Instagram users (myself included) rejoiced when the app announced a new feature that allows people to switch between multiple accounts without having to log out and log back in over and over and over again.

And this new feature likely has a lot of creative business owners contemplating setting up a separate business Instagram account, so you can keep your personal and business images separate. The thought has even crossed my mind once or twice. I ultimately decided against it, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the right call for everyone.

Here are some things you should think about before setting up a separate Instagram account for your biz?

Option 1: Having separate personal and business Instagram accounts

Pros:

• Your business images are more likely to be completely on-brand
• You can post absolutely anything you want to your personal account
• You can get more targeted followers to both, rather than trying to please everyone

Cons:

• You might miss out on some of that personal connection that comes with sharing your story
• You could have to work even harder to come up with enough business content to post regularly
• You could lose some existing followers if you change your existing content strategy

Option 2: Having just one Instagram account for both business and personal

Pros:

• It’s easier to manage
• You’re more likely to have enough content to post regularly
• It may be easier to personally connect with followers

Cons:

• You have to make sure that your personal posts are still on-brand
• You can’t post absolutely everything you want
• Some people simply won’t be interested in your personal posts

Ask yourself these questions before deciding which option is right for you:

• What is the main purpose for your Instagram? (to give people a behind-the-scenes look, to connect personally with followers, to start conversations, to get clients, etc.)
• How often do you post personal photos compared to business ones?
• Which types of photos normally get the most likes/interaction?
• Do your personal photos fit with the aesthetic of your brand?
• Do some of your posts fit into both business and personal categories?
• Are you an important part of your brand or do you keep your business mostly separate?
• Would you have enough content to post at least once per day if you only post business content?

Ultimately, the decision about whether or not to go with a separate Instagram account for your business has to be yours. There is no right or wrong answer – but it’s something that you should consider carefully.

When making my own decision, I decided to stick to because I felt that so many of my posts really overlapped into both categories. I’ve never really done a lot of straight promotion on Instagram, but I try to stick to a particular aesthetic and I post things that I think people in my target audience might relate to. I do like to occasionally post things that are strictly personal and that some of my more business-y followers might not relate to. But I try to keep those within my aesthetic and I hope that some of these photos still give people a sort of behind-the-scenes type look.

Note: I do have one separate Instagram account (don’t laugh) . While I personally think that everyone should want to look at pictures of my dog all the time, there are probably some who don’t. So I post more pictures of him there and just the occasional dog picture on my main account.

The point? There’s more than one way to split up your Instagram content, if you so choose. Maybe you like posting some of your personal photos to your business account but want a place to post lots of photos of your kids. Or maybe you really love cooking but it doesn’t have anything to do with your target audience for your main account. You can set up separate accounts for those things, if you’d like. And you can switch between them pretty easily, Hallelujah!

Bottom line: Consider your Instagram strategy very carefully before deciding whether or not to separate the business and personal on Instagram. There are pros and cons to both options, so you have to pick the one that works best for your strategy.

So what do you think? Have any of you switched over to a separate business account already? Why or why not?