How to write a better social media bio

 

When people see your social media bio, what do they see? Does it intrigue them to click through and have a look at the rest of your content, or do they simply ignore it and move on?

Your social media bio is the first thing that people see, and it needs to communicate immediately who you are and what you do. People need to know that if they click on your profile, they have a reason to follow you. Even if you know that you have the solution to their problems, if you’re not able to say that in your social media bio, they’re not going to have a reason to click through and find out.

In this article, we’ll look at how you can optimise your social media bio, and get you more profile views and more opportunities.

What to include in your social media bio

Name & SEARCHABLE title!!

Clue: Think about what people are searching for.

No matter which social media platforms you choose, top of page will be your name. No, you can’t optimise your name, exactly…but here’s a little trick you could do.

I’ve seen this a lot on LinkedIn, but it can work for pretty much any platform - and that is to add your niche/job within your name line. For example, I might do this:

Tereasa Hedges – Blogger & Copywriter

Instantly, people can see not only what my name is, but what I do – without even having to look at the next line. Then, I can use that next row to expand on that and give a clearer description.

What NOT to do:

Tereasa Hedges – CEO

That doesn’t tell people anything about you – and please don’t put your job title in the next row, either – it’s boring and no-one will be interested. Instead, try:

Creating clever content for busy businesses.

Graphic designer bringing your ideas to life.

Clarity coach for business leaders

(*I may have totally pinched some of those examples!)

Your statement

When people do click through to your profile, they will want to learn more about you via the statement in your ‘about’ section. Here is where you need to convince them to follow you – it’s your chance to shine. You need to answer these questions:

·        Who do you help?

·        How do you help them?

·        Why should people trust you, over your competitors?

You also need to place some kind of call to action (CTA). Don’t skip this! It could be a link to your website, a lead magnet, or a sign-up option for your newsletter. It can even be a link to your other social media sites, if you’re more active on other platforms.

Banner and photo

It goes without saying that you should have a photograph of yourself on your profile – only use a logo if it’s a general business profile – and then only if you have to. People buy from people, so whether it’s a professionally taken image or just one you’ve taken yourself, it should portray who you are.

This works especially well for LinkedIn – make good use of your banner space. This really is worth learning how to do, because you can make such a great impact with your banner – and the best thing is, you can use it to advertise pricing and offers, announce changes and news, and show off your products and services.

Additional tips

·        Use keywords to help people to find you when they’re searching the platform.

·        Review and update your bio, about me, and banner regularly to keep it fresh and interesting.

·        If appropriate to your brand, use emojis in your titles to add further interest

·        Once you’ve perfected your bio, for God’s sake, USE IT! Post regularly, share, like and comment on other people’s posts. Here’s a handy downloadable free social media prompt sheet, with loads of ideas for your next social post!