If you want to promote your business on Instagram, creating a killer bio is key. You’ve got to put your best foot forward, make a great first impression, grab people’s attention. You know the drill. But what you might not know is that there are hordes of clever and creative Instagram bio ideas you can use to make your bio an effective vehicle for increasing your followers, your engagement, and your sales.
To get started, tap your profile pic in the far right corner of the bottom toolbar, then tap the “Edit Profile” button. In the form field, you’ll be asked to provide information such as Name, Username, Website, etc. These words will not be included in your 150 character count. Only the Bio will.
We’ve created an Instagram bio worksheet to help you calculate your character count as you draft the important parts of your bio.
Differentiate your name and username fields
Your Username is your “handle” on Instagram, or your account name. If your username name mirrors your brand name, you’re free to use the Name field for something other than your name. Think about it: Why not use this valuable bit of real estate to describe what your business is? You could use keywords that people might search on, which will help boost your ranking in Instagram searches.
In the example above, this travel brand is using the name field to let people to know their first names and that they fit into the niche category of travel couples.
You can also use the name field to clarify your brand name, if you want people to know how they’ll see it in other contexts (see Brit + Co bel0w).
Use a logo for your profile pic
If your Instagram presence is a business account, you will most likely want to use your logo for your profile photo. Your logo is your brand, and you want people to become familiar with it and associate it with your business. Once they do, your logo will serve as a quick and convenient way to help people recognize who you are at a glance, across all your channels.
Bio field: Lead with a brand promise
While it’s important for you to give people a clear idea of what you do or sell, it’s good to lead the bio section with a succinct statement about your brand promise. Let people know what’s unique about your business and why they need to follow you. Have you won any awards? Are you the only manufacturer of a particular product? Did you win a round of funding on “Shark Tank”? Are you running your business out of a yurt in Eastern Oregon? These are bits of information that could intrigue people enough to give you a closer look.
Bio field: Use emojis
Emojis have become so common in online content, plain text almost looks naked without them. Adding emojis to your bio serves a multitude of purposes. You can break up that big block of black text with colorful, vibrant graphics. You can cut down your character count by using a picture instead of words (e.g., 🍔 instead of “hamburger” or 👠 instead of “high-heeled shoes”). When used creatively, emojis allow you to add a touch of silliness and humor to your bio.
Emojis can also be used to add emphasis or call attention to a certain aspect of your bio. For example, you could add an arrow (➔) or pointing finger (👉) to direct people’s attention to a link to your website. You could use a phone with an arrow emoji (📲) to encourage people to call you. For easy access to emojis when using a Mac, just hit Control + Command + Space.
Bio field: Employ a call to action
You can send visitors to your website for more information, or to a particular page where they can view sale items or enter a contest. You can tell them to tag you, email you, call you, or visit one of your other social profiles. You can even tell them to come to your real-world store or place of business. (We know—crazy!)
Instagram only allows for one clickable link, which appears at the bottom of your bio. But you can change it any time and as often as you like (it’s the “website” field on the Edit Profile screen). If you have an active content marketing effort, you’ll probably want to surface multiple links—there are a bunch of third-party apps that help you build a landing page where you can put as many as your heart desires. In that case, your one link will lead to multiple links.
Bio field: Use spacing and line breaks
Adding spaces and line breaks between your words and phrases will make your bio easier to read and allow you to emphasize certain words. While you can’t get line breaks in the Instagram app, all you have to do is write the bio in Pages, Word, or another tool and then copy and paste it into Instagram.
More tips for filling in the bio field
Use different fonts – Tools such as Instagram Fonts and LingoJam allow you to customize your bio using special fonts that aren’t available on Instagram. This will go a long way toward making your bio stand out and look visually unique.
Experiment with different iterations – Even if you think you’ve hit on the best bio ever the first time around, don’t stop iterating. Try out different bios and track the results so you can make your bio the best it can be. Also, Instagrammers are accustomed to seeing bios change, so switching it up now and then will help keep your profile looking fresh. Use our Instagram bio worksheet to calculate the character count.
Include a coupon code – Your bio is an excellent place to share a coupon code with potential customers. Right off the bat, they’ll recognize the value of following you, whether they actually use the code or not.
Add hashtags – Including clickable hashtags in your bio is key if you want to tap into trending content and get people to take action. It’s also a good idea to use a branded hashtag to promote your brand and collect user-generated content.
Save your Stories as highlights
While this isn’t technically part of your “bio,” don’t forget to curate some Instagram Story highlights, which show right underneath your bio. This is a great way to help visitors get to know you and your business and it makes Story content more permanent and browsable. PicMonkey has sweet highlight cover icons that make quick work of it: From the editor, click the Graphics tab, then Social Media>Insta Story Highlights.
