Tips for Freshening Up Your Instagram Profile

Instagram is queen (and it has been since 2010), even if we don’t want to admit it. When you take the step to upgrade your branding — three cheers for you!!! — it’s important to give your social media presence a refresh, too. The key to an effective Instagram profile is to make it follow-worthy, but what’s the best way to gain your dream clients’ attention? Here are some tasks to check off as you freshen up your profile:

Give yourself a clear, searchable username + name description.

First impressions are everything, so make yours count. The very first things that a potential follower sees when they go to search for you are your username and your description name. Make it clear, unique, and memorable, if possible.

For your username, try to keep it short and sweet, and avoid using punctuation and numbers if you can. If your desired user is taken (we’ve all been there!) try a few different combinations of words and phrases before you revert back to your Myspace login (hello, cutiegirl11193).

Your name description should include on-brand keywords that are commonly searched by your potential clients or followers. Try including one of these elements after your first name or your business name: the industry you’re in, where you’re located, who you work with, or your unique style. Make it memorable, but keep it free from a bunch of symbols or emojis to stay looking professional.

Be sure your bio is quick, informative, and packed with personality.

If you’re lucky enough that the Instagram search bar has brought someone to your page, be sure that your bio keeps them interested. There are two big mistakes I see when brands write their bios — it’s either too informative and doesn’t speak to their ideal client, or it’s too informal and doesn’t give enough information about what you actually exist for. Don’t fall on either end of this spectrum!

You want to meet somewhere in the middle and curate a bio that explains enough about your brand in a sentence or two, while using key words that draw in the crowd you’re looking for.

Say you’re a wedding planner looking for clients to book with you, appeal to them and make them want to work with you. How can you do that? You should write something in your bio like “Making the wedding of your dreams become your reality.”

If words aren’t really your thing, don’t force it! Reach out to a social media manager or copywriter and work with them to find the words for you. They should know the exact right way to communicate to that dream client.

Add a link to your website to tell your whole story.

Your Instagram should just paint a quick picture about you and what you offer. Give them a glance, and then give the option for them to learn more. Be sure that your site is both professional and aligned to your brand so clients have a number-one web experience.

For bonus points, make the last line in your bio a CTA (call to action) that encourages a viewer to actually click on your website. You can, again, consult a SMM or copywriter, or you can DIY it by Googling a list of CTAs or an automated generator.

Don’t have a website? I know a gal who can help with that!

Be smart about your story highlights.

Highlights are a great way to showcase a variety of different things that you may want your client to see before following or booking with you. But be careful you don’t bore the viewer with too many highlights that are irrelevant or cluttered! Honestly, around 5-7 highlights is the sweet spot. Too many obscure highlights will overwhelm your followers and make it super unclear what the most important information is. Choose one or two that show off your personality — people love to know the face behind a brand — and a few that capture some key information about your business, like a quick portfolio highlight or maybe some client love!

Someone will be much more likely to click on your highlight if it has a pretty cover, and even better if it includes elements from your branding because we loveee a cohesive brand experience. If you haven’t worked with a brand designer to curate some on-brand highlights for your Instagram refresh, you can DIY it with your own photos or maybe some color swatches you find online. If you want to use imagery from the Internet, be careful about searching Pinterest or Google Images and stealing pics from them! Check out our blog post on responsibly curating images for your branding before you hit Search.

Remember that your brand experience isn’t just your logos, but it’s how you present yourself in every aspect of your business! Your brand should be consistent across all avenues — your website, your social profiles, your newsletter, your messaging, and just about anything else you produce within the scope of your brand. Instagram is just one piece of the puzzle!

If you feel like your brand could use some TLC across the board, we’d love to chat with you about how we can create a visually captivating and cohesive brand and web experience for your business to thrive. Inquire with us and let’s have a Zoom coffee date!