Writing a Bio/ About/ Description (let’s call it an ‘Introduction’ for sake of convenience) for your business might seem like a mundane task, and you might be tempted to use a Ctrl C + Ctrl V approach, picking up lines from your website and giving them a go on every page. Well, that might be a mistake. And I will tell you, painstakingly, I might add, exactly why.
If you’ve ever been to an interview in your life, which is quite likely, you might have observed there’s this question the interviewers are obsessed about- “Tell me about yourself”. The answer to this question is supposed to give you a unique insight into not only the interviewee’s experience and education, but it also provides an insight into their attitude, and their self-impression.
This is where I draw a parallel between the Introduction section of social media platforms and “Tell me about yourself”. Your Introduction section gives your audience your own version of who you are, and it would be very cavalier of you to ignore the opportunity.
But how to do justice to this exclusive opportunity to take the centre stage? How to ensure that the words we choose, are the right ones to get through?
That is where things get interesting.
Just like a sales pitch, which needs to be modified according to the audience your giving it to, you need to modify your Introduction according to the audience available on the platform you’re writing for. So let’s go through the 5 major Social Media platforms that are most critical to small businesses, and see what we need to do in each:
The mammoth organisation we call Facebook, provides the most space for expression when it comes to the Introduction section. It has various fields where you can demonstrate your content writing skills, and build your brand. While the “Description” field in the Page Info section has a Character Limit of 255 words, the “More” section is where things get interesting. The “Impressum” field- Character Limit 2000 words and the “Additional Information” field- Character Limit 50,000 words allow you the freedom of expression without counting the words. This is what you need to keep in mind while filling up all these sections:
DESCRIPTION: Keeping your keywords in mind, briefly describe what you do, and for whom.
IMPRESSUM: This is where you can mention your brand’s journey, your story, and how this business came into being. This section allows you to give a personal touch to your page, and sets the tone for future communication with your audience. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Mention in detail about your industry and your company. You can add any useful links to your website in this field, and brand hashtags, if any. Give information about your services, and/ or products, and their USPs.
The Instagram Bio is the only place with any clickable links in the entire page, so be sure to include a link to your website/ blog. The Character Limit for Instagram Bio is a bit restrictive at 160 words, but don’t forget to make it SEO friendly by adding in the appropriate keywords. Don’t shy away from emojis, but don’t overdo them either.
Think of Instagram as the cool younger cousin. They’ll troll you mercilessly if you try too hard, but call you ancient if you stick to the known. So research what others in your industry ae doing, and try to be unique without being weird, and keeping your brand ethos and tone in mind.
Just like Instagram, Twitter bio is slightly restrictive at a Character Limit of 160 words, but the difference between Instagram and Twitter is a separate field for sharing your website. That frees up some space to add any more links in your bio- great for seasonal offers and sales! It is also advisable to include a keyword or two, as possible in your Name field itself for better profile optimization.
LinkedIn “Page Info” section includes the fields “Tagline”- Character Limit 120, and “Description”- Character Limit 2,000. Being a platform built mainly for networking and talent acquisition, it is of utmost importance to be extremely professional in all your communication.
The information you post here will either dictate your brand collaborations/ partnerships, or influence the kind if talent you hire. Any experienced professional knows to check out the LinkedIn page of the company they are interviewing for to assess what exactly lies ahead. Just like the other platforms, the key is to know who you’re talking to, via your communication, and ensuring that the content is SEO friendly. Don’t forget your keywords, but don’t be vague or repetitive.
Pinterest identifies itself as a search engine of images, GIFs and videos, so although the “About” sections seems of lesser significance, but it’s equally important to make your profile discoverable. It’s important to mention your keywords in the name and the About field itself to make sure anyone who searches for those keywords on Pinterest, comes across your profile.
Okay so you have all this information handy, and I hope that we’ve made you a wee bit confident about upping your social game. Even then, in case you need any more tips and guidance, feel free to get in touch!
All the best, and happy socialising!
