Quick Info:
| Why care? | A person who visits your Instagram profile will decide if they resonate with you & want to follow you in less than 7 seconds, so make sure you’re giving them the best first impression possible! |
| Cost: | FREE |
| Who should do this: | Businesses with an Instagram account |
| Platform: | |
| How? | Read on… |
Why Optimize Your Instagram Bio?
You’ve got mere seconds to captivate a visitor to your Instagram profile and make them believe they’ve found the right place. In this brief window, your profile photo, username, and bio are your only tools to hook them.
Crafting an irresistible first impression is crucial, so let’s delve into some top tips to ensure your Instagram bio inspires your ideal audience to smash the follow button.
Optimize Your Instagram Photo
Your photo is the first thing people see and the very first impression. People connect more easily with other people rather than inanimate objects. So whenever possible, use a photo of a person/people as your bio photo (especially if you, the maker/creative, are the face of your brand) instead of using a logo.
Ideally, you want to be looking at the camera so the person seeing you for the first time can make eye contact with your photo. This is a powerful way to create an instant connection.
Optimize Your Instagram Bio Text
The text space that you have available in your bio goes like this:
Line 1: Your name and title
Line 2, 3 & 4: 150 characters of space where you should showcase what you do and your personality while also seeking connection with your ideal audience.
Line 5: Link
Line 6: (optional) Address (if you are a local business, this is incredibly useful!)
Line 1: Your name and title
If you are a business of 1 or 2, please include your name in this line. Make life easier for the people who want to interact with you, and give them an easy way to find your name(s). It also humanizes your page, making you more relatable and easier to connect with.
Next, you want to include some keywords around what it is that you do. Use words that your ideal audience is actively searching for, in regards to your title.
Try to avoid just replicating information that is in your handle. (Both of these things are searchable independently, so you can use both to maximize your keyword reach.)
Line 2, 3 & 4: Your Bio (150 Characters)
This space is the most crucial to be concise while showing off who you are.
Technically, you have 150 characters, but you also have to be mindful of the lines your text takes up. If it spills into 4 lines, your text will be truncated on mobile (… more) and people will have to click the link to see the rest of your text. So, I like to try to keep these details to 2 lines only! See you if you can describe what you do without repeating yourself from the other lines. Do it in a way that feels human and real. You’re creative, I know you’ve got this!
That last line, I saved for a specific reason: Call To Action.
Yep, as good marketers, we’re always thinking about how we can get our audience to take the next action we want them to take, and in this case, we want them to click on that link just below the bio. But we can’t assume they will do it. We have to ask them to.
So, bonus points if you reserve line 4 for a CTA that will actually get you link clicks. Here are some of my faves for makers & creatives:
“Find your new favourite [product] 👇”
“Check out my latest collection ⤵️”
“Find us here ↓”
Line 5: Link
Whether you use a singular link, or a multi-link builder, make sure that you are easily fulfilling the promise of the CTA. Don’t tell people to check out your latest collection and then send them to your homepage, where they would have to dig to find what you told them to find. 1 click should be all they need to do to get what you sent them to find.
Line 6: Address
This is an optional line, but if you have a physical address where you sell products or services, then you want to use this bonus line! You must have a business account (not a creator account) to use this setting.
Go to your own Instagram bio page and click the Edit Profile button. Click on Contact Options and add your business address. Hit Save/Done.
Troubleshooting: If your address is not displaying, check “Profile Display” also under your Edit Profile menu, to make sure “Display Contact Info” is enabled.
A few best practices:
- Emojis are a fun way to spice up your bio, but use them sparingly—1 per line max.
- Be careful linking to other accounts in your bio. Just remember that any other account you link to means another opportunity for the viewer to navigate away from you, and potentially never come back.
- Also, use restraint when using hashtags in your bio. Hashtags generally help people find specific posts, not accounts. So you may be wasting your precious characters on something else that would have more personal impact. Of course, if you have a very specific hashtag that you are widely known for (and carries some brand recognition), this would be a good exception to the rule.
- Basically, your space is already massively limited, so try to use every character in a way that enhances who you are and entices visitors to stick around and see what you have to say next.
Final Thoughts
Your Instagram bio is your opportunity to showcase your value, highlight how your products meet your ideal audience’s needs/wants/desires, reveal a bit about who you are, and, most importantly, convey the brilliance of your brand.
On Instagram, as in life, first impressions are everything. These tips will guide you in creating an Instagram bio that captures attention and resonates with your ideal audience in those crucial 7 seconds.
Remember, it’s not just about attracting followers; it’s about building a community that genuinely engages with your brand. So, dive in, experiment, and let your Instagram bio be the gateway to a vibrant and connected online presence.
Today’s task
✅ Update your Instagram bio to align with your brand, provide a connection, and leave your audience wanting more!
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