Everyone knows that Instagram is one of the most popular social media apps today. It’s a photo and video-sharing social network owned by Facebook, Inc. Millions of people use Instagram daily to post pictures and follow other people, such as their friends, family, or favorite celebrities.
But did you know that there are several types of Instagram accounts? That’s right, you can have a personal account, a business account, or a creator account.
How to Tell the Type of Your Instagram Account
Most people create personal accounts. But if you don’t remember which option you chose, or maybe someone created the account for you, there is a way to check this. Finding out what type of account you have is very simple. These are the steps you need to take:
- In the top right corner, there is a Menu icon (it’s the three horizontal lines).
- Next, tap on the Settings option, which is at the bottom of the menu.
- Navigate the Settings menu to find an option named Account.
- At the bottom of this menu, there will be options to switch to a certain type of account.
Note: you will see different options depending on your existing account type. For example, if you have a Business Account, then the options shown will be Switch to Personal Account and Switch to Creator Account. Based on this, your account type is the one that is not shown, as there’s no reason to “switch” to the same account type.
So, that’s how you can quickly find out the type of your Instagram account.
Differences: Personal vs Business Accounts
According to Instagram, there are more than 25 million business profiles on the platform. But why should you have a business account? This type of account functions like a personal account but with added benefits. The most important features that come with a business account include:
- Get Insights button
- Create Promotions option
- Ability to add contacts in Your Business Profile tab
Get Insights
With a business account, you get access to analytics. In the analytics dashboard, you’ll see a range of metrics that tell you more about your followers and how your posts are performing. Tapping on the Get Insights icon will show the following metrics:
- Interactions
- Profile visits
- Reach
- Impressions
- Engagement rate
- Tags on branded hashtags
These are your overall profile analytics.
You will also find metrics for your stories, overall and individual. They are:
- Impressions
- Reach
- Forward Taps
- Back
- Exited
These show you how the community reacted to your stories.
Furthermore, you also get content metrics as follows:
- Calls
- Comments
- Emails
- Engagement
- Follows
- Get directions
- Impressions
- Likes
- Reach
- Saved
Create Promotions
With a business account, you’ll be able to purchase Instagram ads. Before business profiles arrived at Instagram, you had to go through Facebook’s ad tool. Nowadays, Instagram business account holders can just tap on a certain post and choose the option Promote.
Get Contacts
Another option that comes with a business profile is adding contacts. This means that you can fill out your contact details, and other people will see them on your profile. With this, people can easily inquire about your business any time. Make sure your contact information is accurate!
Creating a Business Account
It’s easy. You can start from scratch (make sure to select business account) or switch. For the latter, follow the same steps as described for verifying your account type, but this time tap on the Switch to Business Account option. Here’s what you should do:
- Open the Instagram Menu.
- Tap on Settings.
- Tap on Accounts.
- Select Switch to Professional Account.
- Pick Business account.
- Fill out all the Contact details required.
- Now, Instagram will ask you to connect to a Facebook business page (make sure that you have Administrator access there).
- Select Next and your done!
How to Know If Someone Has a Business Account?
When you’re looking at an Instagram profile, it might be helpful to know if you’re dealing with a business or an individual. The easiest way to tell would be to look for the Contact button. If you can call or email them, then they are running a business account. Also, if the profile displays additional info such as business category or physical location, it’s the sign of a business account as well.
Instagram Creator Account
The newest addition to the Instagram platform is the creator account. This option was recently introduced in 2019, offering some interesting and useful options. These creator accounts come with tools and features that are especially useful to influencers. If you’re more of an artist or content producer, or maybe your ambition is to become a hotshot influencer, this is the account type to get.
Creator Account Benefits
A creator account gives you even more insights into your users and comes with powerful tools for managing your posts and messages. It offers features such as detailed growth data, where you can see:
- The daily number of follows and unfollows (in contrast, a business account only sees weekly numbers).
- Demographic data, such as age and location of your audience.
- An Instagram Creator Dashboard
With a personal or business account, you only have one primary inbox. The creator account offers you three! You get:
- Primary Inbox: contains messages that you want to receive and be notified of.
- General Inbox: messages that you don’t want notifications for.
- Request Inbox: messages from people that you aren’t following.
Follow Us on Instagram
Switching between account types on Instagram has never been easier. Each account type has its own target audience and special features, and there’s nothing to stop you from trying them all!
We hope this guide was helpful to you. Don’t forget to leave a comment and let us know how to improve our content further!