Whether we like it or not it’s human nature to form opinions off of first impressions.
Due to this, we are told “first impressions matter” as a motivation to make an effort in our social interactions. How do we make sure we make a great first impression when social media doesn’t have those nuances found in physical interactions?
The best way to leave a good lasting impression on social media is to optimize your social media bio. A social media bio is what people look at to get a sense of who that person is and what they are about.
Your social media bio should tell people who you are, what you do, and how following you will help them.
The following points will help you optimize your social media bio.
Profile Picture
A good profile photo is important because it is how your audience and potential followers will remember you.
In Brain Rules, John Medina shares, “people can recall 65% of the visual content they see in comparison to about 10% of written content after three days.”
With so many competing voices on social media, a great profile picture is a good starting point in being remembered.
Below you will find an example of creators that do a great job of optimizing their social media bio.
Logo or Portrait Photo?
Now depending on what your niche is on social media, you may consider having a logo or a portrait as your profile photo. This comes down to the value you offer to your audience and potential followers.
Here are some questions to think about when it comes to choosing between a logo or portrait for your profile photo:
Could the business exist outside of me or am I the business?
This is a key question to ask yourself and can lead to a potentially obvious solution to what you should have as your profile picture. If your answer to this question was that you are the business, i.e. you are an influencer, coach, or industry leader, then the profile picture more often than not should include you as the focal point.
Is the name of my business or brand already incorporated into my logo?
If your company’s name is already incorporated into your logo or is the logo itself, this can help ease some of the issues you’d run into if your logo is not yet iconic. The benefit of having a logo that has the business name is that people won’t ever have to wonder who you are or what your name is. The only downside is that your profile can begin to look a little redundant if you use your company name as your username and profile image. Consider using a compacted or abbreviated form of your name for either one to see if that helps reduce a redundant appearance.
[Good example of how to abbreviate the company’s name for a logo/profile image]
Make it a high-quality image
You’d think it would go without having to be said but here we are. Use a high-quality image. This comes down to a photo where people can make out what the photo is. We’ve all seen accounts on social media of people covering their face or NFT apes.
Buffer shares an insightful article that details the science behind a good profile photo.
High-quality photos increase your trustworthiness online and encourage people to stay on your page.
Here are 3 tips to help you capture the perfect profile image:
1. Show Your Face
People find it more trusting when they can see your face. It adds that level of authenticity in the digital world.
2. Use Rule Of Thirds
It’s visually appealing and surprisingly backed by statistics.
3. Have Great Lighting
Having great lighting will make the photo look better and allow for your face to be better seen.This means to make sure you have a soft light source coming at you.
4. Follow Platform Dimensions
Making sure your photo fits within the dimensions of each individual platform is important. Each platform is different but a simple google search you can find the proper dimensions.
Remember these 4 points also apply to logos.
Be Smart With Your Name And Handle
Your handle should be relevant to you. If your account is personal consider using your name with what you do like @socialandy or @graphingsteve. If you are a brand or company consider using your brand/company name.
Next, you have the name that is shown at the top of account. Most people either just make it their name but we suggest that you include what you do along with your name. Below you will find a great example of this.
If you notice, after his name you will see “Email Marketing Nerd”. Not only does this convey what he is about but it also increases the chances of him popping up when someone searches email marketing on twitter.
This is a simple yet effective way of optimizing your social media bio.
Have A Call To Action
If you notice, most of these creators that have an optimized social media bio have a link or call to action in their bio. This works like a funnel to drive people towards what you want them to do. Now this is contingent to what your niche is but important nonetheless. Below you will see an effective example.
Apostolos uses animation next to his name, shares in his bio what he does while conveying the value he gives, and has a link at the bottom that works as his call to action. Depending on what you’re about, this link can be your website or something like a linktree page where people can see a link to all your digital spaces. Either way it should be an action to what or where you want your audience or potential followers to go to.
Simple yet so effective.
Now that you have a better idea of how to optimize your social media bio, go try it out and let us know how it goes! Make sure to tag us, we’d love to see what you come up with!
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