Instagram dropped a BIG announcement yesterday. Some of this gets a bit nerdy, but it matters to anyone trying to build a business or brand on Instagram. Members of my Infinite Influence program ask me all the time, “Should I switch to an Instagram Business Profile”.
The answer has been different for different profiles, but after Instagram’s announcement recently, the answer is a definite YES.
Here’s the short version why:
You’re going to be able to schedule Instagram posts.
You need a Business Profile to do it.
As someone who spends some of their time being anxious about what to post on Instagram next – THIS IS A BIG DEAL. I can’t wait to schedule my Instagram posts.
Over the years, there’s been many “hacks” on how to schedule your Instagram posts, but they were all technically against Instagram’s terms of use and some of them even got shut down. I’ve always recommended a great service called Later which lets you schedule your Instagram content – I’m really hoping they’ll be able to take advantage of Instagram’s API update.
The nerdy details of this is that Instagram’s API has been more or less the same for developers since day one. In 2017, Instagram began the process of updating the Instagram API to the Instagram Graph API (which is built on Facebook’s Graph API).
They say this change helps businesses manage their organic presence more effectively.
Now I have a thing or two to say about Business Profiles. This might sound kinda crazy, but think about this logic for a second…
If I’m a big business like Instagram (Facebook) and all my revenue comes from more and more people spending money on ads on my platform, I’m going to do whatever I can to get people to start spending more money with me. I’m going to incentivize them in any way I can.
Here’s what I know as well… If you tell me that you’re a business (by switching to a business profile), I’m going to assume you have a budget or an interest in paying to grow your business. So then why wouldn’t I take the information I have about you and then make it harder for your message to be seen by your audience unless you pay for that reach. Why wouldn’t I change to a “pay to play” algorithm?
Now you might say, “Well Instagram and Facebook are great companies and they wouldn’t do that to their users!”
Are you serious? I’m not saying they’re not great companies. I’m saying that it’s in a corporation’s best interest to grow and be more and more profitable year after year. As an end user or an advertiser, being fair or not fair to you, is irrelevant.
If you use their platform, you’re forced to play by their rules.
.ANYWAY… Back to the scheduling.
I’m not going to discourage you or tell you that the secret to success is to remain as a regular profile as long as you can – I actually don’t believe that.
If you’re running a business properly (which involves planning, measuring and mentoring) the data and benefits that a Business Profile gives you is essential.
The one thing I am happy about with this recent announcement is that it DOES make it easier for businesses and entrepreneurs to manage their content on Instagram – a platform that we’re all spending so much time focusing on.
So if you are trying to create a profitable brand and business I want you to do two things:
1. Go and switch to a Business Profile on Instagram.
2. Take my FREE Instagram Success Workshop today.
