Creators on Instagram: How to Become a Successful Content Creator

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Karen Lin

Instagram Growth | Sep 15, 2023

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Creators on Instagram have evolved into a whole new species — one that has great potential for big-league success, not only on social media, but any other place where there’s an interested audience. Instagram introduced creator accounts to give content creators a better avenue for their trade, which is creating content for public consumption. If content is king, then content creators can be likened to architects that skillfully produce and mold it. If you have creative juices waiting to be shaped into amazing content, here’s everything you need to know to become a successful content creator on Instagram.

Phone screen displaying Instagram Insights dashboard.

What Is a Creator Account on Instagram

A creator account on Instagram is specifically designed to give content creators access to features that give them better control of their online presence, help them understand their growth, and make it easier to manage their messages. Creator Instagram accounts are open to the public and have the same advanced social media management capabilities as business accounts.

Creator Instagram accounts may represent a brand, company, or personality, and are ideal for:

  • Influencers
  • Public personalities
  • Artists
  • Content producers
  • Anybody who wants to build a personal brand on Instagram

With a creator account, you’ll have better tools to build your personal brand the way you want, get closer to your community, make money by doing what you do best and what you love, and also enjoy increased account protection.

You can convert a personal account or business account into a creator account. Private accounts automatically become public when converted into a creator account, and all pending follow requests are automatically accepted.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s official Instagram account as an example of a creator Instagram  account for a public personality.

What Is a Digital Creator on Instagram

All digital creators are content creators, but not all content creators are digital creators. If you’re a digital creator on Instagram, then you produce content exclusively for digital dissemination, i.e., for online consumption. A content creator is a broader classification, which includes creators of content for both print and digital media.

Features Available to Instagram Creator Accounts

Here are the features you can access when you have an Instagram creator account.

  • Professional Dashboard. You can track your performance, access professional tools for audience targeting and content management, and explore educational information curated by Instagram.
  • Contact information and Category Labels. You can identify your creator’s Instagram account with a specific label — such as author, blogger, or athlete — that categorizes you as an authority or professional in your particular field. Contact information and category labels are optional and can be turned on or off.
  • Growth insights. Analyze and understand what content helps grow your audience by mapping new and existing posts, follower activities, and more. Take note that the Instagram insights dashboard can only be accessed via the mobile app. If you want to manage posts, view insights, or publish your Instagram content from a computer, you’ll have to link your creator’s Instagram account to the Creator Studio.
  • Secondary Inbox. Your inbox will have Primary and General tabs. You can organize your messages and control notifications for these individual tabs. So you can put all messages from your friends in your Primary inbox, and DMs from everyone else in the General inbox. You’ll also be able to flag important messages so you won’t forget to reply to them. With a creator account, you also have the option to use personalized keyboard shortcuts to generate saved replies, which are especially helpful when answering FAQs in DMs.
  • Ranked Requests. You’ll have the option to sort your requests by received date or by top accounts.
  • Shoppable Posts. You can tag products to create shoppable posts, either through Instagram Shopping or if you’re an approved partner of another business with Instagram Shopping.

Phone screen displaying Instagram Insights dashboard.

How to use Creator Studio

Creator Studio is only available to creator accounts or business accounts. You can connect your creator Instagram account to Creator Studio with or without a Facebook page so you can manage your posts and view your insights using your computer. 

Connect your Instagram creator account without a Facebook page with these steps:

  1. Go to Creator Studio.
  2. Click the Instagram icon located next to the Facebook icon at the top of your screen.
  3. Follow the Creator Studio log-in instructions with your Instagram username and password.
  4. If you’re having trouble connecting your Instagram account, and are asked to link to a Facebook Page, you might need to first sign out of your Facebook user profile and then log in to Creator Studio using your IG username and password. If this doesn’t work, you can use a private or Incognito browser to log in to Creator Studio using your IG username and password.

Connect your creator Instagram account to Creator Studio with a Facebook page with these steps:

  • Go to Creator Studio.
  • Click the Instagram icon located next to the Facebook icon at the top of your screen.
  • If your Instagram creator account is already linked to a Facebook page, just click the Instagram account that you want to connect to Creator Studio.
  • If you’re not managing the Facebook page that’s linked to your Instagram creator account, click Connect to Instagram, then follow the log-in instructions.
  • If you want to use a different creator Instagram account that’s not connected to your Facebook page, click Connect another Instagram account and follow the instructions.
  • If you have multiple Instagram accounts linked to a Facebook page or pages and you want to manage all of them in Creator Studio, click Continue with connected accounts. Take note that you may only have 5 Instagram accounts at a time.

Instagram for Creators page.

How to Become a Content Creator on Instagram

Becoming a content creator with a creator Instagram account gives you better opportunities to make money on Instagram, sell on Instagram, and get more likes to accelerate your growth. Here’s how to switch your personal account or business profile to set up a creator account:

  1. Go to your profile and tap the menu in the upper right corner.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Select Account and choose Switch to Professional Account and Creator if you’re switching from a personal account; or choose Switch to Creator Account if you’re switching from a business account.
  4. Select your category.
  5. Connect to your Facebook page, or select Skip. 
  6. Review your contact information. You’ll need at least one form of contact information, but you’ll have the option to display or hide this on your profile. 
  7. Select your preferred profile display option. You can hide or display your category and contact information on your profile.  

If you want to set up a new creator account instead of switching an existing account, just create a new Instagram account and then switch it to a creator Instagram account.

Instagram for Creators page showing how creators on Instagram can build their personal brand.

How to Turn off Creator Account on Instagram

If you’ve decided that a creator Instagram account is not for you, you can switch back to a personal account or a business profile. Keep in mind that turning off your creator account on Instagram means you’ll lose all the analytics data for this account. You won’t be able to recover this creator account, as well; you’ll have to set up a new creator account should you decide to switch to it again.

Here’s how to switch back to a personal account:

  1. Go to your Settings.
  2. Tap Account.
  3. Navigate to Switch Account Type.
  4. Tap Switch to Personal Account, then tap Switch to Personal to confirm.

Creator Instagram Accounts vs Business Accounts

If you’re not sure whether a creator Instagram account or a business profile is the better option for you, here are the main differences between the two to help you decide.

  • Creator accounts have the option to identify themselves with a specific label based on what they do or what their expertise is. Business accounts are categorized based on their industry.
  • Both creator accounts and business profiles have the option to display their contact information. But only business accounts have the option to add a specific location, which is useful for businesses with a physical location.
  • Creator accounts and business accounts can add action buttons to their profile. A creator Instagram account can use the Book Now or Reserve CTAs; a business account can use the Book Now, Reserve, and the Order Food CTAs.

Instagram for Creators page showing how content creators can make money by doing what they do best.

Grow Your Instagram With a Creator Account

It’s possible to build a personal brand or business with only a personal Instagram account (set to public) — but competing with similar brands and growing your Instagram is going to be extremely difficult. Having a creator Instagram account, on the other hand, will give you access to specialized features that are designed to help you better manage your online presence, content performance, sales, and audience targeting, among others — and, therefore, also give you the best odds for success. 

In addition to leveraging the advanced features available to Instagram creator accounts, you can take a bigger step for your brand’s growth by teaming up with an expert in Instagram growth strategy — a company like Path Social. Path Social’s advanced AI targeting capability and in-house team of social media experts will help you widen your reach, gain real followers who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer, experience increased and high-quality engagement, and get you much closer to your Instagram goals. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!