Should You Start a Separate Instagram Account for Your Business?
This question comes up a lot - Should I start a separate social media account for my business or use my personal account? And my answer is…. it depends.
I know that’s probably annoying to hear (see), but that is the truth. My recommendation varies based on your goals, line of business, and the amount of time/energy you are willing to put in. Either pathway could work for you, and the following criteria can help you decide what’s best for you and your business.
See complete list below for more detail.
For example - my recommendation to a real estate agent was to start an account dedicated to his business.
The reason I encouraged him to have a separate account is so he could keep his personal account personal (aka posting about lacrosse, football, memes, etc.) and not worry about keeping things professional or “on brand.” He enjoys posting on his personal account without having to worry about “strategy” and he wants to keep it loose and fun.
We took some of those elements and put them on his business account, but things are a little more polished and thought out there. Additionally, posting about real estate around Nashville would be a stark change from the kinds of things he was posting on his personal account, which could turn people away. Finally, I felt he would benefit from a smaller but more concentrated and engaged audience. When you start a profile dedicated to your business, the people who follow that account are genuinely interested in that business.
But I wouldn’t recommend that for all real estate agents. Some people want to mix their personal with their professional and posting about their work alongside their personal posts works for them. I would just highly suggest that if you are using your job title in your personal account username, then you keep the rest of the non-work posts polished and semi-professional. You are quite literally branding yourself in your username, so when people go to your page (especially prospective clients) they’re looking to see an account that makes them want to work with you. This could be a key place you are scaring away business.
Initially, I chose to keep and expand my personal account to include content related to my business. I did that because I was intertwined in my “brand,” and there was little to no separation between the two. When I switched to using my account professionally, the main difference was that I shared digital marketing tips on my profile. Those who had been following me knew I had worked in digital for years, so it wasn’t a huge “content” change. After using my personal account to do both for years, I recently decided to start a separate business account. For me, the deciding factor was privacy. Once I had a child, I no longer wanted my account to be public. So, I started a new public-facing IG account for my consulting business.
Above you saw a quick graphic with some pros and cons of both approaches. Here I have listed them out in more detail with a little more explanation behind them.
Pros of using your Personal Account:
Build off the followers you already have
You most likely have authentic connections and relationships with a majority of your followers
If you are your business or brand or face of the company, then building a clientele following around your personal account could be a natural fit
Don’t have to juggle two accounts
Cons of Personal Account:
Gotta keep it polished and in line with your brand - I suggest developing a “is this furthering my business or connection to my followers” filter. And if what you’re wanting to post does not meet that filter, don’t post it. (Especially if you are naming your account after your profession)
If your line of work is a hard left from the content you posted before, you might lose followers (a way to not lose followers is to keep the content mixed)
You might need to scroll back in your archives and do some cleanup because your account now also represents you as a professional
You need to keep your account public so you can attract new clients and followers
Pros of making a separate Business Account:
Concentrated group of followers that are there because they support your business
You can keep your personal account super causal and private
You get a fresh start on your profile grid
You can share your business things to your personal account so the theme of your personal page doesn’t change, but you’re still tapping into both audiences
Cons of a separate Business Account:
Starting from scratch for followers and engagement
Having two accounts to keep up with (personal account and business account) could become cumbersome
There could be additional pros and cons based on your line of work, but these are my basic suggestions. If you agree or disagree with me or have questions, let me know in the comments. If you would like to book a time with me to discuss what is right for you, email me at hannah@hannahrothermich.com, and I’d love to help you out.