Some brands and influencers are starting to switch public Instagram accounts to private or create new accounts that were private from the very beginning.

Adding a barrier to fans who want to follow you may seem like a strange idea, but it’s getting attention. That’s why we decided to find out why and if this is something you should consider doing for your brand.

Why are brands making their Instagram accounts private?

Setting your account to private on Instagram means only people who follow you can see and interact with your content. Even if you use popular hashtags, your posts will still be hidden from these searches.

It also means that non-followers who want to see your content must submit a follow request.

Recently, we’ve seen big meme pages like Couplesnote (8.2 million followers) move to private accounts. And brands like Everlane have launched new private accounts.

Reid Hailey, the founder of Doing Things, an agency that manages their Instagram page and has a total of more than 14 million followers, said in an interview with The Atlantic that it was growing at a new 10,000 rate once one of its major accounts went public. When the weekly follower count turned the Account private, that number jumped to 100,000 – an impressive increase.

Hailey sees this as a way to circumvent Instagram’s algorithm change and stagnant follower counts.

“If you’re in public, people always see your stuff and don’t feel the need to follow you,” he told The Atlantic. “It didn’t really become a mainstream thing until the algorithm started hitting hard, about six months ago I would say. People suffer to grow up. A lot of meme pages don’t really get bigger.”

If your brand is considering switching to a dedicated account, consider these benefits:

1. There is already a trend towards privacy and personalized content

The trend for private Instagram accounts may be the result of a broader trend of users and brands moving towards smaller, closed groups. We’ve seen this happen with the growing popularity of Facebook Groups.

In relation :  185 TikTok Captions That Actually Work – Boost Your Engagement Today

By limiting the number of people who can see your posts, you’re suggesting that you care more about quality content than audience reach. Followers will also feel that the content you share is tailored just for them, as they are members of the private space you have set up for them.

2. Creates a sense of exclusivity

Why put a bouncer on the door of your content? Why so special? Why? Tell me!

FOMO is real.

Making your Instagram private can help your existing followers feel valued, but also make new followers wonder. For example, FOMO can come in handy if you’re launching new products. You reward your most loyal followers with a special first look and give newbies a reason to follow you.

Everyone likes to feel like they’re getting a deal or a special look.

3. It can help you get more followers

As mentioned earlier in this article, private individuals need to follow you to find out what type of content you post. Brands are struggling to see their follower counts increase since Instagram’s algorithm changed, so being private serves as a way to navigate these updates.

There’s a reason this particular Instagram account trend was picked up by meme accounts. They know that their content is highly shareable among friends. By going private, when one of their followers shares a post with a non-follower, the non-follower is persuaded to follow the account to see the content their friends have shared with them.

4. Keep the followers you gain (potentially) after being private

Just like asking to follow you, there’s also an extra notification that pops up when a fan tries to unfollow you.

Unlike a public page, which is used with one click to unfollow someone, private pages ask fans who they are. really Make sure they want to unfollow you.

This little extra step can potentially have an impact on your retention rates when it comes to follower counts and make people think twice before unfollowing you.

5. Gives you more control

This may seem like a strange argument, but bear with me.

By going private, you can grow the kind of followers and fans you want to have as a brand. For brands, it should be about social, real connections and delivering value to your target audience.

Social media is by definition public – but fans may not be willing to provide honest feedback in these open spaces or share a link with you as a brand. By having a small, private space, you can give your brand the space and control it needs to facilitate these real connections and deliver 1:1 value to fans.

In relation :  How to Schedule Instagram Posts and Stories Using Combo Scheduler

You can also weed out and ban any trolls instantly.

Why switching to a private Instagram account might not be right for you

That’s why we told you the reasons why you should consider keeping your Instagram account private as a brand, but what are the tricks?

You cannot change a business account to private

To make it private, you need to switch your business account back to a personal account. This means you lose analytics and your ability to post Instagram ads and promoted content.

He specifically says that Instagram doesn’t allow business accounts to remain private – which suggests it’s not a trend they want to promote. It could also mean that Instagram could penalize accounts they think are “playing games” on the system by making their accounts private.

This is probably the biggest downside to making your profile private.

Potential followers can be turned off

There is no reason for people to follow you beyond a FOMO factor, and you risk offending people by hiding your content behind a follow request.

This is especially true if you give someone access to your account just so they understand that your content isn’t what they’re looking for. Some people may feel cheated by following you, resulting in longer dislike for your brand.

Your content will not appear in searches

As mentioned earlier, even if you use hashtags in a private account, your content will not appear on public posts, including the Discover page. Also, you may not embed or link to your content on a website.

All of this can have a dramatic effect on your brand’s ability to gain greater exposure to potential new fans and customers.

So, should your brand change their Instagram account to private?

Customization can be used as a short-term strategy to help build excitement and exclusivity (for example, when you launch a new product).

Also, if you’re a smaller, niche brand with followers you want to turn into a community, or a thriving meme account on FOMO, it might work in the long run.

But for the vast majority of brands, social media should be a place to be discovered by a new audience. You could miss out on new and enthusiastic fans and potentially annoy your callers. Which is a loss, to lose for all.

If you don’t want to grow your Instagram follower count or create the best possible Instagram posts and make your Instagram page private, we’ve got you covered.

If you decide to keep your Instagram account public, save time managing your Instagram presence using Moyens I/O. You can schedule and publish posts, engage audiences, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles from a single dashboard. Try it for free today.

To start