Comments 46

  1. Ugh. I’ve been struggling with this currently! It’s like you were reading my mind. I need to order new biz cards and I feel like now is the time to decide. Can’t decide if I should have 2 accounts. I have a hard enough time posting regularly as it is, so the thought of managing two seems daunting. I don’t have kids, just dogs, so I don’t feel like I would fill my feed with too much personal stuff. The only real reason it bugs me using my personal account for business, is that on Facebook I have my business name, so I’m constantly wondering if it’s a disconnect to not have the same name on insta??

  2. Hey there! So glad this is helpful for you! You could always keep your personal name as your Instagram handle @_________, and then include your business name in that first spot in the bio. (The opposite of how we have @idealustlife and then Becky + Jesse Morquecho.) Hope this helps you make that decision!

  3. Thank you so much for this! This is the best post on this subject I’ve ever come across. It’s helped me decide to stay with one account. Thank you again!

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    So happy to hear this, Nenette! Thanks for the love and so glad it helped you make a decision so you can spend your energy on all the good stuff! xo

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  7. Thanks for unpacking this! I wrestled with the same qurstion and chose to stick to a joint page for my design business and personal stuff and start a separate account for my non-profit…even still, that’s a lot to keep up with! Lol.

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    Ha ha! I say, whatever works best for you and your business and life! Way to make a decision and keep on moving, Sara!

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  11. This is great! My next predicament is if I should have my “business account” setup as a business or personal account on instagram. As of right now I’m not really selling anything but I have it setup as a business for insights. I’m hoping to develop and start selling my product in a year from now but right now I’m just trying to get a following. Have you found any downside to having it a business account

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    Thanks, Chelsea! We held off on making our business account a BUSINESS ACCOUNT, but recently made the switch. So far, so good! I haven’t experienced any downsides and I’m liking all the positives that come with having the insights right there in the app!

  13. Thank you so much for this article! It was really useful and just what I was looking for!
    I am 18 and an aspiring graphic designer. After havung instagram since I was 13 and rarely using it (apart from to upload what are now embaressing photos)I recently started using Instagram to post my graphics work and to hopefully gain a following.

    After reading this I decided to stick with a personal account that contains my “business”. This requires me to post sensibly but still showing I have fun. The one reason that made me stick with the personal account was so that my followers can see who I am and that I am an 18 year old boy.

    One question I do have is whether you think I should delete the embarrassing selfies of 13/14 year old me? Whether I should delte all the ones up until I started using Insta as a means of getting a following for my graphic design?

    Thanks again for this article, I am about to follow you on Instagram!

    Sincerly,
    Sean @seanio118

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    Hey, Sean! So glad this was helpful for you! I say…delete anything that doesn’t at least support your brand or give potential clients an idea of the person you want them to get to know. Also, you can quickly build up a portfolio with images that DO represent your brand…just 9 or 12 more photos will have your account looking spiffy in no time 😉

  15. I have been agonizing over this very subject for the past couple days and this article did seem to help a bit! BUT I was wondering if you had an opinion on what I should do though. Pros of combining: shorter username (@hannahguyton instead of @hannahguytonphoto) and I already have 500+ followers on my personal account. Cons: my current followers may dislike the transition and if I want to post something that isn’t as high quality as my professional photos I would throw off my whole feed (but that fact may encourage me to take only high quality shots…).

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    Hey, Hannah! What’s your gut feeling? If it’s to combine and go with personal and the only downside is you might lose a handful of people (with the potential to connect with so many more on more personal posts), I’d do that! But that’s me…go with what feels right for you! Either way, you’ll feel relieved once you make a decision and then make that most of that decision!! Let me know what you decide 🙂

  17. Do you have any recommendations on what it looks like to transition from a single combined account (business + personal) to two separate accounts? Do you announce to your followers the change?
    Also, the username I would like to use for my business account is the one I am currently using for the combined one (which is private). Do I change the username on the current account and just try to claim the same username for the new business account before it gets taken?

  18. Wow, thank you, thank you, thank you!
    I am a Christian book reviewer. I started a few years ago and am always looking for new ways to share my love of reading with others.

    About 6 months ago, I discovered a new word, Bookstagram. And I had no clue. I’ve spent the time listening & watching, learning. Last month I opened my Instagram account, with the assistance of my 14 year old.

    So step one was complete. Hmm, now to choose a username. Since all my reviews are under my actual nMe, I’ve decided changing now would not be good. Pictures, taking pictures. I’m not the best at that but would love to learn.

