Have you ever thought about the impressions you’re making on people who come across your Instagram account? Your Instagram bio is one of the first things someone will see when they check out your account, and in many ways, it can make the difference between someone clicking follow, or just leaving.
Your Instagram bio shows audiences who you are, and what you are offering. More than that, it can compel them to care about you. Does your bio do enough? Are you making it clear that you can provide real value to potential followers? Are you showcasing your brand in the best light?
If you’re on Instagram and want people to be more engaged with your account – whether by following your account, heading to your website, or even purchasing something from you – then you need to start with crafting an amazing Instagram bio for your business.
Keep reading to learn why your bio is important. We’ll also share a few savvy tips to ace that bio and impress your audience!
Words: Adriana Thani
Why your instagram bio is important
1. People are looking for businesses like yours
Fact: over 80% of accounts on Instagram follow a business, while 200 million Instagrammers actively visit the profile of a business every day. That’s a lot of potential followers and customers looking for businesses on Instagram – businesses just like yours – and you need to do everything you can to help them find you!
A strong Instagram bio filled with relevant search terms will help your account appear in searches, and is the first step in getting people to follow you.
2. You need to make a good first impression
Your bio is 150 characters worth of valuable space on your profile where you can introduce yourself and make it appealing for people to engage with you. It sits at the very top of your profile, and is the very first thing that people see when they click on your username.
Most people would still scroll down to your grid to have a good look at what you’re about. However, we’ve seen many businesses that post oddly vague bios that doesn’t lead to even the most basic understanding about their business, which doesn’t pique curiosity and cause people to scroll down any further.
If you’re trying to make people work to find important information like what you’re selling and where you’re located, well, you’ve lost them. Your competitor with a strong and straightforward bio will capture that follow, and potential sales. So make a good impression from the get-go with a primo bio that gets people interested in what you’ve got to share.
3. It gives you a chance to highlight your uniqueness
All businesses have that one special thing that makes them different from the rest – your Unique Selling Point (USP). It could be where you source your products, or how you make your products, or even just your target customer base. There’s something about your business that sets it apart from everyone else, and your bio is a great place to highlight that!
Say you have a skincare brand. There are certainly plenty of those in the market, but what makes you special? Let’s say your organic skincare range is 100% vegan and cruelty-free. Well, your bio is your chance to shout that from the rooftops!
4. It’s the only way place can share a hyperlink
If you have a business, you’ll likely also have a website that you want your Instagram audience to visit. If you have an online store, this is even more important. Unfortunately, Instagram is notoriously strict about where they allow hyperlinks. In fact, your bio is the only place you can have one!
We’ll share more tips on how to get the most of this function further along, so keep reading to find out more about that.
Tips to create an amazing Instagram bio for your business
1. Maximise your business’ searchability
Your Instagram name can only contain up to 30 characters, so make sure to stuff it with important search terms! Using the same skincare company example from before, let’s create the ideal username for them.
Now, we know they’re organic, vegan, and cruelty-free. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to squeeze in all three of these in 30 characters or less. In this case, we recommend focusing on the most popular USP and combining it with a business location.
Note: We also won’t need to repeat the business name in the Instagram name if it’s clearly stated in the @username. It’s redundant, so avoid it if you can. Obviously, if (for some reason) your business name isn’t in your username, then make sure to mention it in your Instagram name!
Don’t do this:
CS Skincare – organic skincare
Do this instead:
Organic skincare, Sydney
2. Keep it zippy
There’s no need for long, poetic sentences in your bio. Your Instagram bio needs to be short and to-the-point, while still containing all the pertinent information about your business. If you have an elevator pitch for your business (you should have one if you don’t already!), then that’s a good place to start.
Don’t do this:
CS Skincare is all about creating glowing, healthy skin, while being kind to the planet and the innocent creatures we share it with.
Do this instead:
CS Skincare
100% organic, vegan, cruelty-free
Look good while doing good.
