Stop what you're doing and optimize your Instagram bio. People want to know the who, what, why, and where before they even look at your grid these days. If you're a creator, local restaurant, or national brand...listen up.
- Cleanliness: Get rid of the links to your other social channels (Threads and Facebook). This interferes with your four (4) lines of bio that can be better used.
- Category: If you're a food or beverage brand, PEOPLE KNOW. It does not need to say "Food & Beverage" at the top of your Instagram bio. This interferes with your four (4) lines of bio that can be better used.
- Handle vs. Name: Your handle is the thing with the @ symbol. It's probably @eat_brand or @drink.brand, right? But your name is the thing you can edit when you hit 'Edit Profile,' and it says 'Name.' Super important to know the difference.
- Optimize Handle: Unless you have lots of funding or know somebody at Meta, you're not getting the handle you want, especially if it's under six (6) characters. Try to land something you can get on all other channels that clearly says what you are.
- Optimize Name: For search results WITHIN Instagram, make your name something that SERVES YOU functionally, not creatively. For example, Perfy's is Perfy • The Perfect Soda®. It should pop up when people search for Perfy, perfect, or soda. I use a '•' instead of a '|' for the separation because I like the little bullet point for Perfy. For Growthbuster, I use a '|.' A good way to think about this is to use your statement of identity on your package as the second part after your name. For example, if you have a protein pretzel company called Vasa's, do the following 'Vasa's • Protein Pretzels' and you should be good!
- First line (the what): Use a tagline or what you are.
- Second and third line (the why): Why are you so special? List a couple of reasons to believe (RTBs), unique selling propositions (USPs), or points of difference (PODs). It's all the same. Not really, but for this purpose, it is.
- Fourth line (the how): A call-to-action (CTA). Simple.
- Bonus (the where for local businesses): If you're a local business like a restaurant, PLEASE list your address so people know where to go. Especially if you post yummy food videos!
- Link (the where for CPG): This is subjective. I wouldn't say I like the IG native Linktree product. It's clunky. It's hard to focus. If you're on Shopify, there's no reason you should not be using Linkpop. If you're a creator, there are many good ones to choose from that you can brand and give some personality.
Try this on your bio and let me know what you think, or better yet, ask me to do it for you for free! Just reach out to me here.
