It’s really important to make sure that your profile is optimised so you are set up for success with your Instagram account. In this blog, I have pulled together many of the tips I have shared on my grid into an easy checklist in one place for easy reference.
Your Bio
It’s always a good idea to review and update your bio to make sure that it is aligned with your goals. Maybe you streamlined your services or added some new ones, or you’ve set up a newsletter, whatever you’ve changed it’s always a good idea to do a refresh of your bio to make sure it is up to date.
Once someone has seen your content in their feed and clicked on your profile, your bio is the first impression that your audience gets of you and your brand. You need it to be the right one. And we all know how important first impressions can be. If your bio is not right for your audience you risk them scrolling on past and not finding out how great you and your business really are! So here are my tips on what to review this month:
– Photo – is your photo up to date? I always think its a good idea to make sure it aligns seasonally and looks professional
The first line of your bio needs to show who you are and what you do and who you do it for – it’s as simple as that!
Your bio should cover 5 key pieces of information:
- Who you are – your name
- Where do you work
- What you do and who you do it for
- The topics that interest you
- How someone can get in touch with you
You only have 150 characters in which to do it. So you need to make sure it is powerful. If you’re not sure where to start, have a look at my bio and also some accounts that you already follow to see what they have written. You can keep tweaking it until you are happy with it.
Maz’s Tip: If you do decide to include a # in your bio make sure it is your branded one, if you use a general one relating to your business, it will take people away from your account and show them content from everyone using that particular #
Maz’s Tip: Make sure that you aren’t including any banned # – check out my blog on this
Finally – a link. You can include a clickable link in your profile. I use linktree which allows me to have a number of links, so I can for example have my latest blogs, website and links to useful information I reference in posts, or you can link to your latest service page, a course, or to your website. It is up to you.
Profile Photo
If you are a brand then you will want to use your logo for your profile photo.
If you are a freelancer or solopreneur like me then the business is probably you, so your face needs to be your profile photo. As a freelancer, I have my photo.
It’s an old adage, but we know that people buy from people and having your photo as your profile image goes a long way to building that know, like and trust factor.
Next time you’re scrolling have a look at the profile photos and see what impression it gives you.
So my tips are:
- Aesthetic – your profile photo should fit with the aesthetic of your profile and have the same look and feel as the rest of your grid. (So if you use filters or a specific colour palette – make sure it matches).
- Evergreen – make sure your profile photo is evergreen – so as we’re in the middle of winter a photo of you on a beach holiday doesn’t look professional. By all means, have a folder of profile photos and switch them around with the seasons.
- Size – Make sure your profile picture is the perfect size for Instagram – it wants to be a perfect square at 110 x 110 pixels. (Instagram will crop it to a circle).
- Background – if like me you’re using a headshot, then do think about the background you’re using as you want to stand out, but also not be promoting what is in the background. You want to strike a balance between helping you stand out from the crowd — like bright bold colour or a feature wall — but it shouldn’t detract from the focus of your image: you!
- Props – you could use a prop that aligns to your business, so if you are a florist or a baker – you could hold a bouquet or a cake in your photo.
Once you’ve found your perfect profile photo then it’s time to add it or to update your profile, to do this:
- Click on the edit profile box below your bio
- Click on Change profile photo – then choose the option you want (from Facebook, Take a photo or import from your photo library)
- Once you’ve chosen the one, you can zoom in on it, make sure that your face is in the middle and that you are recognisable.
Names
Did you know that your account includes TWO names?
The first is your account name or handle for me it’s @sociallymaz and I have the same across all of my social media for ease of finding me. The second is your profile name and that is in bold – for me, this is Marianne Avery | Social Pro.
Maz’s Tip: If you are a small business or a solopreneur people want to know your name so when they comment or DM you, they know who they are talking to. It’s really off-putting when you can’t find a name on a profile. You don’t want to put in a barrier right from the start.
You are limited to 30 characters – so be creative, if you have a long name like me you need to be!
My profile name is currently – Marianne Avery I Social Media – a previous version was Marianne | Social Media Pro and another was Marianne | Social Media Star!
These two name fields are searchable fields and are really important to help your account be found when a customer enters a word or name into the search bar to look for someone who does what you do.
So a key question to ask yourself is:
“Are the names I’m using going to be used by my audience and ideal customer in a search?”
Marianne Avery
So my tips are to make sure that:
- you think “google” if someone was searching for you and what you do on Google, what words and phrases would they use? Make sure they’re in one of your name fields.
- your name is visible – if your account name is the company name, also think about having your actual Name as well. Remember that people buy from people and they will want to know who you are. There is nothing worse than trying to DM someone and not knowing their name!
- your user name is consistent across all of the platforms that you are using. (Also worth setting up accounts on all platforms you might use in the future so that it is available to you)
Highlights
When did you last review and update your story highlights on your profile?
They are an incredible tool to showcase and promote your business that you need to pay attention to. When someone new lands on your page they’re going to read your bio, look at your recent posts and then use your highlights to discover what your company is all about.
So, it’s worth spending time planning how to use them to your advantage! Decide what you want to showcase about yourself and your business. Here are a few ideas:
- Products or services
- Trends and Topics relevant to your business (or customers)
- Based on Audience or Interest
- Tutorials or How-To’s
- Seasonal Events and Holidays
- Partners, Influencers, Affiliates & Ad Partners
- Campaigns
- Any events you’re speaking at, or training you’re running
- Customer reviews & testimonials
Highlights show as a circle on your profile that plays as a stand-alone story when someone taps it. They stay on your profile until you remove them, and you can have as many highlights as you like, there are different schools of thought around how many is right, but make sure they maximise what you and your business are about.
When you post a story you can add to a highlight – an existing one or create a new one.
MAZ’s Tip: If you forget to add one, you can access your stories archive, tap the Archive icon on your profile. They appear in a grid format with the most recent stories at the bottom.
Tap on any story and you can add it to a highlight.
Only you can see your archived stories. If your business is seasonal then make sure your highlights are up to date and remove anything that is old or no longer relevant (if you’ve changed your services)
By Marianne Avery
Marianne is a customer experience professional, a die-hard customer champion, and social media manager who helps businesses to drive culture and customer experience change as well as navigate the world of social media. To find out more about how Marianne and Flint Change can help you click here.
