Personal or Private Instagram Profile?
The Crucial Choice Even Before You Start
Public or Private Instagram Profile
Which type should you choose for your Instagram profile: public or private? And more importantly, how many types of accounts are there?
Before you dive completely into this universe, there’s an important decision to make: should you opt for a personal public or private Instagram profile? It’s like choosing the destiny of your digital kingdom, so get comfortable and discover which path suits you best!
Are you sure you know all the pros and cons of each? And most importantly, are you truly certain that a business account is the best for your work?
Follow me…
In my course “Ho messo a nudo Instagram” (I Laid Bare Instagram), I start right here and explain why the most obvious choice is not always the right one.
On Instagram, we all know there are three types of profiles:
- Personal: the standard profile that Instagram offers by default.
- Business: generally suitable for physical businesses.
- Creator: introduced only in 2019.
Among public or private Instagram profiles, today I want to mainly talk about the personal account.
I used this type of profile for years, also because when I started working on Instagram, indexing as a Content Creator didn’t yet exist.
If you don’t have specific goals and just want to share nice photos occasionally, the personal profile is certainly the most suitable, but this doesn’t mean that all personal accounts are non-professional.
Follow me closely because what I’m about to reveal will change your idea of profile categorization.
Advertising on a Personal Profile?
There is no rule that says a personal profile cannot include ads in its content. The recent legal updates requiring users to declare via # if the shared content is advertising or personal thoughts unfortunately often fall short.
It is true that every advertisement or affiliate content should be declared, but it is also true that, especially among nano influencers, these rules often get overlooked.
Promoting a product without disclosing the nature of the content is punishable. This opens up the world of hidden advertising (which is not my field), but it is essential for you to know that it is illegal, even online: every time an influencer shares an advertisement, it must be marked accordingly. [According to Article 2 of Legislative Decree 145/2007 (see Gazzetta Ufficiale).]
But let’s get back to our topic.
The online world is a jungle, and many profiles violate this simple rule… which is why the distinction between a personal and a business account often holds little value.
It doesn’t mean a personal account can’t change direction in the future. That’s why you often see optimized personal profiles.
There’s an aspect of the personal profile that has always fascinated me, and as I mentioned, it will make you ask yourself many questions.
Getting to the Point: Private Personal Profile, What Changes?
A feature that Instagram offers only to personal profiles is the ability to make them private.
Now, it must be said that if you decide to share something on Instagram, choosing to have a closed profile wouldn’t make much sense in itself. It is now known to everyone that privacy, in terms of protecting shared content, is a concept that is almost nonexistent. When you post a photo online, even if you have a private profile, it enters cyberspace and will never be 100% private again. So, if your goal is to make your images visible only to a limited group of people, know that publishing them on Instagram, even on a private profile, is not the right solution.
Setting aside the privacy issue, let’s get back to the specifics of a private personal profile, which can be very interesting in certain aspects.
In the case of a private personal profile, you yourself will approve the followers.
Now, if you want to work on Instagram, you might wonder why you should close your profile.
I’ll explain it to you right now.
It has been shown that a private personal profile has the lowest unfollow rate, and do you know why?
Have you ever tried to unfollow a private profile? Instagram will ask you if you are sure, highlighting that if you want to see that profile’s content again in the future, you will need to be re-approved by the profile itself.
This simple question, which sounds a bit like “the voice of conscience” asking if you are sure of the action you are about to take, is one of the greatest deterrents ever. Studies have shown that faced with this question, most users decide not to unfollow; and not only that, many users will click on the profile picture, interacting with the latest posts.
It’s simple psychology, yet it works!
Following this trend, there have been cases of influencers who made their account private during an advertising campaign to make it more effective.
These are isolated cases and usually involve consolidated and highly performing profiles, but the results have been surprising.
An example is @nickpescetto who, in 2020, before appearing in an advertising campaign, set his profile to private.
This choice was driven by the need to control the actual success of the advertising campaign, ensuring that visitors from the campaign became real followers rather than just single moment views. If a user really wanted to see Nick’s content, they had to click the follow button, creating a much stronger connection.
This seemingly crazy choice turned out to be brilliant: Nick managed to ensure his followers remained and strengthened his community. From that moment on, anyone who chose to unfollow his profile would be excluded from a community of many people.
This somewhat sneaky procedure, I admit, allowed Nick to bond his followers who began to feel privileged because they were accepted by him.
Public or Private Instagram Profile: When to Use a Private Instagram Profile
Personally, I follow this practice in two types of occasions:
- In conjunction with a media event: interview, newspaper article, TV appearance.
- During campaigns for promoting new publications.
- When I notice a post is going viral.
Have these insights into public or private Instagram profiles piqued your interest?
Each option has its advantages and depends entirely on you and your goals on Instagram. You can also switch from a public profile to a private one and vice versa at any time, so don’t feel trapped by a choice!
Remember that the key to success on Instagram is consistency, passion, and authenticity, regardless of whether you choose a public or private Instagram profile. Choose what makes you most comfortable and helps you achieve your goals.
Until next time, Instagram explorers! May your digital path be illuminated by likes, followers, and success!
At the end of the day, Instagram is a highly dynamic space, and my advice remains to experiment with as many strategies as possible: this could be one of them!
Thanks as always for reading this article on public or private Instagram profiles!
Continue to follow us for more tips, tricks, and updates from the world of Instagram.
Digitally Yours
📱Sara📱
