How To Write the Perfect Instagram Bio in 4 Simple Steps
Be differentiated, keep it short, place your contact info, and include a CTA
Most of us underestimate the power of an effective Instagram bio, but in the context of an ever-increasingly saturated platform, it can be the difference between growing our audience and not.
Crafting a great bio is now an essential part of growing your Instagram because of the way most users evaluate if they will follow an account. That evaluation process usually goes something like this:
→ Through our home feeds, the explorer page, or activity feed, we discover an Instagram we’ve never seen before and tap through their username to view their account.
→ Within 3–5 seconds, we subconsciously evaluate their username, their profile photo, how many followers they have, their bio, their story highlights, scroll through their grid, and possibly tap through to see one or two posts in detail (most people don’t even get to that part).
→ If all of those elements make an impression on us within that timeframe, and we decide their content is something we’re interested in, we follow it. If it doesn’t make an impression on us in those few seconds, we tap out of the account and continue our day.
So, you have 3–5 seconds to show a person that discovers your account that it is worth a follow!
Having only differentiated content is no longer enough. For your audience to grow quickly, every single element (your username, profile photo, bio, story highlights, and grid) of your account should visually communicate how differentiated your content is — without that person having to go into your posts to view it (you can learn more about what organic activities I’ve used to grow and monetize my accounts through my Instagram Small Business Class).
Why is this now necessary? Having every single element of your account clearly communicating the quality of your content will make it very easy for people who didn’t know you to identify what it is that you do and how it’s unique. If all you have is 3–5 seconds to visually convince someone to follow you, that ease of identification makes a big difference in increasing the percentage of people who will follow you vs. a page that doesn’t care about visually communicating it through every element of their account. If people can’t easily categorize and understand what you do, it’s a lot less likely that they’ll follow you because they don’t know what they’ll actually get if they do.
The good news is, aside from growing your Instagram audience, nailing all of these small elements (especially our Instagram bio) isn’t hard. It just requires the right understanding of what they need to look like in order to be effective, and the willingness and ability to execute that on your account.
What makes an Instagram bio effective?
An Instagram bio is usually most effective at converting people who discover your page into followers when it simply and clearly states exactly what you offer, and how you’re differentiated from other accounts that offer something similar.
The goal isn't to try and convince people to follow you by what you write in your bio, but instead, to help them quickly understand what you offer so they can decide whether they want to follow you or not.
How to Write Your Bio:
How effective your Instagram bio is at converting discoverers into followers depends on how well you execute these 4 steps:
1. Clarify exactly what your Instagram offers to your audience
Before writing something down, it’s important that you first clarify what exactly it is that you offer, and how you’re different from everyone who offers similar content. Ask yourself: what does my account offer to my audience? Is it truly differentiated from other accounts who offer something similar? If so, how? If you realize that the answers aren’t clear to you just yet, then it’s time to go back to the drawing board and clarify your strategy. But more importantly, make sure that your content matches the expectations of what you say that you’re offering. You can, of course, write a bio that gets you some followers by saying that you’re the best and most differentiated at what you offer. But unless your content reflects that day in and day out, all of those followers will eventually unfollow you.
Don’t waste your time by trying to claim that you’re something that you’re not. People are smart and will look right through that.
2. Write the shortest and simplest sentence possible
Now that you know exactly what you offer and how it’s differentiated, it’s time to write that down in the shortest and clearest way possible. The more clear and short it is, the more effective it’ll be at converting people into followers. It will reduce the time it takes for people to identify what you offer. If you can write it in 3–5 words, do it! Any words that either don’t relate to clearly communicating exactly what you offer or how you’re differentiated, take them out. The better the editor you are here, the better results you’ll have.
Below are some examples of clear and simple bios in comparison to other accounts who offer something similar but don’t have it written clearly and simply. Which one are you most likely to follow?
All of the companies on the left simply and clearly state what they offer and how they are differentiated — nothing else. The ones on the right either aren’t clear and don’t state how they are differentiated or include additional text that isn’t related to what they offer and how they are differentiated, which can lead to a lack of clarity for the reader.
Here’s how their offer and differentiation statement is stated in their bios:
Clearly and simply stating what you offer and how you’re differentiated isn’t going to convince people to follow you. It’ll just make it easier for people who might be interested in what you do to quickly identify your offering. This ease of identification will slightly increase the percentage of people who discover your page and follow you. In the long run, that can turn into thousands of new followers that you would never have gained if your bio wasn’t clear.
That’s a lot of potential business that you received simply by being strategic about how you write your bio.
3. Use Instagram’s business account functionality to include all of your contact info
Instead of using your bio to write your contact info (like email, phone, address, etc.), you can now save your much-cherished character allowance, as well as make your bio even shorter and simpler, by switching to a Business or Creator Account and utilizing their Information feature to integrate that information into your account.
This one is easy: just switch to a business or creator account.
On your home screen, Edit Profile → under the Business Information section, select Contact Options → and include the contact information that you want available to the public. Once you do that, other users will be able to tap on the contact information buttons on your profile. This allows you to use your bio only for the essentials.
4. Include a call that gives people a reason to tap on your “link in bio”:
If you’re a business on Instagram or any type of account that depends on an external website to make money, your bio should also include a clear and simple call-to-action that gives people a reason to tap through your link in bio.
Similar to the first section of your bio, in which you state what you offer and your differentiation, you’ll want to make your call to action as clear and simple as possible. A “click here to buy” likely won’t do it. Give your Instagram audience a tangible reason for clicking and deliver it on your website! Are they getting an exclusive discount? Include it! Are you offering them something truly differentiated on your website? State it. Unless there is a tangible, differentiated reason for your Instagram audience to go to your website, it’s honestly best to not even include a call to action because it’ll take away from the clarity of your first sentence.
Summary
Simplicity is the answer!
First, clarify to yourself exactly what your Instagram offers, how you’re differentiated from other accounts that offer something similar, and if your content is actually delivering on that.
Second, write a bio that states your offering and differentiation in the clearest, most concise way possible.
Third, save space and increase clarity by including your contact information in the Information feature of a Business or Creator account.
And fourth, if you're a business that depends on your audience clicking on an external website to make money, include a simple and clear call to action that gives your audience a tangible reason to tap on your link in your bio.
That’s it! Follow these 4 steps and you will have an effective Instagram bio that converts people who discover your account into followers.
And remember, it doesn’t require any particular skill to create an effective bio. All it needs is your attention to detail and care.
Oh, and if you didn’t know…you can learn more about other strategies that’ll help you grow on Instagram quickly by reading these articles on everything you need to know about Instagram hashtags, Is Instagram dying?, what Instagram really is and how works, how the Instagram algorithm works, Instagram niches and why they are the key to growth, how to write an Instagram bio, how to increase your Instagram engagement, the best Instagram bots, how to automate in Instagram bot that isn’t spammy, how to pick the right Instagram username, Instagram bots 2021, the state of Instagram bots, how I make money on Instagram, how to create a visually appealing Instagram grid, why you’re losing followers and how to fix it, how to create effective Instagram story ads, how to build an Instagram repost account that makes money, how to check if you’re shadowbanned, how to create effective Instagram sponsored posts, how to automate your Instagram posts, as well as everything you need to know about TikTok Bots, how to find the most valuable influencers on Instagram, how to measure what an influencer is worth, how to reach out to influencers, and how to measure your influencer marketing ROI.
