Multiple Instagram Accounts: Does your business need them?

Recently we went through how to use the new multiple accounts feature on Instagram. As with any significant feature change on a large social network, businesses and social media managers should consider whether it is an opportunity to take advantage of.  Before making the decision to have multiple Instagram accounts for your business, there are several factors to be considered.

Social strategy has often been overlooked as somewhat trivial and some of these platforms not taken seriously. The numbers do speak for themselves. Businesses that have not yet done so should start seeing social media platforms as more than simply places where the young and tech savvy generation play.   Let’s look at some reasons your business could benefit from multiple Instagram accounts.

Reasons to have multiple Instagram accounts:

Distinguish your brand’s locations

If your business operates in different parts of the world/geographical locations you may want to consider multiple Instagram accounts. A great example of separating Instagram accounts by location is the restaurant chain Nando’s. IKEA also does the same thing. They have separate Instagram accounts for the different countries they operate in.

It makes sense for a company of this size to do this. These organizations can also manage their digital presence according to the audience such as running different campaigns.

Learn how to run your own Instagram campaign here

Nando’s and IKEA also have multiple accounts on other social media platforms such as Twitter. As further justification for the multiple accounts, for each country Nando’s maintain separate menus and domains (eg nandos.com.au, nandos.ca and nandos.mu etc).

Different products or services

It is a good idea for a florist by day who is also a carpenter to have different Instagram accounts for each. In this case, the individual Instagram accounts serve a very specific and unrelated purpose compared to the other. You can play to your strengths far more easily this way.

Spain’s Real Madrid brand is well-known worldwide. Real Madrid is a football (soccer) club. Real Madrid is a basketball team.

As shown above, the 2 have different Instagram accounts to cater for the unique audiences that follow their teams. This is a pretty clear cut example of having multiple products that connect to different audience segments.

Find a unique voice

Language barriers can provide a massive disconnect when communicating with your audience. Yes, even on Instagram. Regardless of pictures and short videos being the primary reason for the platform, captions, comments and hashtags provide context. Consumers may find it off-putting and distracting to read different languages on one account. Refer to point #1. Sometimes it’s best to draw a clear line in the sand.

Nando’s Brazil manage their Instagram page mostly in Portuguese which is the language that resonates with their audience. On the other hand Nando’s Canada, UK and USA predominantly use English. Going back to the IKEA example, the Sweden and Egypt divisions of the company use Swedish and Arabic respectively. This rests on creating an instant connection with your audience.

Separate founder’s personality from business

Some business social media pages can be tied to the founder. A hands-on approach is often a great way for owners to humanise the brand, build trust and develop a strong brand personality. This is a very popular tactic. With time and growth such an approach may conflict with the vision and direction of the business.

You have to determine how the founder persona is working for the brand, consider if it ties into the audience’s perception of the brand and any potential brand longevity issues. Proceed with caution because your brand identity is the DNA of your business. It might be a good idea to keep your personal thoughts, opinions and experiences as the founder separate from the business.

There are enough resources to do so

I would add this as a secondary consideration after determining that there is a need for multiple accounts. A few questions to ask: How will this fit into our budget? Can this be picked up without affecting the quality of work elsewhere? I highly recommended reading the helpful Time to Trim the Social Media Fat blog post for more on these considerations. If your business is in a position to take on extra responsibilities then that works out just right. After all, what you want is a good Return on Investment.

The above should nudge you in the right direction!