The Biology of the Instagram Bio.
Welcome back to my Mallory K Social blog! Today’s post is the second installment of the Profile Optimization Series all about the Instagram Bio!
On average, Instagram users spend less than 7 seconds peeping your profile and deciding, based on their obviously thorough investigation, whether or not they want to follow you. So, what does that mean for us as business owners that are using Instagram to convert those users into followers and followers into customers/clients? It means that we need to be super clear and concise with our Instagram profiles and most importantly, our Bios. Our Bios need to begin the process of dropping hints to our audience that they might want to work with us. If you’re not sure how to do that or if your Bio needs a little reconstruction, don’t worry, we’re going to walk through this right now together.
One of the free services I offer as a Social Media consultant is an Instagram Profile Audit. When I audit someone’s profile, after reading their Bio, what I want to know is:
-Who is this page for?
-What will someone get by following this page?
-How will the owner of this page deliver on their promise?
-What value are they providing the user immediately?
Those are the 4 questions that need to be answered in your Bio. I’m going to chat a little bit about each question and why it’s important. Then, we’ll narrow your answers down to formulate a very specific Bio for your Instagram profile.
Before we being, some business strategists will tell you that you need to put your job title or description in your Bio. I believe that to be false and here’s why: your Instagram Headline is one of two searchable places on your profile. Your title, such as “photographer,” “nutritionist,” or “money coach” (whatever it is that you want people to call you) should be in your Instagram Headline. If you want to read more about why this is, see my deep-dive on this here.
Now that you understand why your title doesn’t need to be in your Bio, you have most likely freed up several of your 150 characters allowed for on Business or Creator profile. Without getting too complicated I want you to answer the following questions:
Who is your ideal client?
Most importantly and maybe not so obviously, who is your Instagram for? If you’re utilizing your Instagram for your business, your bio shouldn’t be about you because your page isn’t about you. Your page should be about your audience. Sometimes when I create content for my business, my boyfriend, who has spent over a decade in marketing will say, “This is about you. Your customers don’t care about you. They want to know what you’re going to do for them” and he’s right. When I create content that’s about me, it doesn't result in high engagement. When I hone in on what my ideal client is dealing with, when I identify their pain points and their struggles, that’s when it reaches and touches the most people. So, who are you serving? Who is your ideal client? You need to know precisely who you are targeting to attract them to your page. Make them feel like it was written specifically for them.
What will your followers get?
Why would Instagram users want to follow you? What are they going to get or find on your page? Remember, it’s about them! Will they learn how to take their photos? Will they lose weight? Will they learn how to save money? Why would they want to come back to your page over anyone else in your field?
How do you serve them?
How will you deliver on that promise? How will you serve them? If you are promising weight loss, will you provide them with recipes? Will you provide them with workouts? This is the content that you will create specifically for them that will keep them coming back to your page looking to find answers to their problems.
What will you give them as a free parting gift?
That last thing you should include in your bio is a FREE parting gift. You want to give away something valuable so that your ideal customer can get a sense of what it is that you offer. You want them to say, “Wow, this is what she gave me for free... I wonder what her paid stuff is like?!” If you’re stumped, this could be a: free guide, link to a blog post or recipe, free meal plan, a coupon code for your online store, or a free consultation. Get creative and make sure it's overflowing with free value.
Now that you’ve had a moment to consider these 4 areas for your bio, let’s narrow it down:
-Who is your ideal client?
-What will your followers “get?”
-How do you serve them?
-What will you give them as a free parting gift?
Now, put it into this format:
I help (WHO IS YOUR IDEAL CLIENT) with (WHAT WILL THEY GET) by (HOW DO YOU SERVE THEM). Lead-in to your parting gift:
Here is my Instagram bio as an example:
Who is your ideal client?
My ideal client is a busy business babe, a female entrepreneur that understands the importance of social media for her business and just doesn’t have the time to do it all.
What will your followers “get?”
My followers will learn how to shine on social media. They are going to learn tips and tricks to make their social media profiles stand out from all the rest.
How do you serve them?
I’m going to provide tangible and tactical social media strategies that will deliver on my promise to help them learn how to make their profiles shine.
What will you give them as a free parting gift?
My freebie is a free Instagram guide, 5 Ways to Get Noticed on Instagram. (You're obviously welcome to this freebie too!)
Here is my finished bio:
I help busy business babes ✨shine on social media✨ by providing tangible + tactical social media strategies.
💕Get your FREE IG Guide here👇🏻
I hope this blog post was helpful and I would love to see your Instagram Bio Transformations. Drop the before and afters in the comments below!
