Should I Separate My Personal and Business Instagram Accounts?
Chances are, you had an Instagram account long before you became a business owner. But now that it’s time to go legit with your business, you might wonder: should I start a new Instagram account just for my business?
The business world is torn over this. Some people say they can’t separate their personal lives from their business, while others draw a thick, red line between the two.
In all honesty, the right decision depends on your business, your desire for privacy, and what your social media followers actually want to see. Try these 6 guidelines to determine if you should separate your business and personal Instagram accounts.
When to combine accounts
Scenario #1: You need to keep it simple
Hey, we know how busy you are. If your brain doesn’t have the capacity for one more task, it’s okay to keep your Instagram accounts combined.
Of course, this still needs to make sense to your followers. If you’re a management consultant and suddenly start posting about parenting, you’re going to lose people. But if your business and personal content are close to each other, you can get away with one account for both.
Scenario #2: You are the business
Is your life your business? This is often the case when hobbies, interests, and your personality are enmeshed with your services. That’s why mega-influencers like the Kardashians combine their business and personal accounts; their personality is the business.
This is pretty common if you’re an influencer or celebrity, but also in the coaching and wellness space.
Scenario #3: You want to share your life
People like Richard Branson post both personal and business-related content on their Instagram. If there’s something in your personal life that your business followers would find intriguing, feel free to share the content on a combined account.
When to separate accounts
While there are some good reasons to combine your accounts, most folks opt to separate their personal and business Instagram accounts for these reasons.
1 - Privacy
Not everyone is comfortable posting about their family on their business accounts—and that’s okay! Barriers are a good thing. When you separate your business and personal accounts, you’ll maintain much more personal privacy. It also gives you the freedom to outsource social media for your brand to an employee down the line.
2 - Business accounts come with perks
Did you know that Instagram rewards business accounts with better insights? With a business account, you’ll be able to pull analytics and qualify for Instagram Ads. If you want to take a data-centered approach to growing your business—or if you ever want to run ads—go with two separate accounts.
3 - You have more than one business
You might be able to squeak by with one Instagram account for your personal and business lives, but the moment you start a second business, you need to separate everything. It gets way too messy and complicated for your followers to consume content about that many subjects.
The bottom line
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