How to Write a Winning Instagram Bio
Tell your brand story in no more than a few carefully chosen sentences, laden with checklists, links and emojis with our guide to a great Instagram bio.
Be honest: when’s the last time you thought about your Instagram bio?
If you can’t remember, we totally get it.
Because when it comes to the ‘gram, brands and businesses have plenty to worry about.
Snagging the perfect snapshot. Crafting clever captions. Creating stunning Stories.
It’s easy to let your bio fall by the wayside, right?
That said, your Instagram bio is seriously valuable real estate.
Think about it. Your bio represents your first impression with potential followers and customers. Likewise, it’s your followers’ only gateway to your products and promotions.
A punchy, well-crafted bio can funnel new customers to your business time and time again.
On the flip side, treating your Instagram bio like “whatever” isn’t going to score you many clicks.
The good news? Writing a winning Instagram bio is probably easier than you think.
And once if you’ve figured out what a fine-tuned bio looks like, you can leave it alone and watch the traffic roll in.
In this guide, we break down how to write an Instagram bio for your business and strategies to make yours stand out.
The Basics of Writing Your Instagram Bio
Just like you’d optimize a product description or piece of content, you can do the same with your Instagram bio to encourage more clicks.
But before we get into the specifics of style, let’s talk about the basics. Here’s a quick list of points to keep in mind as you start brainstorming your brand-spankin' new bio.
You Only Have 150 Characters to Work With
First thing’s first: the current character limit for your Instagram bio is 150.
Translation? You’re going to have to be economical with your words. This means less legwork in terms of writing but also signals the need to make every character count.
Many major brands adopt a “less is more” mentality with their bios.
However, you’ll also see businesses max out their character limit.
If you’re looking to “stretch” your character limit, make sure that you’ve switched to an Instagram business account if you haven’t already.
For example, Bourke Street Bakery is able to get wordy with their bio because their address, phone number and email are already baked into their business account.
See how that works?
You Only Get One Link (So Make It Count!)
Ask yourself: where are you looking to send your Instagram traffic?
Rather than simply send people to your homepage, consider an Instagram specific-landing page or using a tracker like Bitly so you can analyze your traffic’s behavior once they leave the ‘gram.
On a related note, an optimized landing page is an absolute must-have, especially since there’s a good chance your traffic is coming from a mobile device. Also, your landing page should correspond with whatever you’re currently promoting (unless you’re linking to a general page).
For example, check out how Mercedes Benz Australia promotes a specific model in their Instagram bio...
...and how visitors are met with a sleek, mobile-friendly landing page upon clicking through.
Put Your Hashtag Front-and-Center
This might seem like a no-brainer, but your bio is arguably the most important place to promote your brand’s hashtag. As part of your hashtag strategy, encourage followers to use your tag either for brand awareness or to create user-generated content.
Consider Your Calls-to-Action
No matter what kind of business you’re running, your bio should include some sort of call-to-action. Here are some sample CTAs for starters:
- “Tag yourself with #hashtag”
- “Tag us @yourbusiness with your latest purchase”
- “Call us now to book an appointment”
- “Email us at email@yourbusiness.com”
- “Shop our feed below”
In fact, many Instagram bios include multiple calls-to-action. This makes your profile more interactive and allows for additional opportunities for followers to engage with you.
Instagram Bio Styles and Strategies
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s delve into some potential styles and strategies for your Instagram bio.
Bear in mind that some of these styles might overlap. There is no “right” way to write your bio, but the examples below represent the most common types of branded bios and their best practices.
The Minimalist Bio
As we noted earlier, many businesses like to keep their bios simple.
Minimalist bios are a common way to present yourself as bold, confident and to-the-point. Such bios are also popular among influencers in addition to major brands.
Note that minimalist bios work better for established brands versus smaller, budding businesses. If you don’t have name recognition or a serious following, it probably makes more sense to elaborate on who you are and what you’re all about that.
The Checklist Bio
Piggybacking on the minimalist bio, you’ll often see brands present their bio as a sort of checklist.
This format is easy to follow but also allows businesses to elaborate on what they offer. Coupled with emojis, you can let your personality shine and score style points with your followers.
The “Tag Yourself” Bio
For the sake of encouraging interactions and customer photos, you might want to consider centering your bio around tagging.
Again, don’t be shy about asking for engagement or pushing your hashtag. Followers are more than happy to shout you out, granted you ask.
The “Shop Our Feed” Bio
Perfect for ecommerce brands, linking to a lookbook or shoppable feed (via platforms like Curalate) is a smart move if you’re focused on sales.
For example, Redbubble points followers directly to their shoppable feed.
And in turn, customers are met with a seamless landing page which allows them to make purchases directly through Instagram.
This again speaks to the importance of minding where you send your Instagram traffic.
The “Mission Statement” Bio
One of the most important aspects of writing your Instagram bio is making sure your personality shines through.
Including some sort of mission statement or unique selling proposition is a prime way to do just that.
For example, Original & Mineral highlights that they’re a luxury Aussie brand that emphasizes healthy living.
Meanwhile, Xero uses a single-sentence mission statement alongside their hashtag and sign-up link.
Here’s another great mission statement bio from Saucony, showcasing some personality and goals without mincing words.
Is Your Instagram Bio a Winner?
Despite representing such a small space, brands have tons of creative freedom when it comes to their bios.
To recap, make sure that your Instagram bio ticks these boxes first and foremost:
- Encourages followers to take some sort of action (clicking a link, using a hashtag, etc)
- Highlights your brand’s unique personality (hint: not something you just copy-and-pasted from a template)
- Lines up with your business’ goals (traffic, lead generation, brand awareness)
Hopefully our guide served as some much-needed inspiration and motivated to craft an Instagram bio that scores more clicks.
And with that, happy ‘gramming!
