In a nutshell, your social media bio is your brand’s most basic elevator pitch—a snapshot of what you do, who you are and how you meet customers’ needs.
Alfred Nobel, the renowned Swedish chemist, inventor of dynamite and patron of the Nobel Prize, once said “For me, writing biographies is impossible, unless they are brief and concise, and these are, I feel, the most eloquent.” While he died before the turn of the 20th century (so the timing’s a little off), he could have easily been describing the perfect social media bio.
There’s an art and science to crafting a perfect, brief statement that is descriptive and compelling at the same time.
In this article, we’ll explain how to write an effective social media bio by sharing best practices and examples from each of the most popular networks to help you really nail it.
Why you need a good social media bio
Your profile bio is prime real estate for building credibility and optimizing your searchability across platforms. It can be tricky to convey your brand’s personality and communicate a clear reason for people to follow or buy from you in an extremely limited character count. That’s why learning how to write a social media bio effectively and efficiently is important.
When people first run across your brand, your social media presence is likely one of the first things they’ll check out. And when they pull up your profile, they’ll likely see your bio first. From there, they’re either going to decide they like what they see or exit stage left.
If you get it right, your social media bios can benefit you in a variety of ways, such as:
- Help create trust and customer loyalty
- Make your brand easier to find (via search)
- Grow your audience
- Drive more traffic to your website
Social media bio basics: What goes into a bio?
While each platform has its own set of rules, there are a handful of universal guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to social media bios.
In each one, you should include information that explains:
- Who you are
- The services or products you provide
- Your brand’s personality or vibe
- Where you’re located (if you have a physical location)
- The industry or niche in which you operate
- Links to your website (at minimum) and any other relevant online real estate
- A clear call to action (CTA) that helps visitors decide what to do next
- Keywords that help people find your brand via search
Also, don’t forget about your profile and header images. No one wants to see a gray avatar or a default graphic staring back at them. Be sure to use this valuable space to reinforce your brand visuals and messaging!
Social media bio examples to inspire you
Now that we’ve covered the basics, we’ll break down the specifics for each platform, provide some templates to use and share real-life examples to inspire you.
Facebook’s profile for business pages is a bit unique because its bio information is split up into different sections. The About section gives you limited space to briefly introduce your brand while the Additional Information section offers quite a bit more room to expand. There’s also separate fields to list out your website and contact information.
Character limit: 255 in the About section; 50,000 in the Additional Information section.
What to include:
- Profile and header images
- About section statement
- Details about your brand
- Website link
- Service area (if you have physical location/s)
- Other social media links
- Customer reviews (if applicable/available)
- Hours
- Prices
- Services
- Contact information
Template 1:
- About: Use your company’s mission, vision, tagline, positioning statement, etc.
- Additional Information: Tell your brand story or company history.
Ben and Jerry’s Facebook profile is a good example of this template.
Template 2:
- About: Use a simple “we help” statement: We help _____ do _____ by _____.
- Additional Information: Speak to your ideal customer’s pain points and illustrate clearly how you can help them overcome those challenges.
Jennifer Garner’s company, Once Upon a Farm, does a good job of using this template.
Template 3:
- About: Outline your differentiators. What makes you stand out?
- Additional Information: Help people get where you want them to go by offering several different calls to action with links.
To see this template in action, check out Encircled Clothing.
Instagram’s bio for businesses is an important part of a strong social strategy. While the character count is quite limited, there are a lot of details you’ll want to make sure you share with your followers. Apart from your profile and header images, also remember that your story highlights are one of the first things new visitors will look at when they get to your profile.
Character limit: 150
What to include:
- Social proof
- Links using a link in bio tool
- Hashtags and keywords
- Emojis
- Links to other Instagram accounts, if applicable (e.g. founder’s personal account, related brands, specific programs, distributors/sellers, etc.)
Template 1:
- Share your unique selling proposition (USP).
- Offer a few branded hashtags.
- Give an incentive for clicking your link.
Zoya Nail Polish does a bang up job of using this template for their Instagram bio.
Template 2:
- Give people a way to get in touch.
- Craft a “we help” statement (see above).
- Use your link in bio page.
This template’s on display in Hello Seven’s bio.
Template 3:
- Use emoji bullets to feature keywords and explain what you do.
- Link to other relevant accounts.
- Offer a clear CTA with link.
Graydon Skincare does an admirable job of employing this template in their bio.
TikTok
TikTok offers, by far, the least amount of space to craft your perfect bio. You’ll need to really “kill your darlings” to fit the parameters for this platform. Strip it down to the bare bones and focus on the information that will really help people know, like and trust you.
Character limit: 80
What to include:
- Keywords that relate to your industry/niche or what you do
- Keywords that describe your primary content topics
- Call to action
- Location, if applicable
- Contact information
- Website or link in bio page
- Emojis, as relevant
Template 1:
- State your mission.
