Small Business Instagram Bio: How to Make a Strong First Impression

As a small business owner, one of the main struggles you’re probably going through is growing your brand on social media. Instagram became one of the strongest channels for attracting leads and learning how to make the most of it can be the stepping stone to taking your business to the next level. 

At Slam, we’ve been there ourselves and we made it our mission to help small businesses like yours develop their online presence, grow their audience, and impact their local communities. We’ve taken brands from zero to thousands of followers, and we’ll teach you how to do it, starting with an effective Instagram bio. 

Here’s what this article covers: 

1. Why a good Instagram Bio is important for a small business
2. How to write a killer Instagram bio for a small business
3. Tips to write your small business Instagram bio
4. Examples of Instagram bios for small businesses

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If you’re ready to slam your small business instagram account, keep reading!

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Why a Good Instagram Bio is Important for a Small Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, you probably know the importance of having an active Instagram for a small business and the huge impact it can have on your sales. Most of your potential customers will either find you on social media or look your business up on the most popular platforms to learn more about your products and services. 

That’s when your bio enters the scene. It’s the very first thing your audience is going to see when they find your profile. You need to make that first impression count! See it as an opportunity to show off your brand personality and what sets your business apart from your competition. It's like your elevator pitch on Instagram - you want to communicate what your business is all about in a clear, concise, and compelling way.

But it doesn’t end there – the role of your bio is not only to show potential customers how great your business is. Your Instagram bio should also contain whatever essential information your customers need to take action. Your website, your location, or anything your customers might look for if they’re interested in purchasing your products. 

How to write a killer Instagram bio for a small business

Your clients are gradually going to lose their interest as they scroll through your profile looking for answers to their questions if they can’t find them in a matter of seconds. Your small business Instagram bio should be smart, captivating, and informational, but also brief and concise.

To make it easier, let’s break it down into 5 steps: 

1. Determine your purpose and your audience
2. Identify your unique selling point
3. Add personality with emojis
4. Add a link to your website or relevant page
5. Edit and refine

Step 1: Determine your purpose and your audience

Learn as much as you can about your customers to build a user persona and tailor their experience as accurately as possible. Try asking yourself the following questions:

• How old are they? (Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X…)
• Where do they live? (worldwide, in the USA, in your state specifically…)
• What are their struggles/problems/concerns? 
• How can your brand help them?
• What are they looking for in a brand? 
• What do they care about? 

Once you have the answers to these questions, step into the shoes of your average customer and think about what would cause your desired impact on them. 

Step 2: Identify your unique selling point

There must be one thing that sets you apart from your competitors. For example, say you make T-shirts. What’s special about them? Are they customizable? Eco-friendly? Themed? Do you support a cause? “T-shirts made with love” is not enough to catch your buyer’s attention.

Now, “Fully customizable T-shirts to save the world” has an entirely different effect on someone who’s trying to understand your product. This will also contribute to improving your small business SEO.

Step 3: Add personality with emojis

Don’t underestimate the difference emojis can make to any statement on social media. They add personality to your posts and make your profile more visually appealing overall. Good use of emojis can even make your text more readable and easier to skim. 

Step 4: Add a link to your website or relevant page

Adding a link to your Instagram bio is strictly mandatory. There will be no other way for your customers to take action directly from your profile if you don’t direct them somewhere. It can either be your website, online store, or a Linktree containing all the links that might be relevant to your buyers. If you go for a Linktree, make sure not to have too many links, and to add clear titles to each of them to avoid confusion. 

Step 5: Edit and refine

Once you've written your bio, take a step back and review it. Ask yourself: Does it accurately represent you or your brand? Is it engaging and informative? Is there anything you can remove or add to make it better? Go over it as many times as you need until you’re happy with it. Showing it to people outside your business can also help you get an objective POV. Do this exercise: make sure they think exactly what you want them to think when they read it. 

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If you’d like to get a free 30-minute consultation with us, book below!

Tips to write your small business Instagram bio

Now that you know what the process of coming up with a good small business instagram bio entails, let’s go the extra mile and add some spice to it to make it look professional. 

Try these 4 tips:

• Keep it short and sweet
• Use keywords
• Add a call to action
• Use hashtags

#1: Keep it short and sweet

Instagram allows you to write up to 150 characters, which might seem pretty tight, but don’t worry.If you do it right, you won’t need more. Use simple language and avoid using jargon or buzzwords. Less is more! Word stuffing can make it confusing or ambiguous. Cut to the chase.

#2: Use keywords

If you know anything about SEO, you’ll understand how to do this. But if you’re new to small business SEO, you’ll probably wanna do some quick research to find out which keywords you should be focusing on.

There are countless SEO tools to do this thoroughly, but even scrolling through your Instagram feed yourself can give you the information you need. Check your strongest competitors and find out how they present themselves.

Among the many benefits SEO can have on your small business, it will basically tell the algorithm what your profile contains, and it will thus allow the right audience to find you. Sometimes the most accurate keywords are not the smartest!

#3: Add a Call to action

Tell your audience what to do. Encourage them to take action! Whether it be to subscribe to a newsletter, check out your site, or try your product for free. Needless to say, “buy our product” is not the best or most creative call-to-action (CTA), because it’s not persuasive.

Most CTAs will first encourage your potential customers to get acquainted with your brand, but even if you wanna take them straight to checkout, you should add a convincing ingredient. Try something like: “Save 10% on your first purchase”, or “Join now for exclusive access.”

#4: Use hashtags

Hashtags increase your discoverability and help you target your audience more accurately. Some brands even succeed at promoting a branded hashtag as a marketing campaign, although branded hashtags often go unnoticed unless a large group of people starts using it.

Inspect your niche and identify the best small business hashtags for instagram. You wanna aim at using the most popular ones, even if they’re not the most specific or relevant to your brand. If you have a store or if you’re looking to attract an audience from a specific area, it’d also be smart to add a hashtag with your location to improve your small business local seo. 

Examples of Instagram bios for small businesses

• "Healthy meals delivered to your doorstep. Order now and enjoy 10% off your first purchase. 🍴 #mealprep #healthyeating"
• "Custom-made jewelry for every occasion. DM us for inquiries and orders. 💍 #jewelrydesigner #handmadejewelry"
• "Healthy skin, happy you. 🌿 Natural and effective skincare for your daily routine. Shop our products online now! #cleanbeauty #naturalskincare"
• "Find your zen with us. 🧘‍♀️ Offering yoga classes for all levels and styles. Join us on the mat today! #mindbody #yogaeverydamnday"
• "Fashion that makes you feel good. 🛍️ Shop our sustainable and stylish clothes online. Use code INSTA10 for 10% off your first order. #ethicalfashion #ootd"
• "Treat your furry friend to a spa day. 🐾 Professional and personalized grooming services for all pets. Book now and watch them shine! #petsofinstagram #spoiledpets"

Instagram Bio: Slam Media Lab Case Study

Check out our bio as one last example. We start by stating what we are –a marketing agency– and what we do –SEO, web design, and content marketing–, which are also keywords in our niche that we wanna be known for. 

We love making puns using our brand. It helps us portray our personality and the kind of experience we love to provide. We’re fun and creative, and we’re also leaders in our industry. Through our Instagram bio we wanna give potential clients a peek at what it’s like to work with us. 

Lastly, a call to action in the shape of an invitation to check out our work, and our Linktree with extra-easy access to our products and services, and how to contact us. 

If you found this article useful, you’re gonna love our full guide on Instagram strategy for small businesses. Want to partner with us to grow your Instagram? Sign up to our newsletter to get FREE Instagram tips and marketing resources for small businesses.

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