Building your personal brand takes time and strategy, and fortunately social media can help us go a lot further than we were able to years ago. However, people are making the mistake of jumping the gun and creating multiple Instagram pages the moment they get a new business idea without considering some key questions (read below)...
Look, there's a time and a place for using multiple pages, but building a personal brand usually doesn't call for it. Juggling multiple pages is like juggling multiple personalities, and if you're displaying similar content on multiple pages, you're wasting your valuable time and energy.
One of the most common reasons people feel the need to have more than one page, is because there's this unnecessary urge to separate personal life from business. However, when building a "personal" brand letting people in on who you are and what you do in your personal life is one of the best ways to build trust. It shows people you're human. It helps people relate.
In order to figure out whether or not you need multiple Instagram pages, you need to consider the following:
You DON't need a separate page if:
1. You can promote the same content on one page and still appeal to your target audience
2. You have products or services that your current followers could possibly buy or use
3. You can easily shift your content and your followers can automatically become a part of your target audience
4. You already have a following and engagement and can use that to grow your personal brand
You DO need a separate page if:
1. The content you're displaying on one page is DRASTICALLY different from another page? (example: Your personal brand is about being the top real estate agent and you give advice to home buyers and other realtors. Your other business page is set up to sell pet clothing. Although you can promote one on the other page every now and then, because the audiences are going to be looking for different content, having two pages in case like this could be wise).
2. You are trying to reach a completely new target audience while also maintaining your current one. (example: You want to start targeting new moms, but your current audience is between 17-22 and none of them are moms. Or you're a beauty blogger and you want to start getting more into bodybuilding. If your target audience could care less about bodybuilding, in order to not loose them, you may want to create a separate page and let THEM choose if they want to consume that content)
3. You run a page that has different people and contributors involved (example: a training facility with multiple staff members who also contribute to the page)
4. You sell a tangible product (example: apparel or cosmetics) - even in this case, you still want to use your personal page to help grow your product page.
Just think about this - the CEO of Apple wouldn't be the primary page for Apple products would it? No... but does that mean that he shouldn't promote Apple products on his page? People would wonder why he didn't. In fact, if they saw him with a Samsung product, it wouldn't be a good look for the Apple brand.
So the next time you think you need another instagram page, go back through these questions and really assess whether or not it's necessary.