    The biggest thing that has delayed my dive in, I couldn’t figure out if I was to have two Instagram accounts; if Bookstagram was some hidden separate thing on Instagram, if I was supposed to have a sub account within my main Instagram account…yeah, you get the picture.

    Your article did the trick. Because my other social media accounts main purpose is BOOKS, I’ve decided to do the same with my Instagram account.

    In a few short minutes of reading your succinct and well written article, the answer I’ve been struggling with for several weeks, has been resolved!

    Thank you so much! Now let the fun begin!!!

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    Laura! We are so glad this article helped you make that (nagging!) decision!! YAY! Thanks for sharing this with us!

  20. Hi, I’ve also been contemplating this for some time & am still up in the air about it! I want to create an entirely new business account for my paintings / graphic designs separate from my personal one, but I already have almost 1K followers on my personal account. I’m worried that I won’t be able to gain as much of a following by starting a new one, and as an artist my work is pretty intertwined with my personal life. What do you think?

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    Hi, Audrey! I would definitely let my followers know the change AND let them know what they can expect to see from here on out on each account. Definitely, see it the new username you want is available, if not you might have to get creative! For business account names, we recommend something as close as possible (if not exact, if available) to your business name or your first and last name. Hope this helps!

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    Hi, Taylor! As an outsider looking in, it sounds like you already have your answer 😉 Take gaining new followers out of the equation (because you can always do that with the right strategies). Are you able to share what you want and need for business and as a personal creative outlet in one account? If so, and if your work is intertwined with your personal life, I’d probably stick with one account. But, it’s up to you and what works best for your life and business! Let me know what you decide 🙂

  23. This was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for writing this! I have two separate accouts and I;ve had it this way for a year – I feel like it’s working but something was really nagging at the back of my head especially with the people I follow and interact with on both accounts. This was really helpful.

    Do you have any advice for having your personal Instagram account public? That’s something I struggle with since I’m a private person.

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    Hey, Rachel! So happy to hear this was helpful for you! As far as having a personal IG account…first ask yourself: What is the purpose of the account? If it’s just a fun place for your family and friends to see what you’re up to and you’re a private person and don’t want to share much, share as much as you feel comfortable with! Do what works best for you 🙂

  26. Hello!

    I know I want to have two separate IG accounts, one business and one personal, but if I’m doing that, do I just start the business account as a new “personal” account and set it up so or is there a specific business profile you have set up but still remain completely unhitched to your personal account? The reason I ask is because I went to start a second account, for the. Hsiness, and it asked for an email and password. My business email isn’t set up yet so I just used my old email account, I mostly use for junk mail. I realize this is probably a very simple and easy answer, I just want to make sure I’m starting out on the right foot… assuming I can update my junk email to the business email once I get the website squared away. Thanks!!

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  28. Hi Becky,
    Thank you for all the great info.
    I went through the comments but am still confuse as what to do.
    I hv setup a Facebook business page and next is to setup an Instagram account.
    I hv nothing much to post on a personal basis so hv decided to just hv one business account.
    Now my confusion is how to go abt setting up
    1) account name should be “Aging naturally and gracefully” .

    Thanks

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    Hi, Jenn! Glad this article helped! Instagram will let you know if that account name is available! If not, try something with a – or _ or . to get something close to what you’re looking for!

  30. I’m more in the realm of wondering if I should 1, 2, 3 or 4 accts…
    I refer to myself as an “All Around Creative” I do standup comedy, but also am trying to start a comedy coaching business… I also make dioramas and sell them on etsy… but within the descriptions of the dioramas I write funny stories about what is going on in them. I’ve also just launched a Threadless Artist Shop where I sell shirts and other merch with funny images and sayings… I also have podcast, blog and patreon pages…

    My approach so far has been that “I am the product” My ideas are what I’m about and all things point back to me and what I’m craeing, but I often wonder if I’m spreading things out too much… maybe diormas fans aren’t intersested in funny sayings on shirts or tips on how to improve a standup set… maybe folks looking for comedy advice don’t want to sift through pictures of dioramas and T-shirt designs…

    So far I’m content with leaving it all under one umbrella and trying to segment them with specific tags, but I’m curious about other thughts…

    I just tweeted out a poll… we’ll see what my followers say.

  31. Hey there! I just came across your site (love it by the way), and I have just one quick question.
    So I’ve been reading a lot that it’s better to have a personal account for a business page instead of setting up a business page per say on Instagram
    Apparently Instagram is making is harder on business pages to get engagements.
    How true is this, do you know?

  32. I was SO struggling with this today – think I was led to your post. Thank you for spelling out the why and why not’s. – it helps so much to know that someone else had the same thoughts. :-). I now know I need 2 separate accounts. No more in-action because of indecision! Thanks again!

