Your Instagram profile should completely outline your business & all that you offer; meaning you need to make sure that you cover the who, what, when, where & why of your company. Here's how to completely optimize your Instagram bio so that it's highly searchable & more likely to get more followers: 

1. Use A Profile Photo With A Person In It

While you may gravitate toward your logo, research shows that business profiles with people in the profile picture get more followers. If you're really uneasy about this, find a way to put a photo up that has both a person & your logo. 

2. Name Your Account Something Highly Searchable

Your Instagram profile name is incredibly important, because it's now easily searchable on Instagram. Because your username & your name are searchable, you can maximize getting found on Instagram by making them both different. For example, my username is "amyeriordan" & my name is now "Amy | Commercial Photographer ♡ CDA, Idaho". Notice that this now gives people the who, what & why all just in my name - meaning they don't even have to go to my profile to get these details.

*BONUS* They have now updated the name character count from 30 to 64 characters!! Take advantage, especially if you are a local business, by putting your location.

3. Use A Different & Consistent Username

You want your username to be your business name if at all possible, & this should be different from your name, as mentioned above, to maximize your searchability. You should also consider having your username be consistent with the one you've used on your other social media platforms, such as facebook. For those who are trying to find & follow you easily on all platforms, your URLs will all match. For example, facebook.com/amyeriordan, instagram.com/amyeriordan, pinterest.com/amyeriordan. It just makes life easier. 

4. Write Your Bio To Fill In The Blanks

You now should hopefully have the who, what, where, but it's time to tell your followers the when & why. As a photographer, the when doesn't make much sense, but if you have business hours, be sure to include them for your business. Then, tell them why they should work with you. Get detailed! My bio specifies that I provide drone services, which is my most requested service, as well as stock photos & a local blog. 

If you're feeling uneasy about your bio, don't hesitate to reach out. You can also reference mine or the KCYP instagram as beautiful examples. Cheers!

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Amy Riordan is a Coeur d'Alene Commercial Photographer & FAA Certified Drone Pilot specializing in helping small businesses succeed in online media. She is also a proud wife, boy mom, dog mom, writer & runner.