Social media users are a judgmental bunch. In the literal blink of an eye, they’ll subconsciously size you up based largely on your bio. How quickly are we talking? About a tenth of a second. And these first impressions can be hard to shake.

If you’ve been writing your social media bios as an afterthought, time to start treating them like the valuable pieces of real estate they are. Here are seven ways to scrub the images, copy, and links in your bios to increase your conversions and strengthen your branding.

Images

1. Use a hi-res profile image

In social media marketing, a quality profile image is critical. True, some platform’s profile pictures are super small but that doesn’t mean they’re any less important.

Your profile picture is the first place a user is likely to look when visiting you on social media, and one of the last things they’ll remember about your company.

According to one scientific study, online photo first impressions influence perception so strongly that they usually remain even after interacting with you or your brand.

When uploading your profile picture, make sure it’s free of pixelation and the same across all your other social media channels. Even for small spaces like Instagram, hi-res images or renderings of your logo or leadership work best.

2. Take advantage of your header image

Some social networks like Twitter and Facebook have header images located behind your profile picture. This is where you can give followers a snapshot of your company’s personality, products, and services, or current sales and specials. There’s really no limit to what you can do with this highly visible piece of property.

Same rules as above apply here, too. Make sure the image – be it photo or graphic – is clear, high-quality, and properly formatted to fit the space.

As for what to cover on your cover, don’t be afraid to get creative! We’ve seen clients have great success advertising the following on their header images:

• An inspirational quote from a historical figure or CEO.
• A candid photo of their team.
• New individual products or an entire line of them.
• Giveaways, networking events, industry awards.
• Seasonal greetings or work anniversaries.
• Fan acknowledgment for hitting 10K likes.
• Testimonials or reviews.
• Sales or limited time offers.
• Percentage of each sale or annual profit that goes to charity.

Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but the actual words count for a lot, too. Next up: how to make those count.

Words

1. Use keywords

What modern business isn’t interested in improving their search results? Keywords are your brand’s most direct way to convene with the search engines and increase your ranking.

Thing is, your social media bios have much stricter character limits than other pieces of content you create. So while a couple of key terms are important, your bio still needs to read as a human wrote it. As with all other mediums, keyword stuffing is a no-no.

One way to give your social bio keywords extra staying power is to include your location. For instance, it’s no accident our Instagram reads, “Digital marketing agency in Addison, Texas.” It’s a great way to introduce yourself to local potential customers.

2. Develop your bios

Your bio is born from concise copy that tells social media users: who you are, what you do, your contact info, your USP (unique selling proposition), how you can help them, and what you want them to do (your CTA).

Tools like Bio Gen — bio generator for social networks and Designer Bio Generator™ can help you get a skeleton bio pulled together, but you may want to add some personal flare to help with the overall impact.

3. Include CTAs

Speaking of CTAs, it’s great if your profiles have their own specific calls that change and correspond to different marketing initiatives throughout the year.

Some of our favorite galvanizing CTAs include:

• Expressing what you want: “Click the link in our bio for a free consultation”
• Asking for shares: “Tag us + #brandedhashtag to be featured”
• Promoting sales: “Shop our Summer sale”
• Highlighting a contest: “Caption this photo for your chance to win!”

Now that you’ve asked them what to do, time to tell them where to go!

Links

1. Utilize different links for different marketing goals

Many companies simply link to their website. Be it a specific landing page like your contact page or one you’ve created for incoming social media visitors, remember to keep the link updated in your social profile. You can even use a UTM code or bit.ly link to help you track the number of visitors you’re getting from your social media profiles.

Other popular links include:

• Updates about product launches.
• Email sign-ups for webinars.
• Articles written about your business or your latest YouTube video.
• Event registration pages for speaking engagements or networking events.

2. Offer promo codes

Followers always appreciate a little extra incentive to take them from socializing to making a sale. If your budget allows for it, consider including a small promotional code in your bio. These types of online coupon codes are known conversion drivers. Bonus: they also double as conversion trackers! Just make sure to create a unique code for each of your profiles so you can more accurately account for the increased traffic.

Take it from us, your bio is the beginning of your relationship with your followers. Make sure it starts off on a good foot with the best possible social media bio.

Want a social media professional to take a stab at your bios? Just say the word?

Posting on social media takes Goldilocks-like sensibilities. No, we’re not suggesting that your social media strategy is child’s play. In fact, having a well-developed social media presence is a critical part of running a successful business in the digital age.

Instead, what social media experts prescribe is a not-too-much, not-too-little approach to running your social channels.

So how do you achieve that “just right” sweet spot when posting on social media? That’s what we’re about to unpack.

General Rules for Posting on Social Media

Every business is different. In fact, let’s make that rule #1. Keep it in mind as you continue reading.

What do we mean by that?

Start with these tips and times as a baseline, but make sure you’re checking your insights and analytics regularly to see how your particular audience compares. Make adjustments so you’re posting the right kinds of content when they’re most active

The next two rules may seem obvious. But they’re worth repeating.

1. Post consistently. The more consistently you post, the less the frequency matters. That may sound like a bold statement to make in a post that’s all about how often you should post on social media, but we stand by it. Why? Because the absolute worst thing you can do is give your social media followers the silent treatment. It’s the equivalent of ghosting. Better to post at a pace you can actually manage without burnout.

