Social media is everywhere. It’s very hard to escape it and resist it. It can be tempting. Well, you may have been tempted and decided to open an Instagram profile for your business. Everyone has one, right? However, you might be considering to have a private profile on Instagram. I am bringing you 5 reasons not to do that.

1. You are closing doors to your customers

Imagine going to a store that just opened to see what it’s all about. You come to their door, only to realize you have to have a permission to enter it. It’s not hard to get that permission. All you have to do is call and get on the list. But is it worth the hassle? Are you going to make that call if you’re not sure what the store is even about? I know I wouldn’t. I would just find another one.

The same goes for your profile on Instagram. If you’re not a business, sure. Go for it. But as a business, you don’t want your potential clients to turn around and walk the other way. So, switch your private profile on Instagram to a public one.

2. Your hashtags don’t work on a private profile on Instagram

If you really think about it, hashtags and a private profile on Instagram are complete opposites. If you don’t want people to have access to your profile, you can’t really have any reach from hashtags. You can’t be on any hashtag pages, because your profile is closed off for public.

This means that only your followers will see what you post. I wrote about hashtags, so if you want to learn more about how hashtags work, read that post.

3. Your location tagging will have no effect

If you’re a business with a physical store or an office, location tagging can be very useful. That way, people will be able to see posts about your business when they look up your location. However, if you use a private profile on Instagram, your posts will not appear on those pages. So, basically, you have no way of reaching new people (that includes if someone shares your post). All you can do is hope for followers. But…

4. People will not follow you

You might get a follow here and there, but people don’t like the extra step. This means that you will not grow your following as easily as you would with a public profile. Why? Well, all of the above. You cannot reach new people. So, if no one really knows you exist, how will they find you? Also, there is a business for every niche in every industry in the world. If someone looks for something specific, and somehow stumbles upon your profile… Rest assured they will click away if you have a private profile on Instagram. I guarantee they will continue searching until they find a public one (and it will not take a lot to find it).

5. You seem unprofessional

I absolutely think that having a private profile as a business on Instagram is unprofessional. Do you want your clients to see you or not? Do you want to get new followers (and new followers are potential clients) or not? It’s almost as if you don’t really know what you want. You realize you have to be on social media to be recognized, but you don’t really want to do it. You might even seem like you have no idea what you’re doing.

Conclusion: why not a private profile on Instagram?

So, I believe it is clear now. If you decide to put your business on social media (which you should), especially on Instagram, make it approachable. Allow your visitors (meaning potential followers, meaning potential clients) to see you. Don’t close off for them. Don’t make them do that extra step (because they won’t). So, don’t make a private profile on Instagram.

If you would like me to take a look at your profile, check out my Instagram profile audit service.

Sincerely yours,

Nika

P.S. Did you know that I launched a membership? If you’re in dire need of content ideas, make sure you check it out!