Should I use my personal Instagram account for work?

Q: Should I use my personal Instagram account for my business? 

A: There's no short, yes or no answer to this question and the decision comes down to a few factors.

1) Is your account already private and what content are you keeping private? Pictures of your children? Your home? Yourself? WHY is it private in the first place? If you weren't already open to sharing those intimate details then definitely start a second account for your business.

2) Are you a micro/small business that has a loyal following because your customers and fans relate to you and what you like? Then maybe you should consider making your account one and the same and here's why - your customers like your personal style and your tastes so it's great if you can show them the little things that you see that inspire you.  

I like following designers who share the things they love from the food they're eating to where they like to go to relax to what they wear or how they dress their kids. Those personal details are a great peek into what drives them, and it's what keeps their fan base growing.  

You don't have to tell people everything, but little glimpses to your everyday life make a huge difference and it becomes a lot less about selling, and way more about connecting. 

3) It's just convenient to have one account. Unlike Twitter, you can't be logged in to multiple accounts on Instagram. So to keep from logging out and then logging in and logging back out again to the account you use frequently, connecting everything is way simpler. Keep in mind that you can tweet the picture to Twitter accounts other than your personal one!

Hope this helps you decide what to do with your Instagram account/s!  If you'd like to get more Social Media 101 tips like this emailed to you, don't forget to subscribe here.