Like a leisure suit from the ’70s, I use Instagram for leisure, but I also use it to get down to business.
A common question many churches ask about Instagram is whether or not they should switch over from a personal profile to a business profile. There’s a lot of reasons I think you should switch to a business profile, but there’s one big pushback I always hear…
Some have said that the algorithm punishes your engagement if you have a business profile vs. a personal profile, but that is a myth and depends more on your content than your account. Buffer and Techcrunch both put this to rest with a resounding “false.” Read more about how the algorithm works here.
So, now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you the Triple A’s of Awesome for having an Instagram Business profile.
Analytics
With a business profile, you have access to all kinds of great insights to your audience, how your content is doing, and which content is performing best. For a church that has a big and usually diverse audience, this is gold. Demographics alone will tell you if you’re targeting the predominant gender, where your people live, and even when they are most active during the week so you can pick the best times to post! Or you could keep guessing with a personal profile. Just sayin.
Ads
Only on a business profile can you connect to your Facebook page and run ads to your Instagram feed or story. Instagram ads typically won’t cost as much in the bid either, so your ad dollars go a little further. Plus, nicely designed ads that pop up in stories and feeds are much more welcome than on any other platform because Instagram isn’t all pushy about showing it to you. They appear like a regular post. Speaking of which…
Auto Posting features from third-party apps
Last, third party apps like Buffer, Later, and Hootsuite will only automatically post your scheduled posts to a business profile on Instagram. If you have a personal profile, this feature is not available. So if you want to post graphics (no video yet) ahead of time and be able to see your Insta strategy from a 30k foot view instead of making it up as you go at the 5k foot view, this is a huge win. No more reminders, just scheduled Instagram posts going out when you planned them like a boss.
Can you think of a reason you wouldn’t have a business profile for your church? I could give lots more reasons why we should, but I’m interested to hear your thoughts either way. Sound off in the comments or follow me on Instagram and give me an earful of your craftiest insults.