Instagram Bio Guide – ultimate guide to making more connections and relationships with your followers!

What does your Instagram bio say about you?  Would you take your bio, print it on a business card and feel comfortable handing it out to potential clients?

Your bio is your business card!

Now that I have your attention, let’s make sure your bio is written in a way to not only attract followers, but relate to them as well.  Here is my Instagram Bio Guide!

5 Elements to writing a fantastic Instagram Bio

1. Your handle / headline – this is typically your name, which is bold in the bio. Some businesses or entrepreneurs choose to use their business name. If you’re not sure which to use, think of your audience and purpose.  For me, I want to make connections with people and get to know them on a personal level.  I feel using my name makes me more approachable and relatable.  I could opt to use ‘Boss Lady in Sweatpants’, but I want people to know that it’s me, Allison, who’s the boss lady in sweatpants. Here’s my two sense: if you are an entrepreneur, blogger or small business owner working from home and your business is mainly online, use your name.  If you have a store front, use your business name.  (For more Instagram basics, click here.)
2. The body of the bio – This is not only when you tell your audience what you do, but HOW you can help them as well! Tell your followers what value they get from your account. Right away I tell my audience: ‘helping mompreneurs grow social platforms and brand themselves.’ Bam! Right away, you know I’m all about social media and branding and my target audience are moms!  A male singer or songwriter will not be attracted to my profile and that’s okay! We would never connect on a personal level and never have good engagement on Instagram. Remember, the Insta-World is all about connections and engagement.  Write your body of the bio for your ultimate client. And please, please, please don’t use ridiculous or fancy words to impress your audience, like ‘Chief Fashion Evangelist’. What? You may actually repel your target audience with crazy explanations. Keep it simple and to the point.
3. Give your bio a personal touch – As I said before, the Insta game is all about connections, so this is your opportunity to show your personal side. I absolutely love coffee so I simply added to my bio, ‘coffee-obsessed’. It’s such an easy way for me to connect with other coffee lovers and hopefully I can help them grow their businesses.
4. Call-to-Action (CTA) – This is so important! What do you want your followers to do next? Think of your purpose. Do you ultimately want to drive traffic to your website? You would ask your audience to visit your site or click the link to read your latest blog post. Are you on YouTube and have helpful videos.  Ask them to subscribe to your channel.  Maybe you want to build your email list.  You could even ask your readers to DM you for collaborations.
5. Provide a link – Even if you don’t have a website, you definitely want to connect with your readers another way. You can accomplish this either through an e-mail list, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Your link is the icing on the cake (who wants cake with no icing!)

Just a quick tip, your CTA and link does not need to stay the same all the time.  I change my link often, depending on my goal. Sometimes I want to direct traffic to my latest blog post or promote my new opt-in freebie.

Just remember, your bio is your business card.  If you’re not sure how to start, think about how you would explain to a friend what you do in your business.  That’s the key!  Keep it true to yourself and keep it simple.

See you next time! I hope my Instagram Bio Guide was helpful to you.  If you have any questions, pop it in the comments box below.

Click here to learn how to curate and brand your Instagram Grid.  Looking for stylish photos for your grid?  Then check out Styled Stock Photography….beautiful feminine photos.

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