How to Switch to a Professional Account on Instagram

Ready to unlock the full potential of your Instagram profile? Switching to a professional account is the single most important step you can take to grow your brand and understand your audience. This guide walks you through the entire process, from making the switch to choosing the right account type and using the powerful new tools you’ll get as a result.

First, Why Make the Switch at All?

Moving from a personal account to a professional one is like turning on the lights in a dark room. You instantly gain access to a suite of free tools that are absolutely essential for anyone serious about building a presence on the platform. It's the difference between guessing what works and knowing for sure.

Here’s a quick overview of what you unlock:

• Instagram Insights: This is the big one. You get detailed analytics on your posts, Stories, and audience. You can see who your followers are (age, gender, location), when they’re most active, and which content they love the most.
• Contact Buttons: A professional account lets you add contact buttons to your profile, like Email, Phone, or Address. This makes it incredibly easy for potential customers or collaborators to get in touch with you directly from your profile.
• Promotion & Ad Tools: Ever seen that blue "Boost Post" button? You get access to that. A professional account allows you to run ads and promote your best-performing content to reach a wider, more targeted audience.
• Category Labels: You can add a label under your name that tells visitors exactly what you do (e.g., "Digital Creator," "Artist," "Restaurant"). This adds a layer of professionalism and clarity to your profile.
• More DM Management Tools: Your inbox gets an upgrade with Primary and General tabs, helping you organize conversations and filter out the noise.

Switching is free, and it only takes a couple of minutes. If you’re a business owner, a creator, an influencer, or just someone who wants to take their Instagram game seriously, you need to be on a professional account. Period.

How to Switch to a Professional Account: Step-by-Step

Instagram makes this process incredibly simple. Just follow these steps, and you’ll be set up in under five minutes.

Step 1: Go to Your Settings

Open the Instagram app and navigate to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the bottom-right corner. From there, tap the three horizontal lines (the hamburger menu) in the top-right corner to open the main menu. Then, tap on Settings and privacy.

Step 2: Find Account Tools

Scroll down through the "Settings and privacy" menu. Look for the sub-heading called "For professionals" and tap on Account type and tools.

Step 3: Begin the Switch

In the "Account type and tools" menu, you'll see two options at the top. Tap on Switch to professional account. If you're already on a Business or Creator account, this option might say "Add new professional account" instead. Just tap the blue link to begin.

Step 4: Learn About the Benefits

Instagram will now show you a series of screens that highlight the benefits you’ll get with a professional account (like analytics, contact options, etc.). Just keep tapping Continue as you swipe through them.

Step 5: Choose a Category that Describes You

This step is important for helping people understand what you do at a glance. Scroll through the list and pick the category that best fits your brand, business, or personal brand. You can choose from options like `Artist`, `Blogger`, `Clothing (Brand)`, `Digital Creator`, `Entrepreneur`, `Health/Beauty`, `Photographer`, and many more.

Once you’ve selected one, you’ll also see a toggle switch labeled Display on profile. If you turn this on, your category will appear right under your name on your profile. This is usually a good idea for clarity and professionalism. Tap Done to proceed.

Step 6: Choose Your Account Type: Creator or Business

This is your final big decision. Instagram will ask, "Are you a creator?" You’ll be presented with two choices: Creator and Business. Each is designed for slightly different needs.

Don’t stress too much about this choice - you can always change it later in your settings. We’ll go over the differences in detail in the next section to help you decide. Make your selection and tap Next.

Step 7: Complete the Setup

You’re almost there! Instagram will suggest a few optional steps to complete your profile, like "Get Inspired" or "Grow your audience." You can go through these if you like, or just tap the 'X' in the top right corner to close the window. You're all set!

Creator vs. Business Account: Which One Should You Choose?

So, what’s the real difference between a Creator and a Business account? While they share many core features (like analytics and promotion tools), there are some key distinctions to be aware of.

The Creator Account is best for:

• Influencers
• Public Figures
• Artists & Photographers
• Content Creators & Bloggers
• Anyone building a personal brand

Essentially, if you are the brand, the Creator account is probably for you. Here’s why:

Key Features of a Creator Account:

• More Detailed Growth Insights: Creator accounts get more specific data on follows and unfollows, showing you a daily breakdown so you can correlate spikes and dips with specific content you posted.
• Flexible Profile Controls: You have the option to hide your category label and contact information for a cleaner, more minimalist profile look if that suits your brand.
• Advanced Inbox Filtering: Your direct messages are sorted into three tabs: Primary, General, and Requests. This is extremely helpful for high-volume inboxes, allowing creators to separate messages from friends, brands, and fans.
• Branded Content Tools: Easier access to tools for managing paid partnerships and tagging business partners in promoted content.

The Business Account is best for:

• Retail shops (online or physical)
• Local businesses (restaurants, salons, etc.)
• Service-based companies
• Brands and Organizations

If you're selling a product or a service, the Business account is almost always the right choice.

Key Features of a Business Account:

• Robust Contact Options: This is a major advantage. Business profiles can add a physical address (which links to Maps), a phone number (with a call/text button), and an email. This makes it seamless for customers to find you and get in touch.
• Third-Party Integrations: Business accounts have greater access to the Instagram API, which means they can connect to a wider range of third-party social media management and scheduling tools.
• Action Buttons: Businesses in certain industries (like food or beauty) can add special buttons like "Book Now," "Reserve," or "Order Food" through integrations with partners like Yelp or Grubhub.
• Shopping Features: A Business account is required to set up Instagram Shopping, allowing you to tag products in your posts and Stories so users can shop directly from the app.

The bottom line: if you're an individual, choose Creator. If you're a company, choose Business.

How to Use Your New Professional Features to Grow

Switching is just the first step. The real magic happens when you leverage these new tools to inform your strategy.

1. Actually Look at Your Insights

Don't just switch and forget about it. Get into the habit of checking your Instagram Insights weekly. Go to your Profile > Professional dashboard to see everything.

• Audience: Look at your follower demographics. Are you reaching the people you thought you were? Check the "Most Active Times" chart. This data is pure gold - it tells you a range of hours where your followers are a captive audience. Plan your best content to go live during these peak times.
• Accounts Reached: This metric shows you how many unique accounts saw your content. Pay attention to what drives reach. Is it Reels? Carousels? Behind-the-scenes Stories?
• Content You Shared: Instagram will show you a list of your top-performing posts, Stories, and Reels based on reach or engagement. If a particular style of post skyrockets to the top, that's your audience telling you exactly what they want to see more of. Make more of that.

2. Optimize Your Bio and Contact Buttons

If you have a Business account, make it as easy as possible for people to take action. Add your email, phone number, or address to create clear "call to action" pathways right on your profile. If you're a Creator, your bio is your chance to shine - use the extra freedom to focus on your value proposition and brand voice.

3. Experiment with Promotions

You don't need a huge budget to start. Find a post that is already performing well organically (check your Insights!) and spend $10-$20 to "Promote" it to a targeted audience. This is a great way to introduce your brand to new people who are likely to be interested in what you do.

Final Thoughts

Making the switch to a professional account on Instagram is a quick, free, and non-negotiable step for anyone looking to grow an audience or business on the platform. By unlocking key features like in-depth analytics and enhanced contact options, you transform your profile from a simple gallery into a powerful marketing tool.

Once you’re set up, the next step is building a repeatable content workflow. This is exactly why we built Postbase. After making the switch, creators and businesses often discover the challenge of consistently posting high-quality content, especially video. We designed a clean, visual calendar that lets you see your entire strategy at a glance and schedule posts across all your platforms with rock-solid reliability so you can focus on creativity, not just logistics.