The Anatomy of an Instagram Bio

How to give a great first impression of your biz!

Your bio is one of the most important elements of your Instagram profile for one big reason: it’s the first thing anyone sees! Much like dining and dating, we make hundreds of subconscious and conscious decisions based on what we observe. A good Instagram bio will let viewers know what they’re looking at, while a great bio will entice them to dig deeper to learn more and tell them precisely how to do just that. 

There are multiple elements of the about section on your Business Instagram account, all of which are important in their own way. This seemingly small section of your profile is a place to prioritize answering the following questions for anyone who stumbles into your account:

• What does this business do?
• How & where can I find them?
• Does this brand have the right personality for me?
• What do I do next?

We will dig into how you can use the pieces of your profile to address these, but first, take a quick moment to self-audit the following and make tweaks as necessary:

Username & Name: 

Your username or handle is used for others to find and tag you. You want this to be easy to remember. Ideally, you can get your hands on a handle that is your business name, but this isn’t always the case. It’s best to avoid bells and whistles like numbers, symbols or nonsense letters because even if they’re memorable to you, your audience has no idea what they mean. 

Example: 

@stacyscupcakes is ideal vs. stacy345_p

Your name is simply your business name, as it will show up at the top of your profile. Make sure this is spelled correctly and ideally you’re able to include the full name of your business or the title which you want your business to be called. If you have a short business name that doesn’t clearly communicate what you offer you could add information that clears this up. 

Example: 

Business Name + Product You Sell: Stacy’s Vegan Cupcakes

Product You Sell + Business Name: Vegan Treats by Stacy

Contact Information: 

You are able to include a website, email, address, and phone number within your profile. Whatever you use for your business, be sure to include it. This is important and often left blank by business accounts. Take a moment to verify that these are correctly added to your profile to be sure that you aren’t sending your customers to give their money to someone else! Think of it as a listing in the phone book. To place the wrong or missing information there would be highly ineffective, right?

Call to Action Buttons:

Instagram Business accounts have the option to add buttons with clear calls to action on their feeds. While these do eat up part of the space at the top of your feed, making your content show up lower on the page, they are a good way to direct your audience to take the next step if you have a next step that fits. These buttons can prompt users to make a call, send a message, or email. Verified accounts with eligibility to use Instagram’s shopping options can also link to a shop of products. (This feature is limited to accounts with heavy traffic.)

Now, we will move on to your Bio. Here you have 150 characters to make a first impression and inspire your audience to follow along for more. There are endless ways to use this, and it’s a place to play a bit with the personality behind your brand. You can communicate the energy behind your business with things like word choice and emojis in really subtle ways. As long as you’re using this space thoughtfully, that’s most important. Here are a few ideas to use as you start to brainstorm your new bio. 

• Range’s account handle is a great example ideal username. It is clear and easy to remember. No frills, just @rangeleather.

• They include their handle and their brand hashtag in their bio text to encourage customers to tag their products. This is a great way to build your audience.

• Their bio includes what they sell and what makes them stand out. Simple and to the point. We know what they’re about with only a few words!

• They’ve used the call to action buttons to encourage followers to explore their store and get in touch.

• Blossom is another example of using their Business Name to clarify details. They have a studio in multiple locations and use this title and their handle to identify which location this page is for. 

• They also have a clear call to action that escorts followers from this page to view their class schedule on the page that allows them to book a class. The call to action buttons at the bottom allows their audience to get in touch via direct message and phone directly from the profile.

• Bond’s Brewing is another example of showcasing personality with very few words. “Where friends come to meet and strangers become friends,” is simple but enticing. You know that they’ve got more behind their business values than just selling beers. 

• They also use their bio as a place to tell followers what their brand hashtags are in order to encourage them to share their photos with their beers and in the brewery.

In the end, social media is a place to experiment and connect with your customers and peers. There is nothing wrong with playing with your bio seasonally and taking note of what engages your customers and what may not. Nothing is set in stone, and there’s very little that can’t be undone. Ultimately, there’s no right and wrong. Go forth and have fun!