store.
• Automatically schedule posts with third-party apps
• Access to include “Contact” button

Even if you don't intend to utilize Facebook in your marketing, you'll need a Facebook Page to run advertising or sell items.

The final kind of Instagram Professional Account is the Creator Accounts. They are somewhere between Personal and Business Accounts in terms of complexity. They're intended for public figures, influencers, YouTubers, online sellers, and other such people.

You can do the following things with a Creator Account:

• View Post Insights, run ads, and create shoppable posts but you can’t schedule posts.
• On your Profile, hide your contact details and company category to make it seem more like a Personal Account.

You still need to link a Creator Account to a Facebook Page if you want to run advertisements or create shoppable posts.

2. Professional Accounts

There are a few significant distinctions between the professional account types to keep in mind.

Business accounts on Instagram are targeted to businesses that are generating money or selling goods, therefore they have API access.

In comparison, Instagram creator accounts are designed for influencers—people who create content that may be relevant to a company but aren't selling their items.

• Access to Facebook Creator Studio for managing Instagram from your desktop, as well as the opportunity to utilize third-party analytics and scheduling. On the other hand, Creator profiles don’t have API access.
• Music access is also an important distinction between business and creator accounts. The majority of business accounts do not have a complete music library. They only have a royalty-free music library, so you won't find any pop-culture–related songs in there.

In a nutshell, if you need scheduling, use an Instagram business profile. If you just need access to all of the music for your Reels content and don't want to deal with scheduling or Facebook Creator Studio, go with a creator account.

3. Changing Account Type

To learn what kind of Instagram account you already have,

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Press your profile photo icon at the bottom-right of the screen.
3. Press your account name at the top right corner.
4. Select the account you’d like to switch to.
5. Press the top-right three horizontal lines.
6. Go to Settings.
7. Scroll down to choose the Account option.
8. Scroll all the way down to the bottom.
9. Click the option to switch your account type.

Summary

Instagram has several types of accounts for different purposes, and it's important to understand what they are before choosing one.

You can start by looking at your current account type on the Instagram app—this is where you may find a Business or Creator option available. If not, you'll need to go into settings and switch from Personal to Professional (Business) or create a new business profile.

Once you've made that decision, look closely at features like music access as well as third-party analytics so you know which will work best with your marketing goals!