Switch Instagram to a professional account

The short version

• Use a professional account for a business. Choose Business unless you’re a personal brand.
• In the app: Profile, More, Account type and tools, Switch to professional account.
• Add your business email, phone and address, or skip them if you’d rather not show them.
• Professional accounts are public. A private account becomes public when you switch.
• Connecting your Facebook Page is optional, but it lets you post and answer messages from Meta Business Suite.

How do I switch to a professional account?

These steps come from Instagram’s professional account article.

In the Instagram app

1. Tap Profile or your profile picture at the bottom right.
2. Tap More to open Settings and activity.
3. Under For professionals, tap Account type and tools.
4. Tap Switch to professional account.
5. Choose a category that describes your business. Instagram notes the category doesn’t decide whether you get a Business or Creator account.
6. Tap Switch to professional account.
7. Choose Business, then tap Next.

On instagram.com

1. Click More, then Settings.
2. Under For professionals, select Account type and tools.
3. Click Switch to professional account.
4. Choose Business, then click Next.
5. Select a category, click Done, then click Continue to confirm.

Finish your profile

• Contact details. Enter your business email, phone number and address, then tap Next or Save. To keep them off your profile, choose Don’t use my contact info.
• What shows. In the app, go to Edit profile and use Profile display under Public business information to choose whether your category and contact details show.
• Website link. Add your website in Edit profile. Use a page that matches what you post about, not always the home page.
• Name and photo. Use your real business name and your logo, the same as on your Facebook Page and Google profile.

Business or Creator: which one?

Instagram offers both. Choose Business if you’re a shop, a service or a firm. Creator accounts suit people who are the brand themselves, like a photographer, coach or artist. Instagram says you can switch account types at any time, so this isn’t a permanent choice.

Should I connect my Facebook Page?

Instagram says connecting a Page is optional. You’ll see a Login to Facebook step during the switch; tap Skip if you’re not ready. Instagram says a connection makes it easier to share posts to Facebook and to use ads and shopping tools.

The bigger reason is Meta Business Suite. Once both accounts sit in your business portfolio, you can schedule Instagram and Facebook posts together, answer Instagram messages in the same Inbox, and see both accounts’ insights in one place. Our Facebook Page and Business Suite guide covers the portfolio. Meta’s posting guide notes Business Suite can post up to 10 photos at a time to Instagram.

We couldn’t confirm the current step-by-step labels for connecting an existing account from Meta’s connect article on October 31, 2026, because the page didn’t display its steps without signing in. Start from your Page’s settings or from Business Suite, and follow the prompts.

What changes when I switch?

• Your account goes public. Instagram says a private personal account becomes public when it switches, and pending follow requests are accepted automatically.
• You get insights. See views, interactions, new followers and the content you shared, for up to the past 90 days. Our measuring guide explains what to look at.
• You can promote posts. Instagram says boosting is only available to professional accounts.
• Switching back disconnects the Page. If you return to a personal account, any connected Facebook Page is disconnected.

Why use a professional account?

A personal account gives you no numbers and no contact buttons. A professional account shows customers how to reach you and shows you which posts get attention. It’s also the only way to run Instagram ads from your own account.

What are the common mistakes and edge cases?

• Using a staff member’s personal account. When they leave, the followers go with them. Start a business account owned by the business.
• Contact details that don’t match. A different phone number on Instagram and on Google confuses customers.
• Too few followers for audience details. Instagram’s insights article says follower details need at least 100 followers. Early on, you’ll see less.
• The views number isn’t there yet. Instagram says its Views metric is being rolled out gradually and may not be available on every account.

What if this didn’t work?

• You can’t find Account type and tools. Update the app, then look again under Settings and activity.
• Your contact buttons don’t show. Check Profile display under Public business information.
• The account won’t appear in Business Suite. It may be connected to a different portfolio. Check who set it up, and ask them to move it.

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

Switching is free and takes about five minutes. Filling in your profile and connecting your Page takes another half hour.

How does E-3 handle this?

We add your Instagram link to your website and, where Google offers it, to your Google Business Profile, as part of our SEO and AI search service.

Related questions

• What should I post, and how often?
• How do I read Instagram insights and track clicks?
• Is Pinterest worth it for my business?
• How do I make short videos for Reels?
• Back to the complete social media guide

Sources

1. Switch to a professional account on Instagram (Instagram Help Center)
2. View insights on Instagram (Instagram Help Center)
3. Create and manage posts in Meta Business Suite on desktop (Meta Business Help Center)
4. About business portfolios (Meta Business Help Center)