You’ll observe that the second one has a quippy rhythm about it, which makes it fun to read. Plus, it mentions the all-important USPs early on!
3. Include a brand hashtag
If you have a brand hashtag, make sure to put it front and center on your bio. This is a great way to invite your potential followers to take a look at what other people have shared under that hashtag. User-generated content is extremely valuable, and this is a good way of sharing that with the world.
We’ve also seen discussions surrounding industries like fashion and skincare, where customers are more convinced to purchase a product if they’ve seen other non-model folks wearing an outfit, or reviewing a skincare product. Your brand hashtag acts like a platform for potential customers to see what your existing customers love about you!
A brand hashtag should be something unique to your business, but still short and sweet.
Don’t do this:
#csskincareorganicveganproductreviews
Do this instead:
#csproductreviews2020
4. Play with emojis
Emojis can express so much more than words can say, so use it to your advantage. Take a look at emojis that suit your brand image and voice, and strategically pepper it into your bio. One of our favourite things to do is to use emojis as bullet points, so that’s one way to do it!
You can be literal with your emoji use, but you can also go symbolic with it. For example, it totally makes sense for a baker to use a cake emoji. But it also makes sense for a skincare company to use the sparkle emoji.
It’s all about adding a bit of additional flavour to your bio, and also introducing a bit of colour and fun.
Don’t do this:
CS Skincare 💕
100% organic, vegan, cruelty-free 💕
Look good while doing good. 💕
Do this instead:
🧴 CS Skincare
🌱 100% organic, vegan, cruelty-free
✨ Look good while doing good
5. Always include a link
If you’ve got a business website at all, you need to include it in your bio. Instagram is a great place to get leads for your business, so make full use of this function!
Some businesses will pop a link directly to the Shop section of their website, while others just link to the website homepage. Some others will want to have people click onto a specific landing page – for example, an email list signup form, free eBook download, or a new blog post.
Now, what if you want to share all those links at once? Not to worry, there’s a way around this whole ‘one and only hyperlink’ thing. All you’ll need to do is sign up to a software that collects all your important links in one place, like Linktree or MilkShake. You’ll be provided with a single link to this, and that’s what you’ll pop into the Website section of your profile.
Whatever you do, never ever post a long URL as your website! It looks messy and unappealing, so you’re better off shortening it with a tool like ShortURL or BitLy.
Don’t do this:
http:// www.superlongbio.com/ohmygosh-such-a-long-bio-246810-terrible-pls-dont
Do this instead:
http: //www.bitly.com/itsoshort
6. Add contact information
If you have a business profile, you can include contact buttons in your bio that allow for people to contact you directly via phone or email. You even have the option of including directions to your business location!
Speaking of business location, you can even pop that into your bio without using up your bio character count (it appears just below your bio). This allows you to use that additional space for more important things.
You should note, however, that the direct Contact buttons are only available on the mobile app, not desktop. So you should still include contact information on your website so people can find them if they need to.
7. Add call-to-action buttons
Instagram has useful call-to-action buttons that users can click on to be taken straight to whatever action you want them to take. These actions can include things like Book A Call, View Shop, or even Donate.
This is particularly important if you want to make it easier for your audience to take a specific action. People don’t like to feel like their time is being wasted, so they’d appreciate it if you made their experience as seamless as possible.
You don’t get a second chance at making a first impression
So please, make it count!
Remember, your audience is inundated with content all day. You need to make sure you stand out from the crowd with a unique and memorable bio that is clear, concise, and appealing.
However, that’s not the end of it! You still need to consistently offer valuable content in your followers’ news feeds, engage with your audience, and create a beautiful grid that showcases the lifestyle you’re trying to sell.
Do you want all this and more for your business, but simply do not have the time to manage it yourself? Here at Content Savvy, we are passionate about helping small businesses create a gorgeous and compelling Instagram presence.
We offer a host of services, including ad-hoc content creation and full Instagram management packages, so get in touch with us to find out how we can help your Instagram shine!
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