What do I need to know before connecting my Instagram profile to Sprout?
Before you connect your Instagram profile to Sprout, there are some considerations to keep in mind. You can connect a Personal or Business Instagram profile to Sprout. However, there are additional features available to Business profiles.
This article includes the following sections:
- What is an Instagram Personal profile?
- What is an Instagram Business profile?
- What are the differences between Personal and Business profiles?
- How do I convert a Personal profile to a Business profile?
What is an Instagram Personal profile?
Instagram Personal Profiles are stand-alone profiles optimized for personal use. In Sprout, you can post or schedule photos, videos and stories. Instagram Personal Profiles don't have access to performance metrics, paid capabilities, customer care insights or social listening.
What is an Instagram Business profile?
In June of 2016, Instagram introduced Business Profiles to help companies better understand their followers and grow their businesses. Converting to a Business Profile on Instagram enables you to include additional profile information like a phone number, email address and a physical address, making it easier for your customers to connect to your business.
Adding an Instagram Business Profile to Sprout has several benefits as well. Not only does it enable Instagram Publishing through Sprout, but it also unlocks new metrics from Sprout’s reporting suite including impressions, reach and video views with more to follow. Visit here for information from about which features will change on Instagram when you convert.
What are the differences between Personal and Business profiles?
While you can manage your brand’s Instagram presence with a personal profile, Instagram Business Profiles build credibility and the opportunity to form connections by providing a space for contact information, such as a physical address, phone number and email address.
In terms of engagement, Instagram Business Profiles allow you to track and respond to media tags, comments and mentions in Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox. Instagram Business Profiles also enable you to monitor Instagram Hashtags in the Feeds section.
In terms of analytics, performance data including engagement, video views, profile clicks, impressions, profile reach and stories metrics are just some of the insights available exclusively to Instagram Business Profiles.
Since Instagram Business Profiles are connected to Sprout through the connection of a corresponding Facebook Company Page, Ads Manager and paid capabilities are only available for that profile type.
How do I convert a Personal profile to a Business profile?
Note: You need admin access to a Facebook Page in order to associate it with an Instagram Business Profile.
Before performing any of the steps below, ensure you are already logged into the Facebook account that has admin access to the Facebook Page you plan to associate with your Instagram Business Profile.
- Using the Instagram mobile application, go to your profile and tap the
at the upper-right corner of the display. - Tap
to visit Settings. - Tap Account.
- Tap Switch to Professional Account.
- Select Business, in the Which Best Describes You modal.
- Make the category selection for your profile.
- Fill out your contact details.
- Select the Facebook Page you'd like to connect to your new Instagram Business Profile. You might also have the option to Create a New Facebook Page. You must connect a Facebook Page to your Instagram Business Profile in order to connect it to Sprout.
You're all set!
Note: After converting your profile, reconnect your Instagram Business Profile to Sprout. Then you can start to receive additional reporting data and functionality such as Instagram publishing.
