Nowadays a social media bio is the equivalent of a first impression, and with the average person making a decision on you after the first 6 seconds of meeting, there really is no time to mess about. That’s why here at Interhacktives we’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know that will ensure those followers come flooding in…
Be concise
The days of sandwiching an inspirational quote between your favourite Netflix show and the initials of your current partner with a heart emoji next to it have long gone. Instead, be concise and to the point. State why you’re there, where you’re based, what you’ll be bringing to a followers grid and the field or area you’re interested in. If you mislead people at the start it’ll only result in a lost follower later down the line.
Avoid overused words
In today’s society, starting a bio with ‘Influencer’ or ‘Blogger’ is becoming increasingly frequent, therefore, ironically, less influential. Be mindful of what language you’re using and avoid overused words. Many search engines nowadays use social media bios in their algorithms so using specific vocabulary is a must. In 2017, LinkedIn compiled a list of their 10 overused words so you know what to avoid:
- Specialized
- Leadership
- Passionate
- Strategic
- Experienced
- Focused
- Expert
- Certified
- Creative
- Excellent
Originality is key or else you’ll become lost in a sea of creative and experienced experts who are focused and passionate, you may be all those things, but maybe consult a thesaurus in order to successfully stand out from the crowd.
Think about your platform
If the 2019 Dolly Parton challenge has taught us anything, it’s to remember that every social media platform has a different audience, tone and register. Your LinkedIn connections are not the same people reading your Love Island tweets at 9:30pm on a Wednesday night.
For Instagram and Twitter, try to showcase your personality, give your audience an insight to who you are outside of work and all the serious stuff, save that for LinkedIn and your future employers.
For an Instagram and Facebook bio, the general recommended length is a maximum of 150 characters, for Twitter, 160 characters, and for LinkedIn, 2,000 characters. As mentioned, it’s probably best not to use all these characters as eventually people might switch off. Keeping it concise is still key.
Catering to a specific platform also means sharing certain things for that site, for example: it might be a good idea to include a link to your CV for you LinkedIn bio, but for Instagram, it might be better to include a link to your portfolio. If you have something to showcase then whack it in your bio for all to see and be proud!
Don’t let it go stale
Now you’ve written the bio to end all bio’s, don’t let it sit there outdated. If you’ve recently written a new blog post or article for a publication, then make sure you update your link to your most recent piece. If you’ve changed jobs, make sure your old one isn’t still sitting proudly underneath your name…could become awkward down the line.
So there you have it, 4 simple steps that will help build a better online you, allow your followers to see who you really are and what you’re about and most importantly: allow you to build the online empire you deserve!