WHY?
AMAZING BIO • CALL TO ACTION • EASY TO ENGAGE NEW POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
These days, more and more consumers are turning to Instagram instead of Google to search for a brand or business, and your Instagram profile is quickly becoming your new home page.
And just like the goal of your website is to convert visitors into customers, the goal of your Instagram profile should be to convert visitors into followers.
Here’s how you can optimize your Instagram profile to make it convert better for you:
Just like you spent a lot of time working on the website for your business, it’s important that you treat your Instagram profile the same way.
When creating your website, you likely wrote and rewrote the copy, agonized over which photos represented your brand the best, built out multiple pages, and spent time optimizing your website for the best conversions.
But did you spend the same amount of time or effort on your Instagram profile?
These days, Instagram is becoming even more important for businesses, and it’s time to start optimizing your Instagram for more sales, followers, and awareness.
Instagram has become a modern, millennial search engine, where the search results are beautiful photos and your follower count acts as a seal of approval.
I’m currently planning a trip to Greece, so what better place to research than by searching Instagram?
A quick Instagram search will help you figure out what cities I want to visit (by creeping their hashtag or location), and then I can choose my hotels based on photos from their actual guests, instead of professional, highly edited photos. I can even click on the location “story” to see live stories from guests who are staying there right now!
For many, searching for a business on Instagram instead of Google feels more authentic. Through Instagram you’re able to see what products look like in real life, instead of just through marketing photos on your website.
You can quickly look at tagged photos or locations to see how other people are using products, or what a space looks like through the eyes of its customers.
This is why it’s important to have a consistent Instagram aesthetic and complete Instagram profile. While your current followers may never go back to look at your profile (unless you tell them to), your future followers will see it, and it’s your one chance to convince them why they should follow you.
Ready to optimize your Instagram profile to convert more visitors into followers? Here’s how I like to think about it:
Your Instagram Bio = Above the Fold Copy
When someone lands on your website, you want them to instantly understand who you are and what your business does, without your visitors having to scroll down. This is called “above the fold” copy, and the same thing goes for your Instagram bio.
You have a limited space to make an impression, and it’s important that you can instantly convey to your visitors what your business actually is.
Look at the Instagram bio for the Goal Digger Podcast, you immediately understand what the podcast is all about and whether you’re interested in it or not.
Tip for writing good Instagram bios: instead of making your bio all about you, try to focus on your target customer and how your Instagram profile will help or inspire them.
Looking at the podcast’s Instagram, I can already tell that if I want to get inspired about how to be a boss and grow my business, I’ll want to take a listen.
If you’re offering services instead of a product, make sure that you’re using your Instagram bio to give your visitors everything they need to know not only about you, but how to contact you too!
What is the main call-to-action on your website?
If you’re an online store, you likely have a “SHOP” button (or multiple) to help people shop your site. If you’re a tech company, your CTA is probably to sign up as a new user, and if you’re a freelance photographer you’ll want to point people to your portfolio or contact info.
Just like your website, your Instagram profile should have a call-to-action too!
* credit to later.com