Can I use a Personal Account on Instagram to promote my Work?

I know this may sound like a silly question, but I am brand new to social media and I am about to set up an Instagram account, but I am not sure if I should set up a business account or a personal one. My understanding of having a business account means that your address and contact details have to be on display which I am not keen on for obvious reasons, but this is not the case with a personal account or have I got this all wrong? when I look at other Folksy members Instagram sites, none of their contact details are on display. Are they using a business account or a personal one? I would be grateful for any help and advice on this. Thank you.

Yes you can use a personal account but a business account is much better. You only put information into the profile that you want to share. But with the business account you can see much more information about engagement on the platform. You can also then run promotions in Instagram to get a wider reach of your posts. These are really easy to set up and use and you only spend the amount you choose - and this can only be a few pounds if you wish. Hope this helps.

Thank you Rob for that, this is very helpful. I’ll look into this. I am still learning about how it all works and have been doing some research so I don’t make a mess of it when I eventually set it up!! Many thanks for your help. :slightly_smiling_face:

I was equally cautious, but having done it realise that it is very easy and straightforward. You can always return to a personal account if you so wish.

I use a personal account just because I use mine as a mixture of the two, I don’t separate myself from my business, so to me personal just feels more right for what I’m posting (and although it can be interesting to see stats, I’ve never found anything productive to do with them on any other site, so I don’t really miss not getting them with a personal account).

If you like seeing the stats or want to do adverts or posts with links in, then business will be best for you, but if you’re just going to post photos and are happy to put “see link in profile” occasionally then I’m not sure there’s really much difference.

I don’t think your address has to be on display on a business account, but you do have to give a way for people to contact you (it could be an address, it could be a phone number, or most likely - just an email address).

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Thank you Kim, that’s a great help and thank you again to Rob. I don’t care about stats, but I know Instagram is a good way of marketing your shop. I have been on Folksy for a year now and this is my first shop so I have had a lot to learn just with having a shop, remaking some of my jewellery because I didn’t think it was good enough, tweeking descriptions, re-doing photos etc. So it may be best for me to start with a personal account and learn how to use it and then when I am confident, I will upgrade to a business account as I appreciate the advantages @robhardie has mentioned. Thank you both for your help, I really appreciate it!! :smiley:

Hi,
Basically you use a business account in the same way as a personal one…mine was always for art but i did eventually swap to a business account…your contact details aren’t on show, but obviously you can put a link to a shop etc. Do you want to do promotions etc- use a business account. don’t forget to go on the Folksy thread here for new instagram, and gain some followers :slight_smile:

Thank you Suliko, much appreciate your advice. I will probably do promotions eventually but, I would like to get my shop on a steady footing first, however long that will take. It’s useful to know you can use either accounts in a similar way. As @konyskiw mentioned above, a personal account works for her business in the way she uses Instagram and good to know you started with a personal account first before upgraded to a business account, so for me, I will do that initially while I’m learning where my business is going. By then I will know which will be best for my business. Yes I will join the Folksy thread, thanks for mentioning that!! Thank you for your help!! :smiley:

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I’d never used IG either, so went straight in with a business account. Maybe a bit backwards but it’s worked for me! You will need to transfer to a business account if you ever want to set up IG shopping. Personally I love the insights - seeing which posts have performed well & what type of items get the best response, & this helps me plan what to make next! I still post non business stuff on my account, & many of the IG guru types recommend you do this anyway so that customers can see the person behind the business.
I find IG such an easy platform to use & grow (especially compared to FB) - you’ll have the hang of it in no time! Good luck :grin:

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Thank you Dee for that. I’m really appreciating the feedback I’m getting from everyone with their experiences!! This is helping me alot. Logically speaking, if you have a business then it makes sense to go straight onto a business account with IG. I was thinking that because I have a small shop at the moment with not as many items as other Folksy members - only 49 items compared with others that have well over a 100, it may be wise to start small with a personal account and learn how to use it and then upgrade. But as @SulikoSoul said, if I wanted to do promotions etc (which I will eventually), then use a business acccount. I’m looking at the jargon about it and preparing a batch of photos as I write so I will be launching soon!! Thanks so much for your help. :smiley: