The bio, along with your username, profile picture and link will be the first things people see when they visit your page and they are the ones that will make or break your profile. So let’s see how to create the most eye-catching bio!
One of the bio components that is usually misused by people is the name field. Not the username, which we already talked about, but the actual name. Do not use your actual name there or a nickname unless it’s a personal branded account and your followers know you by your name.
This field can have up to 30 characters and since Instagram doesn’t require it to be your actual name you are free to be smart about what you write there. Use your business name and make sure you include 1-2 keywords that best describe your business. The reason in doing this is that the name and username are the only fields that Instagram considers in search queries. So if you plan to be found by a certain keyword make sure to use it here.
Alternately you can be funny with your name, anything to make your profile stand out, check out the following example:
I know, if you’ve just completed the previous lesson you’re thinking “the profile picture is not ideal”. It could be improved, yes. Just focus on the bio name though, it’s a certainly a smart one.
Recap for a perfect Instagram name:
try to use the full 30 characters
stand out as much as possible – in a smart way though
try to use 1-2 targeted keywords
Now the main part of the bio comes up, the actual description. This part accepts up to 150 characters, it’s not much, but if you’re inventive and know a few tricks you can grab this chance to convey everything you need to in order to make a lasting impression on your visitors.
So what should your bio contain? – At least some, but ideally all of these:
what your account is about
a call to action
1-2 targeted keywords
1-2 branded hashtags
if you’re selling products – their benefits
if you’re “selling yourself” – your skills (only for personal branded accounts)
contact information
Now let’s talk about each of the above in more detail.
What your account is about
You’ll need to accurately explain what your business is and what exactly you do. Don’t be ambiguous about this point and never leave the visitor guessing. This doesn’t mean you have to be boring or have a dictionary explanation of your business like “I sell clothes”.
A good rule of thumb is to include anything that makes you stand out, that special something which sets you apart from your competitors. Do you have a unique set of skills or experiences that might be of interest to your followers? Are you a local business? Is your product ethically made? What other fun facts can you share with your users about your brand? This is also a great way to showcase your company’s personality.
Anyone visiting your profile should immediately understand who you are and what makes you different hence deserve to be followed. Here’s a good example of such a bio:
A call to action
This is something that many people forget about. If you want your visitors to do something, then tell them to do it! Don’t expect that they’ll just know because you’ll be disappointed. Adding a call to action (CTA) will ensure you’re taking full advantage of your traffic.
What you want on CTA, is entirely up to you. You can increase engagements on your posts by asking them to follow or post with a branded hashtag, drive traffic to a sales funnel, landing page or directly to your site, make them sign up to your newsletter, or like your page on Facebook. Just figure out what would be the most effective for your marketing needs and do it.
A very powerful tactic here is to combine your CTA with a free gift, like an e-book or a taste of your product. This is not suitable for every business though, so do it only if you can. Here’s a good example of a CTA combined with a free gift:
Using targeted keywords in your bio
Using keywords in your bio won’t improve your searchability on Instagram as it’s not taken into account, however it will help your followers connect with you easier since everyone is looking for something online. It will also help define your business better and easier.
You shouldn’t go overboard with the keywords though, no one wants to read a list of keywords. Pick one or two and use them wisely. There’s two ways you can go about this one.
pick keywords that best describe your businesses’ core values
pick keywords that best describe your target audience
There are pros and cons for each of the two and I would suggest you go with the second one though. You will have to put a little more work and thought into it though and first create a profile of your ideal follower. Put yourself in their shoes and see what they’re there for, what do they want to see and what would best trigger them to respond. What are their pain points or interests? And what keywords will help you resonate with them most?
Here’s a nice example of using keywords to target your audience:
Using branded hashtags
This is a really nice way to improve engagement on your account. The idea is to get other people to post with your branded hashtag so they create more buzz about you. Unfortunately this won’t work for all types of accounts, however if it can be applied to yours, use it.
One thing you should know here, the hashtags used in your bio are clickable on the web version of Instagram but not on the phone version of it.
Here’s a nice usage of a branded hashtag:
As an alternative, you can also use a handle to another one of your accounts. If your visitors like your page they will be curious to see what else you’re doing and you can get to grow two accounts instead of one. Instagram made sure the handle you added is clickable so visitors can easily check it out.
You can also link to someone else’s page. Just know that when you link to another profile, that profile gets a notification and they can choose to accept or deny your link towards them. If they don’t accept it, the handle you added in your bio won’t be clickable but it will still be there.
The benefits for products and skills for branded accounts
I’ve put these two together in the same boat as they are somewhat similar. If you’re to sell something you need to make it stand out and tell people why they should choose it over the competition. That’s what this point is about.
If you want to be notable for a particular skill, profession, hobby, or interest, you should include these details in your Instagram bio as well!
Contact information
Although your bio will have a link that people can use to get in touch , it’s started to become a thing to include other contact details in the bio itself, like:
your email
hours of operation
location if your business is physical
Keep these in mind and use them accordingly.
Final advice on putting everything together
If you can squeeze all of the above in a nicely looking bio for your Instagram profile, you’ll make a killing. If not, add as many as you can. Here are a few ideas on how to make them look good.
1. Add line breaks or bullet points – this is a great way to make your bio easier to read and understand. To do this, just add a new line on the web version of Instagram. If you want to do it on the phone app, you’ll have to write the whole text in a text editor and copy-paste it so the line breaks remain intact. One thing to note here, your bio will look different on the web than on your phone ( check the 2 photos below). The web version does not display the line breaks so if you want to check how it looks use the phone version.
2. Use emojis to space out your text – you can use them to make your bio easier to read and if you pick the right ones they can hand on a lot more in the small space they occupy. You can either use them combined with bullet points like I said above or simple in between the text. Here’s a good resource to find your perfect emoji. and a nice example of using emojis:
3. Changing the font in your bio – yes, this can be done and it used to be more popular a couple of years back, not so much now. I’ve listed it though so you’ll know it’s a possibility. In order to do this you’ll have to use a 3rd party app like Textizer.
This is pretty much all you need to know about creating the perfect bio. Put your mind to work now, apply all the above and I’m sure you’ll come up with an amazing and attention grabbing bio in no time!
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