Article updated: May 15, 2024

Overview of Instagram profiles

Instagram offers three profile types: Personal, Business, and Creator. All Instagram accounts start as Personal profiles by default. You can choose to convert a Personal profile to a Business or Creator profile at any time.

Due to limitations from Instagram, your profile type determines your access to the Instagram features available in Hootsuite. Business profiles get full access, including post engagement, direct publishing, and analytics. Personal and Creator profiles have limited access to Instagram features in Hootsuite. Compare features for each profile type.

For full access to the Instagram features in Hootsuite, Business profiles must be connected to a Facebook Page. Learn how to set up your Business profile.

If you don’t have a Business profile yet, see Convert an Instagram Personal profile to a Business profile.

Watch Introduction to Instagram to learn about Instagram. Visit Hootsuite Academy to watch more videos, take courses, or earn industry-recognized certifications.

How to check your Instagram profile type

If you’re not sure what type of Instagram profile you have, open your account in Instagram, and access your settings. Learn how using the Instagram help article Your Instagram account settings. Depending on your profile type, you'll see one of the following options:

Personal profiles - "Account types and tools"
Creator profiles - "Creator tools and controls"
Business profiles - "Business tools and controls"

Available features with each profile type

The following table compares the Instagram features available in Hootsuite to each profile type.

Important: If you add a Creator profile to Hootsuite as a Business profile, it will be labeled Business, but due to limitations from Instagram, will not have access to direct publishing.

Differences between profile types
Functionality	Business profile	Personal profile
Publishing method	Publish posts, reels, and stories directly to Instagram.	Publish posts and stories via mobile notification.
Content	Publish up to 10 images or videos in a post. Publish reels. Publish one media file in a story. Add product tags to create shoppable posts.	Publish up to 10 images or videos in a post or story.
Required setup	Get direct publishing, reels, product tagging, stream engagement, and analytics by adding an Instagram profile that's connected to a Facebook Page. Turn on Instagram notifications in the Hootsuite app to publish via mobile notification.	Turn on Instagram notifications in the Hootsuite app to publish via mobile notification.
Available streams	My Posts View the published posts and reels for the profile. Engage with and moderate comments on your own content. Hashtag search Monitor hashtags relevant to your business, sorted either by most recent or most popular. Scheduled View the scheduled posts for the profile.	My Posts View the published posts and reels for the profile. Open the post in Instagram to view engagement. Scheduled View the scheduled posts for the profile.
Analytics	Access to Instagram analytics.	No analytics.
Profile display	Profile pictures display for easy identification in Hootsuite.	Profile pictures are not available and display the default black Instagram logo. Profiles are identifiable only by handle.

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