How to Optimize The Perfect Instagram Bio for eCommerce

What's the first thing people see when they visit your Instagram profile? In this video, I share some optimization tactics to help you improve your Instagram bio for your online store.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms. Although it started as an app for photographers, it has now fully grown to a platform everyone wants to visit every day. The good thing about Instagram is that you can use it to drive traffic to your online store, but the question is: how to optimize the perfect Instagram bio for eCommerce?Before Facebook acquiring Instagram, a lot of people love to visit Pinterest to search for a specific idea, products and inspirations. Now, with Instagram, you can do the same and a lot more – including engaging with customers and fans.We can safely say that Instagram is a visual social network and a great search tool that anyone can use to search for specific content as well as specific brands and businesses, including local businesses. It means that anyone involved in e-commerce must have an effective Instagram strategy to build brand awareness, drive website traffic, convert shoppers into customers and equally build a engaged audience.In this article,  you will learn how to optimize the perfect Instagram bio for eCommerce:

• Why is your Instagram bio important?
• The Instagram bio elements you should care about
• How to optimize your Instagram bio?

What Is an Instagram Bio?

Your Instagram profile bio is a short summary about you or your eCommerce brand. Your bio is what people see first. Once they go through it and it is not speaking to them, they may decide not to engage with you.

Why Is Your Instagram Bio Important?

Your bio is among the first things people people use to decide whether to follow you or not. So it is important to have a positive first impression, which is critical for your business.Here is what your bio does:

• It showcases your brand and business information
• It communicates your value proposition
• It persuades users to take action.

It is all about branding and you only have a couple of seconds to communicate what your brand is all about and share some valuable business information such as email, phone number and website URL. Those are the key elements to help consumers know exactly how to get in touch with you or purchase your products.People are eager to see what makes you unique and better than the competition. You have to explain what makes your business unique in just one line. Also, you need to let users know the right action to take by adding call-to-action in your bio. For instance, you can ask them to click on a link to sign up for something valuable, such as a contest, etc.

Instagram Bio Elements

When it comes to optimizing your Instagram bio for e-commerce, here are the elements you need to care about:

1. Username
2. Profile photo
3. Name
4. Business category
5. Description
6. URL
7. Call-to-action buttons
8. Story highlights

Let’s get familiar with how to optimize your bio with the eight elements above.

#1. How To Optimize Your Username?

Your username is probably one of the reason Instagram users are on your account. I recommend you use your brand as your username. Keep it simple and avoid creating a lot of confusion.Whether it is Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, use your brand name and, if possible, maintain the same username on all social media networks.Avoid putting another word before your brand name when creating your username. If you must add another word, let your brand name be at the beginning. This is important because if people search you on Instagram, it becomes difficult for the search engine to find you.Even if your brand name is in use by someone else, start your username with your brand and add another word, e.g., Petsupplies + store = Petsuppliesstore.

#2. How To Optimize Your Profile Photo?

I recommend you use your logo as your profile photo. If your brand is not already well-established, consider using a version of your logo that has your brand name visible on it, i.e., logo + text. This will allow users to recognize you faster. You also need to be consistent. Use the same logo on your website on all your social media accounts. Be sure to use a bright and high-quality logo.

#3. How To Optimize Your Bio – Name

Avoid confusing people. You want to be consistent with your name on your website and all social media platforms. You can also include a keyword related to your brand that you think people are searching for. Such a keyword can make people find you in search easily. Just be sure your brand name comes first and other words come after.

#4. How To Optimize Your Bio – Business Category

When you set up an Instagram account, you can link it to Facebook and be able to set the business category. The category helps the user know immediately what you offer or what the account is all about. It is highly recommended to link your account to your Facebook page. Just switch to a business account and connect to the Facebook page so that both of them can communicate when you start running ads.

#5. How To Optimize Your Bio – Description

You are limited to about 150 characters here, so you have to be smart about your description. Keep it short, simple and punchy. You don’t want to start talking about how your store started here. Be creative in crafting a compelling message that will drive home the point in just one line.Showcase what your brand is all about in a simple sentence and add a call-to-action. Tell people who you are, why they should hear you out and why they should buy from you. You might also want to highlight that you support some nonprofits if you really do. You can also add emojis such as a finger or arrow pointing down for a call-to-action. But you shouldn’t replace a word with an emoji – just use it to guide users.Add line brakes to make your description fun to read. You can also add some fancy fonts. Write your text on lingojam.com, using a beautiful font, copy and paste on your bio description section. However, be careful with the font you use because it may not be compatible with all devices. So make sure to test them on different devices.You may also want to use a branded hashtag. Such hashtags are unique to your brand.  They’re also searchable and clickable within your bio. You can also link to your other accounts in your description, e.g., @yourotheraccounthandle.

#6. How To Optimize Your Bio – URL

There is a space for you to input your URL. Your URL could be a link to your online store. You may also want to link to any of the pages on your website. Consider changing the URL to match being posted on your account.You can use bitly.com or linktree.com to track your URL.  Also, make sure to track your traffic with Google UTM Parameters whenever you send people to your website.

#7. How To Optimize Your Bio – Call-To-Action Buttons

Call-to-actions inside your bio make it easy for customers to contact you. These are things like email address, phone number, business address or even third-party tools to book appointments or buy tickets online. This feature is available inside the business account.You shouldn’t display this information if you are not using it. For instance, if you don’t answer phone calls or attend to emails or use a physical address, don’t display these options.

#8. How To Optimize Your Bio – Story Cover

When it comes to story covers, you should organize your Instagram stories into specific highlights. You can even take it to the next level by designing your story covers differently. You can categorize them into the latest promos, new arrivals, new collections, bestsellers, product highlights, tutorials, behind the scene, etc.You should also bookmark your stories to make them appear on your account because stories only last for 24 hours. You might want to use Canva.com to create your story cover.

Bonus Tips

• Follow brands on Instagram to keep track of what they’re doing with their content and how they are staying on top of their marketing campaigns.
• Take a screenshot of their bio every 30 days or during major retail holidays such as Mother’s Day, Christmas, etc. Bios of brands are always updated during seasons or specific months.
• Update your bio description and call-to-action message monthly. Don’t just leave one call to action there for months or years. Change it every now and then.
• Track, test and optimize everything inside your Instagram. As a business account, you will have access to insights to see how many people visited your page and how they are interacting with your content.

So if you want to optimize the perfect Instagram bio for e-commerce, you have to follow the above tips. If you want to learn how to optimize your Instagram bio or scale your e-commerce business, download 7 things you don’t need to double e-commerce sales and join our Facebook group.