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    Diane! This is so great to hear!! Way to move forward and make that decision. Thank you for sharing!

  34. Very informative article; thank you. I’ve read through all the comments and haven’t seen this answered, so I am hoping you can provide assistance.
    I already have separate personal accounts for very niche areas, but my main insta account has always been a mix of personal and business. I decided a couple of months ago to have separate personal and business accounts, so I don’t need help with that. The thing I can’t seem to find an answer to is this: is it better to start a business account from scratch, or merge your existing personal account?
    Adding content for both is no problem, but I don’t want to lose the followers I already have. Opinions?

  35. Thanks for posting. I’ve been trying to decide how to Even split the two. I only have a personal page. If i were to start a business page, would it be smart to just transfer my personal pics to the new account and let my business page take over my personal account since I have 8k followers? If i start a new business page I’ll be starting from zero. Hope this makes sense.

  36. Hi! I have sort of the opposite dilemma! I have a food business, and there is wonderful overlap between my life and my work, so initially having one account worked for me. However, I’ve considered separating them to keep the business feed more professional. How do you go about making this separation, without wiping out either three years of wonderful personal and family content from the primary account to start a private account from scratch, or wiping out three years of special business content to start a business account from scratch? Is the repost tool the best option? Does repost also transfer comments? Thanks for your advice!

  37. Pingback: Best of Both Worlds: Integrating your Personal and Professional Online Presence – briannan molly

  38. i think i’m biting the bullet and separating. launching a clothing line and been hemming and hawing about this and i think it’s time. so hard because i like having 1k followers on my personal but in reality, how many of those are actual my target customer? so thanks for this great helpful post!

  39. Hello!

    I just recently did some intense soul-searching and realized that writing, specifically about the lessons I’m learning in how to consult my inner self to find fulfillment in life, work, and relationships, and sharing that with people to help them is my calling.

    I posted a few intensely personal soul-searchy posts on my personal instagram and Facebook accounts. For the most part, my friends loved it. But then I became a little torn, because was this TOO much sharing of my personal journey? What if things like spirituality come up?

    I’m torn between having a combined account and having a hyperfocused just life-lessons/conscious millennial/inspirational blog type account in addition to my personal account. I started the blog one but am unsure how I feel about it.

    But it’s hard, because so much of it overlaps. Part of me thinks my personal account should just show this side of me. And also my personal account has a few more followers who fall in the realm of the content my blog would focus on because of the last few posts I’ve made and it just has a bit more of a following.

    How do I shift the focus to my blog? Or should I combine them and then my friends would just deal? Also, I have trouble imagining the content that would surface on my personal account anymore…. since I’m starting to find life lessons in everything I do and I used to just post about travel and cool stuff anyway. Sorry for just word barfing here.

    Would love to hear your thoughts!

    Thank you!!

  40. I’ve decided to leave the personal stuff to FB, and just use Insta for business. However, my personal profile on Insta used to be private. Should I delete the kids, etc pics from my history? Or would it be best to start over?

  41. Hi there!

    Just read your helpful advice on the pros and cons of separate/combo Instagram accounts. One question: if I want to combine/merge multiple accounts, how do I do that? Believe it or not, I have scoured the Web and found NO “how tos’ on this. I have several accounts and it’s getting too confusing and time-consuming to keep them apart.

    Also– 20 years ago, my husband and I also struggled with infertility. For women, at least, it is a pain like no other – and I have written numerous pieces about it. But there is a mysterious purpose and blessing in it, which will lead you to the child you were always meant to have.

    Today, our beautiful daughter is playing cello in the next room as I type this, and I am scheduling college tours for her. She is a never-ending miracle — born in Hefei, China. We adopted her at 16 months old on May 8, 2002.

    As we tell our daughter, Adoption Day is the BEST day of the year!

    Many blessings to you,
    Ann Thompson, CMRM**
    ** Certified Medical Reiki Master

  42. Thank you for this post! Now I know exactly what I’m going to do. Gonna set up a separate Instagram business account this week!

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  44. I’m always amazed at how you can find people struggling with the same thoughts!
    But I a multi faceted artist I do yoga, makeup and perform in a band. I have a separate makeup acct. but my personal page is yoga, inspo, selfies, shows. I wanted to create another page for just Music to build fans that want to hear and support me as performing artist! Help!

  45. I have a private personal Instagram account. I need to set up a business account. I understand that the business account needs to be public. Can I do this without making my personal account public as well? Instagram is saying that it needs to be public too. I’m confused. Thank you.

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