Picture this scenario: A user discovers your account, gives it a quick peek and finds it interesting – now you literally have 3–5 seconds to show that your account is worth a follow! And guess what – having only unique content and pretty pictures is no longer enough. Writing a good Instagram bio might seem like a fairly straightforward task but it actually requires some strategy and creativity. Think of your Instagram bio as your business card, portfolio, and website home page all rolled into one and you will quickly realize how important it is to make the right impression.
Instagram bio is often not given the importance it deserves – it usually ends up being a line or two about yourself you hastily fill out when creating your account. In reality, your Instagram bio is valuable social media real estate that entices users to your profile, creates the first impression of your brand, and conveys key information about your business. And with just seconds to make a great first impression with all this info, your bio is one of the best ways to convert visitors into followers – and followers into customers!
If you’re using Instagram for business, you’ll want to make a good first impression with your bio and use it to attract new followers and potential customers. But aside from writing a catchy brand description, how else can you optimize your profile to make the most of your Instagram marketing efforts? Read on as we break down the elements that go into making the best Instagram bios, and give you tips for writing one.
What Is An Instagram Bio?
According to researchers, within the first 7 seconds of meeting you, people will have a solid impression of who you are – and it can be even shorter online. In the case of Instagram, never have truer words been spoken! Every word needs to count.
An Instagram bio is a short summary about yourself or your business, which features underneath your username. Instagram bios can include anything from a crisp description to contact information with emojis, and much more, as long as you keep it under 150 characters. A good idea would be to explain who you are, what you offer, and why people should follow you.
Instagram bios can include one external link, hashtags, and a username which you can customize separately from your handle (@user). It’s important to remember that your bio is one of the main things people look at when deciding whether or not to follow you on Instagram, so one needs to make every piece of information count and present a description that speaks to the visitor.
What Should An Instagram Bio Do For You?
We know what you’re thinking – 150 characters do not seem like much room to work with when you consider everything your profile should accomplish! But it’s totally doable and here’s what a good Instagram bio should include:
- Crucial information about your business like brand name, niche, etc.
- A way for Instagram users to get in touch with you swiftly.
- Match your voice with your personality and brand, and keep consistency with other social platforms, too.
- Establish your unique selling proposition and value to the target audience.
- Drive valuable actions, such as sharing content or directly head to the company website to make a purchase.
Instagram offers an array of features you can use to cover these considerations and create a profile that helps users quickly understand who you are, what you offer, why people should follow you, and how to take further action. Continue reading our blog to understand how to make money and drive traffic more effectively with a good Instagram bio.
What Goes Into An Instagram Bio?
Before we delve into how to make the best Instagram bio, here’s a look at the elements that make up a profile.
1. Profile Picture
One of the first things potential followers will notice in your Instagram bio is your profile photo. Use a high-quality picture that is easily recognizable, captures the true essence of your brand, and most importantly, is consistent across your other social networks. In case of a business, the company logo is often the perfect choice for the profile picture. Keep the minimum profile picture size 110 x 110 pixels, so that users don’t see a blurry or stretched photo when visiting your profile.
2. Username
The most important aspect of your Instagram bio is your username. Placed right at the top of the bio, it literally determines how people search for your brand. This is your identity on Instagram – it’s your @ handle, and it forms part of your profile URL. A good practice is to use your business name, but if it’s already taken, make sure your business name features creatively in the username of your choice. Also, use a consistent handle across all social networks to make it easy for your audience to find you.
3. Website Field
The ‘website field’ is the only place on Instagram where you can post a clickable link. You can add a link in this box to send visitors to your website, a specific campaign, or anywhere you want to drive traffic. You can also change the URL as often as you like – link to your newest or most important content like your latest blog post or video, or a landing page. The marketing possibilities are endless with this ‘field’.
4. Category
A business profile on Instagram presents the account holder an option to pick a ‘category’ for the business. The category appears under your name and can help the audience catch a quick glance of what you do. The advantage of using a ‘category’ for your business is that it can free up space in your Instagram bio, however, it only appears in the mobile view so that’s a drawback assuming not everyone will access Instagram on mobile.
5. Contact Information
Instagram business profiles offer ‘contact buttons’ that allow the viewers to call you, email you, or get directions to your business, directly from Instagram. The address appears below your bio in the Instagram business account and does not use up any of your bio character count! Leverage this to free up space to present more compelling info on your bio.
6. Call-to-Action Buttons
When people visit your profile, you can encourage them to take action straight from your Instagram bio with ‘call-to-action (CTA) buttons’. These allow your followers to take ‘actions’ with a variety of action buttons depending on the type of business you have: Email, directions, call, book an appointment, make reservations at a restaurant or get tickets for an event, among others.
7. Story Highlights
Story Highlights are ‘groups of stories’ you can present on Instagram profile as clickable thumbnails. Once you post a Story, you can save it to Highlights which will display in your bio to make it more attractive. An excellent feature provided by Instagram is that you can also save Stories in an archive and come back to use them anytime for future Highlights. Leverage this option to create top-of-the-mind recall for your followers.
