Hold your horses; you haven't updated your Instagram profile bio in HOW long? Did you know that Instagram has over 200+ million users per day? Over 30% of the American population are using it, and you haven't updated your bio. Lucky that you found our blog!
We're here to help you get the best out of your Instagram bio by providing the best Instagram bio tips. We'll take you through some Instagram bios that stood out to us, give you some great Instagram bio ideas of your own and take you through some of the best practices we've seen for creating catchy Instagram bios that will help you stand out from the noise.
One thing before we continue: The best Instagram bios are the ones that are right for you, in this post we hope to give you some good Instagram bio examples, but at the end of the day the best bio will be the one that is right for you and your brand.
What Is An Instagram Bio?
First thing's first, just what exactly is an Instagram bio? Where is the bio on Instagram, and why do we need it?
Your Instagram is located at the top of your profile, right under your name. You'll find this little paragraph of text (or emojis -more on that later) in the same place on everyone's profile. It's right above your grid and above any saved stories you have. You can see it marked in the red box on the screenshot to the left.
Your bio, which is described as your 'shopfront,' is one of the first things people see when they visit your page, and, at 150 characters long, it's possible the most important sentence(s) you'll write on your entire page.
Creating an awesome bio for Instagram, or even just a witty and creative bio for Instagram is a bit of an art, but keeping it real to you and your brand is absolutely vital. A nice bio for Instagram is a must, but it must also be consistent with your brand.
How to Make Your Instagram Bio
The question of 'how to make an Instagram bio' is a question that is searched online hundreds of times a day, and there really isn't a straightforward answer.
Good Instagram bio ideas are very individual to the person creating them, and the brand or company they are representing. Is your brand voice funny? Or is it serious? Is it a bit quirky, or is it very sales driven?
You need to be able to answer those questions before you know how to make a good Instagram bio because Instagram bios are one of the first things your audience will see of you and your brand.
If you're really not sure what your brand should sound like, do a bit of research. Who are your main competitors? What do their bios look like? Getting some good Instagram bio examples from within your industry is a great way to figure out how yours might look.
Be aware, though, you want to stand out from the crowd, not look the same as everyone else. Take these two smoothie brands below: Smoothie King and Innocent.
Smoothie King gets straight to the point by telling us what their mission statement is: 'Inspiring people to live a healthy and active lifestyle.' This doesn't exactly explain what they do but more why they do it.
Innocent, on the other hand, tells you exactly what they do, 'We make healthy drinks...', while injecting a bit of current and on-trend humour into their profile too. '...and are currently working from home.'
Both of these bios give us a glimpse into the way the brand wants to be perceived by their audience. Smoothie King wants to inspire with healthy choices; Innocent wants to appear quirky, down to earth, fun, and, of course, the healthy option too!
How To Write a Good Instagram Bio: A Step by Step Guide
Making a great bio for Instagram can be as difficult or as easy as you make them. One of the best tips that we've ever heard is to keep it short. You only have 150 characters to use anyway, but much like Tweets, sometimes it's the less you say that makes the difference. So don't give how to write your Instagram bio a huge amount of thought, as often the best ideas are the simplest ones!
There are many good Instagram bio templates on the internet, and these are a great place to start, but you want your Instagram bio to be unique to you, and you want the things you put into your Instagram bio to be relevant to your business or brand.
We'll give you a few Instagram bio examples below and some ideas for your Instagram bio, but right now, we'll dig into how to format your Instagram bio.
Step 1:
Log into your account and hit the Edit Profile button. This is exactly the same process on mobile as it is on a desktop.
Step 2:
You'll see a little box that says 'bio', click in there and begin typing your new bio. You can either copy from somewhere else and paste it in or you can write directly in the box.
Step 2.5:
As an added extra, you'll also have a box that says 'website', if you have a URL you want to send your audience to, put it in here.
Step 3:
Once you're done, hit the submit button at the bottom to save your latest greatest creation. You can come back to this screen at any time and update your bio and your website.