2. Make sure your content is high quality. Again, posting too much won’t be an issue if the content you’re sharing is truly high quality. The more engaging your social media posts are the more likely your followers are to take notice.

How Often to Post Per Platform

Before we launch into the specifics of how often to post on different social media channels, we’d like to take an opportunity to give some sage advice.

Don’t try to be a star on each one.

Your audience is likely to be more active and engaged on one of two platforms. Put your effort there.

That’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t have a profile on each of the five major players. (You absolutely should.) However with your limited marketing resources we recommend focusing on one or two or hiring a digital marketing agency to post for you.

Here’s how often to post on each of the most popular social media sites:

• Facebook: HubSpot recommends posting on the king of all social media platforms 1-2 times per day. Of course, some of that depends on the size of your follower count. Typically, oversaturating them with content will cause your Facebook audience to tune you out, hide your posts, or worse, give you the old unfollow.
• Twitter: Life moves fast on this microblogging platform. Most experts say posting between 5-10 times a day is the best way to get in front of the majority of your audience. Check your analytics to see when you have the most eyes on your posts and try to spread them out accordingly.
• Pinterest: The social media buffs at Buffer recommend posting on Pinterest up to 30 times a day. If that sounds like a lot to you, start small. Once you get in the habit of posting 5-10 pins a day you can work your way up for more exposure.
• LinkedIn: By their own admission daily posting on LinkedIn tends to yield the best results. Remember to keep the content business professional – think case studies, industry news, company milestones, etc.
• Instagram: Posting to your feed 1-2 times per day is best for the ‘gram. If you have additional content to share, consider making updates to your stories to keep from overwhelming your followers. 

When it comes to social media, you don’t want to seem like you’re yelling or whispering. Talking in a consistent, conversational tone will help you keep a pace that encourages all variety of Goldilocks type followers to hang on your every word.

Want us to do the posting for you? Let’s chat!

Brand ambassadorship is the new celebrity endorsement. Today’s social media influencers are the movie stars of the internet, and with thousands or millions of followers hanging on their every post, they’re a potent marketing outlet.

You may have many reasons for aligning your business with a social media brand ambassador. Perhaps you’re looking to increase your sales. Maybe your branding strategy is all about boosting brand recognition among millennials.

In any event, joining forces with social media influencers and ambassadors can elevate your brand awareness and boost your reputation as well as your bottom line. But first, you have to secure them. Here’s how.

Types of Social Media Brand Ambassadors

Brand ambassadors are creatives who post content that elevates your brand. Be it in videos, a mention in their stories, review of your product, or promotion, the goal is to get more eyes on your brand and help you tap new segments of your target audience.

For the purposes of this piece we’ll cover two main types.

The first is known as a social media influencer. These are typically users who have collected an impressive number of followers. In recent years, influencer marketing has become big business, and it can be easy to be dazzled by large follower counts.

The truth is, almost anyone can be a brand ambassador. That is, so long as they’re actively engaging with your target audience (and vice versa). Don’t underestimate the power of a small but captivated audience.

Which brings us to our next type of ambassador: your employees.

Think about it. You have this arsenal of people who are already loyal to your brand. Most of them come with a well-established audience of followers who are already invested in the content they share. If you’re not already leveraging your employees as brand ambassadors you’re missing out on a huge untapped market.

How to On-Board Brand Ambassadors

Ok, we promised you a how-to and we aim to deliver.

Before making the ask you’ll want to review their follower demographics and make sure they match your specified target audience. If all seems like a fit, reach out online or via email.

Once on board you’ll want to make sure they’re genuinely excited about your brand and give them as much context as possible. This means background about your company, your core values, campaign goals, product specifics, etc. The more familiar they are the better.

You also need to make sure you discuss in detail how they’ll represent your brand. Have a contract in place that specifies the duration or number of posts with a clause that you’ll reexamine your working relationship after reviewing the results of the campaign. Also, state any content they post is subject to approval and designate an individual on your team to give the all clear.

When working with employee brand ambassadors it works a little different.

Sure, you could just throw out a blanketed catch all requesting employees to share about an achievement or company update. However, you’ll be much more effective if you:

1. Make a direct request.

Keep a close eye on your staff to determine which have the most outgoing, gregarious personalities. They’re likely to have a similar social media presence. The more seen you make them feel, the more likely they are to want to share on behalf of the brand.

2. Incentivize your employees.

A little employee recognition can go a long way. Staying attuned to their needs at and outside work can help increase their advocacy. Whether you’re inspiring via friendly competition or everyone’s favorite, paid time off, be sure to compensate and recognize their efforts.

3. Create company–wide hashtags.

The more clever and creative they are, the more likely your employees are to use them.

4. Invite their feedback.

Everyone likes to feel seen and heard. Let your employees know you want their buy-in by inviting their feedback. You may be surprised to hear new channel recommendations or marketing ideas that you hadn’t previously thought of!

Remember, the goal of any effective social media partnership is to build an enthusiastic community that actively engages with your brand. Influencers and ambassadors are like a direct line to potential customers. Approach them right and you’ll all but secure more sales for your brand.

Want us to sweet-talk them for you? Simply make contact.