8. Verified Badge
Ever noticed a little blue checkmark right next to the username? Well, in the Instagram world that’s incredibly valuable since it assures your visitors that they have reached a legit official account. It’s a good idea to work on getting a verified Instagram account, as it directly spells your popularity – a higher engagement on average, and testimony to the fact that you’re posting great, authentic content that resonates with your audience.
Get verified on Instagram with our easy-to-implement guide! Read our blog: How Can Influencers Get Verified on Instagram.
Tips For Writing A Killer Instagram Bio
With a limited number of characters at your disposal, you need to prioritize content in your bio before you start optimizing the rest of your profile.
#Tip 1: Convey your personality
Your Instagram bio is your introduction to new followers – it tells your visitors who you are and why they should care. Consider this – A boring bio is not going to inspire people to click the ‘follow’ button, even if you’ve got some great photos and content in your feed! When new visitors discover you on Instagram, you need to give them a reason to stay interested. You won’t have a user’s attention beyond a few seconds, so work on making a crisp, catchy bio that gets your point across quickly and clearly. Here are some points to consider:
- What is your brand promise? Convey crucial quick-hit information about your account.
- If you’re an individual entrepreneur, what are your special skills?
- Are you a local business or a global brand?
Keep in mind that a good bio is the one that works perfectly for the brand it represents, and to create that you need to understand your unique brand voice and personality.
Bonus Tip: Your bio doesn’t need to rely solely on text – you can make it stand out by using fun & quirky emojis to add personality, directional characters to draw attention to specific parts of your bio (like a clickable link) or customize your font.
#Tip 2: Include clickable tags
Adding clickable tags that promote branded hashtags and sister accounts, to your Instagram bio is a great way to link to tagged content. You could include these to promote and collect user-generated content like a themed hashtag that highlights a current promotion or contest. Doing so actively encourages customers to create a new post, use the branded hashtag in their Instagram captions to become searchable, and share photos of them. Be mindful of staying away from including hashtags that are not directly related to your business, because each one represents an opportunity for potential followers to click away.
Bonus Tip: You can also tag other accounts to direct profile visitors to your additional properties, for example, a sub-brand with a separate Instagram account or a partnership you want to highlight. You can mention it in your bio and it will appear as a link. By tagging the main profile with additional properties, you can direct users to the accounts with the content and products best suited to them.
#Tip 3: Include a call-to-action
Good marketing includes a strong and compelling call-to-action – and your Instagram bio ought to be no exception. Featuring a call to action (CTA) in your bio’s copy is often a valuable addition to provide visitors a clear direction. It should answer an easy question – what’s the first thing you want people to do when they visit your profile? Crisp CTAs that explain exactly what to do and how to do it, considerably increase the possibility of your users to take the action you’re describing. Consider some of these approaches with your CTAs:
- Direct: “Click our bio link to buy our latest products.”
- Encourage sharing: “Tag #brandedhashtag to be featured.”
- Promote a limited-time offer: “Shop our Thanksgiving Thursday sale.”
- Highlight a contest: “Share your favorite flavor for an opportunity to win!”
Bonus Tip: Begin your call-to-action with “the action”. Start with a verb – Start, Tag, Shop, etc. to get directly to the point. Take note – your CTA should support your marketing goals and align with the clickable link in your bio. For example, if your goal is to build an Instagram following, your call-to-action could be to share their photos with a branded hashtag.
#Tip 4: Use ‘Action’ buttons to allow users reach you
It’s likely that users will want to contact you for information after they come across your brand on Instagram. It’s important to direct customers to your preferred channels of communication, whether it’s a phone number, email, directions to your store, or third-party services to book an appointment, etc., with the ‘Action’ button. When viewed through Instagram’s mobile app, the contact info will appear as a clickable button on your profile where customers can easily locate it.
Bonus Tip: Users will most certainly use the contact information you provide, so only enter information for customer service channels you actually support. If you don’t have a dedicated phone line for customer support, don’t add it in just because you want to have something there. This comes across as unprofessional.
#Tip 5: Get creative with the bio link
With Instagram there are plenty of options to drive traffic to your website. Your Instagram bio link is an opportunity to send profile visitors to any page you’d like them to visit – be it a campaign or a promotional YouTube video. For example, many brands link out to their website’s homepage by default until they have a specific promotion running. You can also link to your latest product launch, a signup page for a contest, your latest blog or video, an event registration page. Be sure to adapt your bio content to incorporate a CTA for your new link when you add one.
Bonus Tip: If you want to track how effective your bio link is at driving traffic, you can use a URL shortener like Bitly, along with UTM tracking, to measure click-throughs. Effective tracking gives you the required insight and paves the path for future improvement.
#Tip 6: Enable ‘shopping’ to showcase products
Noticed the ‘Shop’ action button on Instagram profiles? The tab appears by default after you set up ‘Shopping’ on Instagram and start tagging images with product tags. This tab is also home to all the content featuring your product tags, giving potential buyers the opportunity to shop your collection through the photos you’ve posted. Users can tap on the photos to view them and learn more and tap once more to visit the product page on your website to make a purchase.