- Throw in a fun emoji for good measure.
Barkbox takes advantage of this straightforward template.
Template 2:
- Explain what you sell.
- And explain who it’s for.
- Link to your website.
Owala’s TikTok profile delivers a solid example of this template in use.
Template 3:
- Outline how you help people.
- Use a branded hashtag.
- Maybe throw in a unicorn emoji, if it makes sense. 🦄
Check out Asana’s TikTok profile to get a look at this template in action.
<h3id=”#tw”>Twitter
Your Twitter bio is an opportunity to engage with your followers and ensure that anyone new to your sphere of influence understands exactly who you are and what you do. Keep it brief, but make it impactful.
Character limit: 160
What to include:
- Keywords
- Hashtags, sparingly
- Your brand personality
- Links to other Twitter accounts, if applicable
- Emojis, within reason
- Call to action
Template 1:
- Make a joke or pun related to your brand.
- Link to another Twitter account.
Target’s Twitter bio uses this template well.
Template 2:
- Explain what you offer using keywords.
- Include a branded hashtag.
- Round it off with a couple of relevant emojis.
Jump over to Zenni’s Twitter account to get a glimpse of this template at work.
Template 3:
- Share your tagline and include keywords.
- Give a clear CTA.
West Elm leverages this template on their Twitter account.
It’s time to go buck wild. LinkedIn has a comparatively laissez faire attitude when it comes to the character limit for your profile’s About section. It can be tempting to fill all this space, but note that it’s unnecessary to do so if you can communicate the brand’s major points in fewer characters.
Since LinkedIn is also a common resource for job hunters, consider going beyond your customer base and include some information for prospective employees. Keep in mind that links don’t work in your description section, but you can add a link in a different field.
Character limit: For a personal profile, the Summary section allows 2,600 characters; for a company page, you get 2,000 characters for the Description section.
What to include:
- Your accomplishments
- Brand history or brand story
- What you do
- Your location, if applicable
- Employer information like values, perks and company culture details
Template 1:
- Detail your company history.
- Give relevant statistics and details about the organization.
- Explain why people might want to work for your company.
- Share your accomplishments.
Check out Navy Federal Credit Union’s LinkedIn company page for an example.
Template 2:
- Detail what makes your company unique.
- List out your accolades.
- Publicize open positions.
If you want to get a feel for this template, take a look at Maven Clinic’s company page.
Template 3:
- Outline who you are and what you do.
- Explain your unique point of view on your industry or niche.
- Give an overview of where you operate and how people can find you.
- Highlight the skill sets and personality traits you look for in your team members.
Briogeo Hair Care does a great job of putting this template to work on their page.
Perhaps the most visually-focused platform on this list (with the possible exception of Instagram or YouTube), the words you share about your brand here are less important than the graphics and imagery that go with them. Keep your copy short and focused on keywords that will help people find you via the platform’s powerful search functionality.
Character limit: 160
What to include:
- Keywords
- Who you are
- What you do
- Who you do it for
Template 1:
- Explain what can people expect from you.
- Give categories and keywords to help people know if they’re in the right place.
On Pinterest, Jen Wagner Co. has this template locked down.
Template 2:
- Offer a witty remark that relates to your brand.
- Tell people what kind of content to expect.
Looking for inspiration for this template. Try Madewell.
Template 3:
- Explain your value proposition or why people should buy from you.
- List what you offer or what you sell.
- Integrate keywords throughout.
Clare’s profile offers an example of what this template could look like.
YouTube
Another social platform that doubles as an effective search engine, YouTube, is where many people go when looking for answers. That’s why you want to ensure your channel is optimized to be found if people need what you offer.
Character limit: 100
What to include:
- Keywords
- What you do or offer
- Links to your website or other social media accounts
- Call to action
Template 1:
- Cover what you do, using relevant keywords.
- Offer social proof.
Sunny Lenarduzzi leverages this template on her channel.
Template 2:
- Explain the kind of content people can expect from your channel.
- Give a clear CTA (subscribe, etc.).
- Outline your channel’s policies and guidelines.
Check out Yeti’s channel for an example of this template in action.
Template 3:
- Detail who your people are (i.e., who do you work with?).
- Brag on yourself a little.
- Give some relevant stats.
- Bring it home with a blurb about what you do.
Stitcher uses a similar template on their channel.
Pick your platforms, then optimize your social media bios
Optimizing the bios on your current social platforms is always going to be a good idea. It’s valuable real estate, and you’re wasting it if you haven’t spent some time intentionally filling that space.
We covered a lot of platforms here, and your brand might engage with all of them or only some. As you think about your prefect bio, now is the time to take a pause and complete this quiz to identify which platforms you should focus on based on your goals and content strategy.
The post How to Write an Engaging Social Media Bio For Your Brand appeared first on Sprout Social.
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