6 Tips to Write a Better Instagram Bio

Like an elevator pitch, perfecting your Instagram bio can be a challenge. It's the first thing anyone sees when they discover your page. You want to catch their attention while also stand out with your personality. You've got a lot of important information to convey but very little space. Researchers suggest that it takes less than a second for viewers to form an impression of you based on your Instagram bio. So what can you do to ensure your bio captures future customers or new audiences? Making a great first impression on Instagram is no different than leaving someone stunned by your presence in person. Writing a better Instagram bio is the first impression of the digital age.Today, we're going over a few tips to write a better Instagram bio. And because it's Women's History Month, we're imagining how some of the most influential women in history might approach writing a bio.Here's our six-step formula to ensure you're off to a great start.

Tip #1: Optimize Your Profile Pic

Before a viewer reads your caption or clicks on any links, they want to see you. Make sure to showcase your best self. Take as many headshots or selfies as necessary – like a high-quality self-portrait if you're an artist, creator, or individual business owner. Consider using a high-resolution image of your logo if you're a bigger business. Humanitarian, philanthropist, and actress, Audrey Hepburn was the very literal definition of photogenic. If you're not used to putting your face front and center, channel your inner Hepburn to keep it classy with a simple portrait.

Tip #2: Find Your Focus

By most accounts, your bio should serve as a mission statement. Use this real estate to tell potential followers who you are and what problem(s) you can solve. Be as niche and direct as possible. If you're a painter with a certain specificity, be sure to incorporate that in your bio. This will help you generate high-quality followers unique to your business/skill-set. Renowned artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, known for her penetrating femininity and expressive floral portraiture, would use her bio to not only detail her teaching post but solicit her lush large-scale, flower paintings.

Tip #3: Be Strategic With Keywords

When your name is only one part of your personal branding experience, think of your bio as a vehicle to amplify your cause. In lieu of using your name in the given field, consider using your profession or cause.Rosa Parks might use her name field to solidify her pioneering place in the Civil Rights movement. Although her profile name may still show as @RosaParksOfficial, the name field would perfectly personify her unrivaled place in history. Your bio could show as photographer, fashion editor, marketer, etc. Consider what terms users tend to search for and use that to tailor your approach.

Tip #4: Clickability

Did you know that everything in your bio with an "@" is clickable? Use this to your advantage! Create a community through strategic call-to-actions (CTAs). Invite viewers to follow and share hashtags. Moreover, don't be afraid to liven things up with emojis – that's what they're there for!High flying, barrier-breaking woman of power, Amelia Earhart, might use pilot and plane emojis to drive home her passion in a fun and engaging manner. She might also call out to her (fictional) podcast, @AirHart, where she speaks with other women who are the first in their industries. In addition, Earhart could foster a community of women pilots with a hashtag that creates inclusion.

Tip #5: Get Shoppable

Sharing your location is another way to draw interest to your bio. If you have a restaurant, art studio, fashion showroom, or you simply want viewers to know your place of origin for potential connections, use this feature to direct everyone to your location. You'll need an Instagram Business Account for this feature, which also allows you to have the shop icon in your bio as well! Novelist Maya Angelou is perfect for this. As a writer/poet, her location may frequently shift. Sure, Angelou was famously stationed in either St. Louis or Winston-Salem, but she could be traveling for a book signing in New York City or for a lecture at a university overseas. Changing your location could alert your global community to your activations in other regions. Moreover, when Angelou promotes a new book or a re-issue of an elder classic, she could call out to them in her bio or use the shoppable link to direct users to her webpage. She can also link products directly through her Instagram posts! Again, with an Instagram business account or PLANOLY sellit, each of these features are available, including advanced contact information.

Tip #6: Set Up Your Highlights

Depending on the nature of your business, Instagram Stories Highlights could be a huge boost to your engagement and potential sales. For Elizabeth Taylor, the activist and "greatest movie star of all time," Instagram Stories Highlights could showcase her upcoming films, updates from her AIDS foundation, and personal family updates. Creating Highlights covers with template tools like StoriesEdit is a seamless way to ensure that your Stories are cohesive. But more than anything, Highlights covers allow you to create an aesthetic for your bio that helps your page stand out.