What’s the first thing you see when you look at a Twitter page or Instagram account?
Their bio. A social media bio is the window to the account to quickly gain knowledge on who they are or what their business is about. Therefore, having a well written bio is critical.
Typically, a bio gets written to get out of the way when making a social profile and is never revisited again. If you’re starting to feel guilty, that’s okay! Great thing about bios is that they are not set in stone like a username or link address may be. They can be written, then rewritten, then rewritten again a year from now. Improvements and updates to your bio can be made as your brand grows. And we are going to dig deeper into what makes for a great social media bio, and let you be the judge on whether it’s time to update or not.
Who’s your audience?
A bio can be a powerful tool when it comes to connecting with your target audience. It’s tossed around a lot when creating social content to know and understand your target audience, so why wouldn’t this apply to your bio as well? If you want your product or service to stand out, you need to include information in your bio that will position you as the best over the rest.
Be brief
A human’s average attention span is approximately eight seconds. Reading an article can quickly turn into just skimming through (please don’t be doing that now), so when it comes to your bio, you want to keep it short, sweet and to the point. Scientifically speaking, keep your bio shorter than eight seconds of reading time.
Answer the basics
- who are you?
- what do you do/are you selling?
- where are you located?
- why should anyone care/be interested in your product or service?
Creating a bio can be an intimidating task, especially with a character limit. By answering the questions of who, what, where and why (sorry when and how), you’re informative, yet simple.
Keywords and #hashtags
We write copy for our websites to pull higher SEO value, why would social media differ? The information you list in your social media bio can help your search ranking.
Incorporate similar keywords and/or bran specific hashtags to start boosting your chances of being found in searches. Aren’t sure where to start or what keywords to use? Find an expert in your field to see what keywords they are using. Or better yet, consider hiring a social media marketing expert who can perform an audit of your profiles, scout your competitions, and create compelling content along with a brand-tailored keyword list. (Hint, hint)
Be human
Behind every great social media account is a human (typically). Why do we go into robot mode when it comes to produce content? If you came to this blog looking for a bio-generator, then you will be disappointed. A bio should reflect who you are or your company’s overall marketing mission. Include relevant information, but don’t shy away from putting a personal/humanistic spin on it. Your customers and followers will appreciate reading content from another person, not a bot.
Bonus hack: humor
If you can accomplish the items above while also putting a slight smirk on someone’s face, well then hats off to you! You’ve mastered the art of perfecting your social media bio. Over the years, social media marketing has become way more professional, which is awesome, but that also means fun has been sucked from it. Let’s bring back the fun! Chances are, reading your bio will lead them to your website, which can be a new potential customer or client.
In conclusion
The importance of a social media bio is often overlooked by brands and individuals. Aside from the content you post, there are few better ways to connect and attract new followers than a great bio. It’s the first “conversation” you have with potential new friends, customers, business partners, etc. Make sure you make a great first impression!