Instagram for Business vs. Instagram Creator Accounts – Key Differences
Today we are delving into the key differences between Instagram Business accounts and Instagram Creator accounts!
A while ago now Instagram made the decision to identify Influencers over business accounts on Instagram, to be able to do this, they created an account called “Creator” accounts.
Instagram realised that Influencers have rated using the platform as one of their top traffic drivers, with over 500 000 active influencers on Instagram, the platform wanted to offer additional tools to keep those active influencers on Instagram!
There are approximately 25 million business accounts on Instagram, some of these might be active and some might be very small, but each one is taking up some of the business pie
So the question we need to ask is where do you feel you fit better on Instagram? Do you feel you should be an Influencer or Creator Instagram account or are you a business account?
A list of the key differences between Instagram Creator Account and Instagram for Business Accounts
According to Instagram this is what they say about the creator accounts;
You can convert your personal or business profile into a creator account to access features that make it easier to control your online presence, understand your growth and manage your messages. If your personal account is private, completing these steps will make it public.
Instagram Creator
When it comes to the Instagram for Business accounts; this is what Instagram says about its service;
With a business account, you’ll be able to access business features and Instagram Insights. These tools can help you understand who is engaging with your business on Instagram.
You also have the option to display or hide your business category and contact information on your profile.
Instagram for Business
Lets look at some of the key differences
| Tools | Instagram for Business | Instagram Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Category Display | You also have the option to display or hide your business category and contact information on your profile. | Contact information and category labels (such as athlete, author or blogger) are optional and can be turned on or off. |
| Contact Buttons and Options | Email Call Business Location | Email Call |
| Facebook Page Link | Needed for Business account | Not Needed for creator accounts |
| Insights | Content: This section lets you view insights on your posts, stories, and promotions. Activity: This section lets you view important insights on your profile, including Interactions (such as profile visits and website clicks) and Discovery (how many people see your content and where they find it). Audience: This section tells you more about your followers and audience, including growth in follower count by day or week. | Content: This section lets you view insights on your posts, stories, and promotions. Activity: This section lets you view important insights on your profile, including Interactions (such as profile visits and website clicks) and Discovery (how many people see your content and where they find it). Audience: This section tells you more about your followers and audience, including growth in follower count by day or week. |
| Instagram Ads | Available | Available |
| Organised Inbox | General Primary Requests | General Primary Requests |
| Ranked Requests | You’ll be able to sort your requests by received date or by top accounts. | You’ll be able to sort your requests by received date or by top accounts. |
| Quick DM (Message Replies) | Use shortcuts for common responses. | Use shortcuts for common responses. |
| Branded Content Links | Available | Available |
| Links in Stories | For 10 000+ Followers | For 10 000+ Followers |
| Facebook Creator Studio | Available | Available |
| Influencer Shopping | Business Shopping posts available | Linking to branded business shopping posts only in Beta |
| 3rd Party Scheduling Apps | Available for scheduling on 3rd party apps (Such as Later, Buffer, Hootsuit etc) | Not Available to schedule on 3rd Part Apps |
Key Notes from those that have used the different accounts?
When we start looking at the difference, gaining insight from those who already using these accounts;
Using the business for Instagram accounts
For my main accounts (My Inner Creative) which is hosted on @myinner.creative and @theartofbujo I use the Instagram for Business feature. However for some of my other smaller accounts I use the creator feature. I have found in the last few months that overall for my self a group of Influencers we have all dropped in follower number and engagement.
Things that would be popular in the past were not popular any more, photos that would usually receive thousands of likes, now only receive a few hundred.
In using the business account I am able to determine which posts I can make similar content for and what our business customers like.
Something that is very important for me with my Instagram for Business account is that I can use 3rd part scheduling apps such as buffer, later or hootsuit. You are unable to do this using the creator account which is one of the key reasons I have no migrated my accounts to creator accounts, even though I am more aligned to being a creator/ influencer vs a business.
While this is the case for my business account, I have found no real functional differences between the accounts other than the categories you can select to define your business.
Using the Instagram Creator account
Ali Khundmiri is a micro influencer at @AliCoderMaker who talks about the benefits of using a creator account for instagram;
When you are a creator account, you have so many more categories to
choose from. Say your account is Digital Creator and a user on
Instagram likes and follows content from other Digital Creators there
is a high probability they this random user might also like your
content, hence the algorithm shows your account in their explore feed!We have been told repeatedly, the Instagram algorithm doesn’t accelerate your reach if your account is a Business account, or penalise you down if you are a creator or personal account. It just dictates who sees your content.
Once you choose Creator Account, there are far more options from which you can choose to describe you and your activities to be more representative of the community and following you are trying to build. This addition of categories is intended to create transparency of Influencers. Examples include ideo creator, actor, artist, author, blogger, chef, coach, and many more.
Alexa Kurtz is the owner and creator at Allover Designs. She has been in the digital marketing industry for over 4 years now, and has recently started her own side business selling canvas art and interior design services via Instagram – she talks about the creator account below;
While they are very similar, there are a few key differences between
Instagram Business and Instagram Creator. In short, while the nature of the Creator profile is meant to describe and represent an account for just one user (the creator, athlete, designer, etc.), the Business profile is geared to describe an account that represents an entire company that sells it’s products or services online. Determining which is more relevant for you is something each person has to discern on their own!
So which is better? Instagram for Business or Instagram Creator?
Instagram creator vs instagram business – which is better for you to choose? If you are a smaller influencer or an influencer that posts organically and does not schedule posts, then using the instagram creator account is perfect for you.
If you however getting larger and will be prescheduling your posts to instagram – then it would be important to Instagram for Business to be able to access the insights associated with your account as well as being able to “set and forget” scheduled posts through 3rd party apps.
