How do I set up an Instagram business account?

Direct Answer

Download the Instagram app, create a new account with your business email, then switch it to a Professional (Business) account in Settings → Account type and tools → Switch to professional account. Choose "Business" (not Creator), pick your category, and add your contact info. Then edit your profile and paste in your bio.

Why This Matters

A personal Instagram account hides analytics, removes the contact button, and prevents you from running ads or scheduling posts through third-party tools. Switching to a Business account unlocks all of that — plus it signals to customers that you're a real operation, not a hobby. Instagram business profiles show up differently in search results and give you access to insights about who's viewing your content. For visual businesses like salons, restaurants, and home services, Instagram is often where customers go first.

Real-World Example

A 3-person nail salon had a personal Instagram account with 380 followers. They'd been posting from the owner's personal phone and had no contact button, no category label, and no way to see which posts drove the most profile visits. After switching to a Business account and updating their bio — using a tool like glowsocial.com/setup that generates platform-specific bios from your website — they could see that Reel views were driving 60% of their profile visits. They didn't change their content. They just made the profile work like a business.

What Most People Get Wrong

Switching to a Business account doesn't make your personal account public. It only changes how your business profile operates — you still control what's visible. And you don't need a Facebook Page to create an Instagram Business account anymore, though connecting one unlocks cross-posting.