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Has it ever crossed your mind whether or not you should have multiple Instagram accounts? This was something I struggled with when I decided to start a business because I felt a pull in both directions.

Back then I decided to keep everything separate, and have my personal life not intervene with my business. These were the days long before personal branding became so popular and well known.

What I didn’t know was that separating the two actually made it so much harder for my business to grow.

In this episode 052 of The Branded Cowgirl Podcast I talk about the pros and cons of having 1 account or multiple.

In this day and age you can make both work, but I give you some things to consider before making your decision that I never really thought about back then.

Honestly, this topic is something that my mind has changed on over the years so this might get a little spicy!

Things To Consider

1. What are your goals currently?

2. Are you more focused on growing a business or personal account? This may seem silly but there was a time in my life even as a business owner that I put more time into my personal account because I thought it was more fun

3. How much time do you have to commit?

4. Do you currently have more than 1 account?

5. Are you transitioning from personal to business?

The difference between multiple brands vs. multiple content buckets

First, you need to understand the difference between Brands Vs. Content Pillars/buckets.

A brand is an overall experience that a customer has that distinguishes an organization. Whereas a content bucket is a topic of content that heavily relates to your target audience or customer. The brand is the umbrella to which your content buckets/pillars live under

You can create multiple brands or create distinct buckets that speak to your target audience. Even if your target audience is multiple different ideal clients. Believe it or not this can be possible

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

Consistently showing up on a regular basis is the most important part of social media marketing. But what does showing up actually mean?

It’s not just about slapping up a random photo with a one line blah caption whenever you feel like it. The world is changing and we need to adapt with it. Video is huge right now, and people are craving connection more than ever so showing up on lives, reels, stories and so on is going to be key.

Not everyone has a whole bunch of extra time in their day to show up online all day long and that’s okay! Just do what you can.

Here are some of my brands / AKA Instagram accounts I manage on a regular basis:

• My personal brand account (@mrssarahelrod) 
• Our ranching account (@themakingofElrodranch) 
• And the @BrandedCowgirlPodcast 

The podcast, my personal brand and Elrod ranch accounts in theory could all live on just my one account. 

But personally I like the idea of having them separated because the target audiences are slightly different for @TheMakingElrodRanch and @MrsSarahElrod. My mission for those accounts are a little different as well.

I know how much time this all takes to nurture each of these platforms so I would definitely say if you struggle with time management or can hardly be consistent on just 1 then do not make a second account. 

Want to merge your accounts? Here’s what to do:

• Use your Business account as your main account.

• Make a post on your personal account saying what you are doing and then leave a tag in the bio on your personal account pointing to your business account.

Most of your time and energy should be getting put into your business account because that is how you are making a living. You can still infuse personal things into your business account so don’t worry! This is actually going to be best for your business in the long run anyway!

Quick Key Points

• If you have 2 entirely different niche’s or different businesses or goals then yes you should have 2 accounts

• If your 2 accounts include a personal vs. a business then keep them the same (1 account)

• You can blend things together that are within the same industry

• Try sticking to 3-5 topics on one account

• Think about how much time you have in a day to grow your account

• You need to have about an hour a day at least to engage with other accounts and brands 

• If you feel like you are struggling to do that with just one account then you probably shouldn’t have 2 or more 

Having a well rounded content strategy and link in bio can make managing one account with different ideal clients easy. With each post you just need to make sure you are speaking directly to a certain audience instead of trying to generalize 

Finding success on social media does not have to feel impossible. Just get very clear on your intentions for your business and brand and make sure you are black and white on the type of content you produce for your account(s).

And remember to have fun with it!

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