Bonus Tip: Take the effort to carefully curate a gallery under your ‘Shop’ tab by using product tags on photos that clearly show off your products. Make a good first impression!
#Tip 7: Curate ‘highlights’ for your profile
Instagram ‘Stories’ in the form of ‘Highlights’ allow a longer lasting presence on your profile. The option allows you to save individual ‘Stories’ into different ‘Highlights,’ which can be named and organized as required. These ‘highlights’ can stay a part of your profile indefinitely and can be placed right below your bio. Upon clicking, these shows saved ‘stories’ one after another. Your ‘stories’ get a longer lifespan, and you’re able to feature content that strongly represents your brand at the top of your feed. You can organize your ‘highlights’ with common themes including event coverage or event details, product tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, product features, bestsellers, news and announcements, etc.
Bonus Tip: Curating ‘stories’ for your profile allows you a chance to control the narrative, and even produce ‘stories’ with the express purpose of turning them into ‘highlights’.
#Tip 8: Share “social media only” promo code
Give your followers an extra incentive to make a purchase by offering a coupon code in your bio. For example, you could offer your followers with a 10% off on their first order. Discounts and promo codes not only drive users to your website to make a purchase, but also give you a more accurate way to track the conversions.
Bonus Tip: In order to effectively track the conversions, use a unique promo code in your Instagram bio so you can see exactly how many sales you’re driving. Next, dive into the data to figure out what visitors are buying and use the insights to improve or adjust your marketing strategy. You could also partner with a local Instagram influencer to promote your brand.
#Tip 9: Leverage IGTV
IGTV is an extension of Instagram that lets you create videos up to an hour long versus 60 seconds with a standard video post. IGTV streams happen live and are then published to the main page so that users can tune in later. For example, a makeup brand could use IGTV to publish makeup tutorials by influencers. You can also use IGTV to enhance your Instagram bio by showing behind-the-scenes footage of products being made, broadcast in-person events, record unboxing videos, or host a live Q&A, etc.
Bonus Tip: Want to know another cool way to leverage IGTV? Create an IGTV series! This is a regular series of videos your brand could release on a schedule each week, month, or day. Followers and fans can sign up to be notified when your brand uploads a new video.
#Tip 10: Have fun with emojis
Emojis are a fun way to highlight your brand personality and provide key details in a minimal character space. These are also an excellent way to break your Instagram bio up, visually. Fun ideas to try – ghost emoji before a Snapchat handle, location pin in front of your physical location, downward pointing finger to point to a clickable URL or a flag to indicate your home base. Explore, and have fun!
Bonus Tip: Use spacing and line breaks to present bite-sized chunks of information. This makes the information easy to identify and show off key points about their brand that wouldn’t quite make sense written in paragraph form.
Cool Ideas To Amp Up Your Instagram Bio
Still not sure how you can make your Instagram bio stand out? Here are some cool ideas and examples to get you started:
Funny bios: Humor can be a great way to connect with the audience. For example, ‘Old Spice’ uses humor that aligns with their well-known ad campaigns – “MUSCLES. SMELLS.”
Creative bios: When you really want to get creative with your Instagram bio, use custom fonts. There are tools that can help you create the look of a custom font by mapping your text to existing special characters. For example, ‘The Daily Type’ Instagram bio uses a special creative font. Check it out!
Special characters in bios: You can use symbols to create the look of a custom font or unique bullet points, as in the account for the travel bloggers at ‘Wander in Two’. The best way to find your special character is to open a new Google Doc, then click Insert and choose special characters.
Bio quotes: Quotes are a great way to create a connection with like-minded people aka your target audience. You could use a saying, a song, a line from a poem, or any phrase that could mean something to potential followers. ‘The Quotations Page’ is a good place to find Instagram bio quotes. Just remember to give credit where its due!
Learn from the best, and get inspired! Read our blog: Top 30 Instagram Influencers To Take Inspiration From.
A Quick Recap
A good Instagram bio is the one that creates an excellent first impression and persuades visitors to click the ‘follow’ button on your account. Here’s a quick recap to getting your Instagram bio right:
- Explain who you are and what you do
- Show your personality
- Target your niche audience
- Provide additional ways for your followers to get in touch
- Link to your website or promotional campaigns
- Offer ‘social media only’ benefits
For a deep delve into Instagram and its working, read our blog: Ultimate Guide To Becoming An Instagram Influencer.
Ready To Create An Impact?
A well-curated Instagram bio could make all the difference in boosting your social presence. It’s the perfect place to exhibit your brand identity, show off your creative side & uniqueness, and entertain your audience! These are all the things that make a brand’s social presence stand out.
Whatever approach you decide to take for curating the perfect Instagram bio, it’s important to invest time and effort into the process. Picking the right agency for the job can make all the difference! Read our blog: How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Agency, to learn more.
Our AI-based platform Atisfyre helps influencers establish a strong presence across social media platforms and connects them with brands for paid collaborations. Sign up for free, and we can make sure you’re always telling the story you want to tell, unfiltered.
