Top Tips on How to Optimize Your Instagram Profile

December 18, 2020

Your Instagram bio is essentially like your website homepage and, like a website, it also needs to be optimized. By optimizing your bio, you not only make it so much easier for Instagram users to find your brand as they perform their search on the Explore tab, you also provide users a quick preview of what your account is all about. When you optimize your Instagram bio the right way, your target audience is able to see what your brand is all about, look at your posts, and eventually tap that follow button.  
 

Choose a Profile Photo That Reflects Your Branding

Your Instagram profile photo must represent your brand, so your logo would be the best option. If you are an influencer, entrepreneur, or professional, a high-quality photo of yourself that reflects what you do would be ideal. Make sure that your photo looks good on any device. While Instagram’s profile photo dimensions on mobile are 110 x 100 pixels, the size would be bigger on a tablet or computer, so upload a larger photo so it would not pixelate.
 

Choose an Appropriate Handle

Your brand name would be the best handle for your Instagram account, so people can easily identify your account with your business. If your preferred handle happens to be taken, you can add an underscore or period between the words or at the beginning or end of the handle. For individual professionals and influencers, you may choose a title or your name for your handle, as long as it represents what you do and what the account is all about.
 

Add a Keyword Next to Your Name

To ensure that people are able to find you on Instagram, make sure that your name is your brand name or your real name, as users are going to type either one of these when they search for you on Instagram. It would also be good to add a related keyword beside your name. For example, Starbucks’ handle is @starbucks and its name is Starbucks Coffee. Adding a keyword in your name raises your searchability scores three times.
 

Incorporate Target Keywords in Your Bio

Aside from adding a keyword beside your Instagram name, you will also need to add target keywords in your bio because, aside from optimizing your account so that your target audience sees your account when they search for any of these keywords, these also make it easier for people to learn what your account is all about. You can add these keywords in phrases or sentences in your bio or as hashtags, which is another great way to reach your target audience who are interested in your type of business or industry.
 

Replace Certain Words with Emojis

Instagram bio has a character limit of 150 characters, so adding emojis instead of words can be both fun and helpful in allowing you to say more to introduce your business to users who are seeing your profile for the first time. Aside from replacing words, these cute emojis can also make you or your brand appear more casual and approachable, characteristics that most Instagrammers are looking for in this social media channel. While a website would require you to project your brand more formally, Instagram users prefer to engage with brands that they can comfortably interact with.
 

Add a Call to Action Above Your Link

You are allowed to add one link on your Instagram bio, which could be your website’s homepage, online store, LinkedIn profile, or Facebook page. If you want to include more than one link, you can use the linktree app. This app allows users to add a single link on their profile that contains all the links to their website, online store, and social media channels. But, just like any social media post or webpage, you will need to add a call to action to lead your audience to click on that link. A short and simple CTA like “Click below” plus a hand emoji pointing down can work wonders.
 

Switch to an Instagram Business Account

If you haven’t switched to an Instagram business account yet, you should. Over 25 million businesses are already using this type of account which allows them to access Insights. Instagram Insights is a tool within the app that provides helpful analytics information about your followers and the people interacting with your business on Instagram. This tool shows the gender, age range, and location of the users that engage with your account. Aside from these, you can also see which posts and stories your audience sees and engages with the most. Switching to a business account also allows you to boost content, enabling you to reach a wider audience.
 

Review Your Instagram Profile Across Devices

Because of size variations among devices, your Instagram profile may not look the same when you view it from a smartphone and when you access it on a desktop computer. So, in order to ensure that your target audience is able to see your bio the way you want them to see it, it is best for you to check it from several different devices and make the necessary adjustments as you deem fit.
 

Get Verified

Verified, Star, Valid, Featured, Badge, Checked, TickThat blue checkmark beside your handle tells users that your Instagram account has been verified as the official account of your business. This badge gives them the assurance that they need, making them feel that they can trust your account and that all your interactions would be dealt with professionally. So, aside from switching to a business account, make it a point to have your account verified as well. You can apply for this by going to the Settings section then the Request Verification tab. From here, fill in the fields with your information then tap on Send. Then you wait for notification from Instagram. In case your request is denied, don’t worry. You can reapply after 30 days.

Your Instagram bio is just as important as the images, videos, and captions that you post on your account, so take note of what you need to do to optimize this section of your profile. This way, you can effectively reach and attract your target audience on this social media channel.

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