Updating Your Instagram Bio: Frequently Asked Questions
Here is selection of the the top frequently asked questions asked by social media folk about their Instagram bios.
How to do a return on Instagram bio?
If you're on a desktop or a mobile device, you can add a line break to your profile by hitting the return key on your keyboard
How can I add emojis to my Instagram bio?
On a mobile device, simply add emojis the same way you would when using any messaging service. This is usually located on your phone's keyboard. On a desktop, it's a little more tricky, but we've found the Emoji Keyboard by Joy Pixels Chrome extension to be a great help, simply pick the emojis you want and then paste them into your bio. If you don't want to use an extension, you can search for emojis to copy and paste easily using Google.
How long should my bio be?
How long is a piece of string? Well, actually, in this case, it can be a maximum of 150 characters long. That might be too long for your brand, though, so don't be afraid to keep it short. Equally, if you can't say what you want to say in 150 characters or less, it's time to reconsider your bio!
Can I get quotes for my Instagram bio?
You can certainly add a quote, but remember, it will come out of your 150 character allowance. Pick short quotes for your Instagram bio and keep it relevant to your brand or business. There are hundreds of websites to give you some inspiration for the best quotes for your Instagram bio, so check a few out before deciding.
Instagram Bio Ideas
So now you know how to add a funky new bio to your Instagram page, how do you go about deciding what to write? We've collated a few Instagram bio ideas for a few different types of brands with some examples to help you make the most out of that 150 characters!
Professional Instagram bio ideas
If you run a professional business, the chances are you want your bio to be professional too. We'd suggest staying away from clever Instagram bios and aiming for something a little more sedate and to the point.
Take Alienware as an example here. Their business is in building high-end gaming computers for gamers; these are usually expensive and incredibly specific to the requirements of the user.
Despite their quirky name, Alienware chooses to keep it professional on Instagram with a simple explanation of their market position and a generic mission statement.
A Few Professional Instagram Bio Ideas
- Official account of [company name]. Online Monday-Friday 9-5.
- Printing Company, established in 1995, for all your printing requirements.
- We are a global law-firm, specialising in real estate and family law.
- Independent family-run catering company in downtown Brooklyn. Visit us at [address].
- This is the official John Smith Accountancy Instagram feed. If you have an enquiry, please visit: [website address]
Cool Instagram bio ideas
Keeping your Instagram accounts professional is all well and good, but what if you wanted to be a bit more… cool? Cool Instagram bios are a hotly debated topic, just what makes your Instagram bio 'cool'?
Let's look at Satiregram for this one, an Instagram account dedicated to poking fun at other Instagram users in a satirically funny way. Their Instagram bio even pokes fun at themselves!
Need some cool Instagram bio ideas? We've collated a few ideas for you to try below. Remember to be original with this one, though. Use these cool things to put in your bio as inspiration for your next masterpiece, the idea is to be amusing, even a little irreverent, but not insulting or patronising.
A Few Cool Instagram Bio Ideas
- Wi-Fi + food + my bed = PERFECTION
- Sweet as sugar, tough as nails.
- I'm one of a kind and I'm unique. Never forget that.
- Don't know what to do? You can start by hitting that follow button.
- I really do not need to explain myself. I know I am always right.
- I am a rare species, not a stereotype.
- Thank you. Come again.
- I can't remember who I stole my bio from or why.
Cute Instagram bio ideas
What are cute Instagram bios? Much like our cool Instagram bio ideas listed above, there isn't really a defined list of what makes an Instagram bio 'cute' or not, but it's very dependent on the brand.
If your brand is on the cute, endearing, sweet, lovable side of things, then a cute nod in your Instagram bio could be the way to go.
The best examples of cute Instagram accounts, aside from the plethora of Anime inspired accounts, are cute animal accounts; and there are literally thousands of them!
Reagan and Doodle have nailed the cute Instagram account! An adorable account dedicated to a labradoodle and his human friend who happens to be in foster care, their bio says it all about cuteness and brings a little tear to your eye (well, it did us anyway) while spreading an important message about fostering.
