With over one billion users Instagram is a viable advertising channel for many businesses. Whether you’re a seasoned Instagrammer or not, you know that the more followers your Las Vegas business has the more likes and word-of-mouth advertising you’ll get.
The key to attracting and engaging potential customers on Instagram starts with your bio. A strong Instagram profile should accurately reflect your brand’s personality, effectively promote your business and emotionally persuade others to follow you- all within 180 characters. Here’s how to turn your Instagram bio into a click-worthy marketing dynamo.
Insert SEO Keywords in the Name Field
Although the first field in the Edit Profile function is Name, it’s different from your Instagram Username. Your bio’s Name field holds up to 30 characters and should be used to energize your Instagram search engine optimization (SEO). By inserting keywords relevant to your niche or industry in the Name section you’ll be easier to find on Instagram.
For example, a popular Instagram account called Vegas Issues (@vegasissues) uses “Las Vegas issues” in its Name field- keywords that would rank high during an organic search.
Your Instagram Bio Should Include these
Your bio must quickly tell your audience who you are, what you do and why they need you. It should also convince readers to follow you and complete a task of your choosing (like visiting your website).
Once you’ve completed your Name field, efficiently using the remaining 150 characters isn’t easy. Based on your product or service, here are some things to include in your bio:
- Your profession or industry niche
- Skills and experience
- Hobbies and interests
- Your brand with a touch of humor
Profile Details Matter
Once you get started it’s time to fill in these profile details so that your bio gets noticed:
Profile picture
Choose an Instagram profile picture that ideally is the same brand logo that you already use on your website, marketing materials and other social media channels.
Branded Hashtags
Adding branded hashtags to your bio will encourage post engagements and create a broader community of followers around your brand. A branded hashtag not only provides your followers with an easy way to share content with you and your community, it helps you build a stronger interactive hub on the platform.
Once you’re comfortable using branded hashtags they’re great for promoting new products, inspiring others or plugging a specific cause that your business supports. A prime example on Instagram would be the Fremont Street Experience (@fremontstreet), which uses the hashtag #LasVegas to promote local activities and events in the heart of downtown.
Emojis
Inserting brand-relevant emojis into your bio will give your profile a visually fun, fresh vibe that separates your brand from others. Emojis also take up less space than words, so interspersing the two will let you tell the world more about your brand using fewer characters.
Play around with different emojis to see which ones resonate with your stakeholders. You can also use emojis to emphasize key points in your content or as bullet points to break up copy into easy-to-read “portions”.
Call to action
Just like your website, an Instagram bio must include a call to action (CTA). Your CTA should be short and sweet as it tells readers what you want them to do, and how. For example:
- Follow you on Instagram and other social media channels
- Open the link to a specific web page (provide the URL)
- Click on your email to get a quote
If you’re a brick-and-mortar store be sure to include your address and business hours so that customers can find you.
Stories Highlights
Not only does Instagram’s Stories Highlights feature get you around the 150-character limit, it’s a powerful way to promote your brand and educate audience members. You can use Stories Highlights for many purposes, like reminding followers about an upcoming event, showing them how your business is helping others in the community, or to promote a new product or service.
Other Ways to Shake Up Your Bio
Like other online marketing content, you need to shake up your Instagram bio from time to time to see what works. Here are some ideas:
- Use a tool like Cool Symbols to copy and paste unique symbols into your profile.
- Try different fonts to highlight special promotions, sales, brand announcements, upcoming webinars, etc.
- Display famous quotes from industry leaders.
- Use your bio to announce upcoming live events.
Is Your Instagram Bio Getting Clicks?
A “one-size-fits-all” Instagram bio approach won’t set your Las Vegas business apart from the rest. At Simple Social Media we are “out-of-the-box” online branding thinkers that can help you build a more powerful, click-worthy Instagram profile that will attract, engage and convert more followers.
To learn more about the digital marketing and social media advertising services that we offer clients in various industries, contact us today.
