When someone lands on your Instagram page, according to research you've got less than two-tenths of a second for someone to form an impression of your account. Writing a good Insta bio seems pretty straight forward, but with only 150 characters to work with it can be tricky to get your message across.
I'm going to go through my best strategies that make a great first impression, explain what your business does and convince people who land on your page to hit that follow button and take action.
STRATEGY #1 - STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
Most importantly, your Instagram bio needs to tell people exactly who you are as well as including a clear description of your business and what products or services you offer.
A great example of a business who does this well is Temple & Webster:
Temple & Webster utilises their bio to let the audience know exactly what kind of value they can provide. They've gotten straight to the point about who they are and what they do. You should make sure your bio answers the following questions:
- What does your business do? Temple & Webster offers the largest range of homeware and furniture in Australia. Straight to the point with clear messaging - great.
- Can I buy your products online? Yes. Your customers are currently online, so if you sell your products online you'd be silly not to mention this.
- Where can I shop or get more info? Click on the link in this Instagram Bio and you’ll be directed to their website.
STRATEGY #2 Show Your Personality With Some Emoji's
By including emojis in your Instagram bio, you're adding a visual element to what would otherwise be plain text. You can emphasis specific information you're getting across to your audience, all while showing a bit of personality.
I actually use this strategy myself:
- Blonde Sass Queen - Because no emoji describes me better
- Upwards graph - Because I produce great results - Duh
- Money Bag - Because most of my clients main goal is to increase profitability, and that's what I do *Insert Sass Queen Emoji again here*
It's also important to note that this may not work for every brand. Make sure you’re taking your target audience and overall brand into account. Don't use emoji's if they're not adding any value.
I also make use of a Linkin Bio. What's this you may ask. This allows you to incorporate multiple web links into your Instagram feed. For example, I use mine to promote my blog posts, so people can go directly to a specific blog rather than being directed to my home page and having to find it themselves. This is also great if you sell different products and want to link your Instagram posts straight to each specific product page on your website. Learn more about Linkin Bios and set up yours here: https://later.com/linkinbio/
STRATEGY #3 Use The Space To Promote A Specific Offer
This can be a powerful tool if done right, and is one of my favourite strategies. Changing this up regularly can keep people coming back to your page.
For example, Bleach London offers 25% off simply when someone completes a quiz and uses a link to direct people straight to the quiz web page.
STRATEGY #4 Encourage Follower Engagement
Another one of my favourite strategies, and one of my favourite brands does this so well.
If you don't know (you should) Frank is a coffee scrub that makes you feel ah-mazing. It's been a bit of a trend in recent years uploading pics to the gram covered in the coffee scrub and Frank were all over this. Using hashtags can build community and its a great way to leverage user-generated content and form a personal connection with followers.
By incorporating #thefrankeffect and encouraging people to use the hashtag when they upload a picture, this not only spreads awareness of their brand but it also makes creating content so easy because people are literally doing it for them. #winning
Another brand that does this well is STA Travel:
STRATEGY #5 Create A Strong Call To Action
Use your bio to turn visitors into customers. Use your bio to push people to click the link by explaining what they'll get if they do so.
For example Hello Fresh do this well:
STRATEGY #6 Include Important Business Info
This is usually more helpful for a business who provide a service rather than a product. For example, an events company who's social media accounts I recently took over, the first thing I did was update their Instagram bio. Since you have limited space, you’ll want to make sure that the information is clear and concise. Take a look at this before an after:
Before:
After:
I incorporated the key services that they offer in terms of event management, emphasised these with relevant emojis, added a direct option to call them, and ensured their logo was their profile picture and consistent across all social platforms.
If your company has physical locations as well as an online presence, it is helpful to include those in your Instagram bio too.
So Overall What Makes A Great Instagram Bio?
Although it changes for each brand, your Instagram Bio needs to do several very important things with only 150 characters. You need to:
- Tell your audience what to expect from following your profile.
- Connect with people on a real level.
- Get followers to click back to your website.
A great Instagram Bio does all of these things, helping to drive traffic back to your website.
The perfect bio for your business will be completely different to other businesses. It might be funny, it could be serious, include emojis, not have emojis, or help build a community. Figure out what your audience want and figure out what works best for your business. When you optimise your Instagram Bio, it can help drive relevant traffic to your website and ultimately increase sales or leads to your services.
Let me know if you have any other top tips for the best Instagram bios!
Teri 😘