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?