If you use Instagram to share content you’ve created and you’re still using your personal account to do so, you’re probably missing out on using creator account features that can help you elevate your social reach.
This blog article discusses what creator accounts are used for, who they benefit, and the comparisons between personal, creator and business Instagram accounts.
What is an Instagram creator account?
A creator account on Instagram is a public, professional account used specifically by content creators to maintain their social presence and who earn a living through the sharing and creating of content.
If you’re an Instagram user who creates and shares content that showcases your creativity to an audience you have built up, then the Instagram creator account might be something you want to consider.
What features does the creator account have?
Instagram creator accounts have access to;
- Professional Dashboard - An insights and analytics dashboard where you can track the growth of your account with in-depth metrics about your posts and your followers. You can
- Multiple Inboxes - The secondary inbox allows you to organise your messages and have better control over the notifications you receive. You have the option to filter by primary, general and request.
- Category Labels - You can label your account based on what you do. You can choose things like influencer, blogger, public figure, artist, and more. An optional feature to put into your bio for followers to know more about you.
Creator vs. Business.
In general, creator accounts are more suited to those who use their social presence to earn their living. i.e. influencers, artists.
If your goal is to build your personal brand, and you’re not in the business of selling products or using advanced analytics to target niche markets, the creator account might be the best one for you.
Business accounts on Instagram can utilise third-party apps, such as Pur Social, to create and schedule their content. This is a great way to keep track of your posts if you have a high volume of content to push out to your audience.
The Instagram business account gives you access to features such as contact buttons, insights and ads. You’ll be able to check insights to get a better understanding of your audience habits when interacting with your content.
How to create a creator account.
- Navigate to your profile page and click the three lines in the top right corner.
- Click Settings.
- Select Account.
- Scroll down and select the option to Switch to Professional Account, then click the Creator option.
- If you’ve already got a business account, simply choose to switch from Business to Creator.
- Pick the category that aligns closest to your brand.
- Connect your Facebook page (if your brand has one).
- Add or review any contact information on the account and choose which information to display on your profile.
How to turn off the creator account option.
- Navigate to your profile page and click the three lines in the top right corner.
- Click Settings.
- Select Account.
- Scroll down and click the option to Switch to Personal Account (or, Switch to Business Account).
- Hit confirm.
It’s important to remember that every time you make the switch from different account profiles, your insight data will be deleted by Instagram. Don’t forget to export the data before you make the switch so you don’t lose any important metrics.
Benefits of a creator account.
- Scheduled posts - Currently, you cannot connect a creator account to a third-party scheduling app like Pur Social. The option you have is to utilise the Creator Studio and schedule your posts through there.
- Sales posts - Creators on Instagram who sells products and make purchase recommendations to their audience are able to create sales posts. This is where you share a product, upload a photo of it and tag the photo with the brand account, and where possible, a tag of the specific product. When your audience click the tag, they’ll automatically be taken to the product page to get more information or make a purchase.
It’s important to remember that the brand you’re in partnership with needs to give you access to their product catalog in order to tag the item. - Filtering messages - The inbox for direct messages looks a little different on a creator account than it does on a personal account. You have access to new filtering options which allow you to find particular messages quickly; Primary - These include notifications. General - These don’t include notifications. Request - These don’t include notifications because they’re from accounts that you don’t follow.
- Paid partnerships - Since influencer marketing is being more heavily regulated than it used to, disclosing your paid partnerships is crucial to maintaining the integrity of your brand. You can tag a paid partner on your stories or posts with a simple click. It also gives access to the analytics and insights on that post to you and the brand you’ve partnered with. 5. New ‘Call to Action’ options - Creator accounts unfortunately have fewer CTA options when compared to a business account. You can add buttons that are made to encourage your audience to ‘Book Now’ or ‘Reserve’, but you can’t use the options like ‘Learn More’ or ‘Shop Now’. If CTA options are something you use frequently to drive traffic to your products and website, then a business account is going to be more useful in place of a creator account.
- New ‘Call to Action’ options - Creator accounts unfortunately have fewer CTA options when compared to a business account. You can add buttons that are made to encourage your audience to ‘Book Now’ or ‘Reserve’, but you can’t use the options like ‘Learn More’ or ‘Shop Now’. If CTA options are something you use frequently to drive traffic to your products and website, then a business account is going to be more useful in place of a creator account.