If you want to create a cute Instagram bio, then we have a few ideas for you below. Being cute gives you the option to be a little bit silly. They can be the best Instagram bios for girls and work brilliantly for cute animals or for animal-themed businesses like rescue shelters.
A Few Cute Instagram Bio Ideas
- Wanna know my story? Press that follow button.
- I might look like I'm doing nothing, but in my head, I'm quite busy.
- Sprinkling kindness everywhere I go.
- My standards are high. Just like my heels.
- Sometimes we could always use a little magic – don't hide the magic within you.
- Single, focused, blessed. Living life.
- Born to shine.
Inspirational Instagram bio ideas
Inspirational Instagram bios are hugely popular with many businesses, brands, and individuals. The inspirational quote was practically made for Instagram!
If you'd like to go down the inspiration route, make sure your business or brand is really suited to it and, if it isn't, find an angle that it fits. If your business is in a typically 'dull' industry, find the angle that makes you unique. This is also great for raising your public profile and showcasing what makes your business different.
One of the best examples we have for inspirational Instagram accounts is Humans of New York, a photography project started in 2010, documenting the lives of everyday 'average' people living in New York.
While Humans of New York may not have a flashy logo or an inspirational quote, the inspiration here comes from the true stories of real people as they put it, 'one story at a time.'
If you're looking for some inspirational ideas, we've listed them below. Remember to make it relevant to your brand or business, though, and if you're going for the angle of what your business does for good (like donating towards building schools in Africa, for example), make sure you tell the story authentically and without being extravagant.
A Few Inspirational Instagram Bio Ideas
- Create the life you can't wait to wake up to.
- You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
- Always aiming to be a rainbow at the end of a thunderstorm.
- Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
- Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see.
- Die having memories. Don't die with just dreams.
- Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by a change.
Travel Instagram bio ideas
Instagram is first and foremost a photo-sharing platform, and that means it's practically made for travel photos. If you've ever wondered what the top of Everest looks like, or wanted to take a trip through the Sahara desert without leaving your sofa, a quick flick through Instagram will give you the travel feels!
Writing a travel Instagram bio should be about adventure, it should convey the deeper meaning to travel, why you do it, and why it's important.
Gareth from Tourist2Townie has this nailed beautifully. His Instagram bio is short and sweet, but it tells a story in only 100 characters about how (and why) he ended up travelling the world.
If you need some ideas, we've gathered a few inspirational ideas to add to your bio to give it that real #wanderlust feel!
A Few Inspirational Instagram Bio Ideas
- We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
- Risk-taker. Adventurer. Globetrotter.
- Sand in my toes and saltwater in my curls.
- Follow along to witness history in the making.
- Travel far enough you meet yourself.
- Welcome to my world.
- Live in the sunshine where you belong.
- Girls don't wait for the prince anymore. They just pack and travel the world.
- I need 6 months of vacation twice a year.
- Voice of the wild within every woman.
Funny Instagram bio ideas
There is a very fine line between funny Instagram bios and witty Instagram bios. In some ways, they're much the same thing, but witty bios usually lean more towards the sarcastic side, whereas funny bios are more jokey.
A great example of a funny Instagram account with a witty bio is the Miserable Men account. This account is dedicated to photos of men in shopping centres and malls looking utterly miserable. It's funny because we've all known men who have been dragged out shopping when they really didn't want to be, or maybe you've been one?
If you're looking to make hilarious Instagram bios, we've found some funny Instagram bio examples for you to copy and paste. Don't forget to give them your own original twist, though!
A Few Funny Instagram Bio Ideas
- You can't make everybody happy; you aren't a jar of Nutella.
- Making history, I mean… Insta stories…
- I am not lazy, I am on energy saving mode.
- Hey, you are reading my bio again?
- I'm cool, but global warming made me HOT.
- This isn't rocket science, you take a photo of brunch, and you hashtag #yolo #sundayfunday.
- Naturally and artificially flavored.
- What should I put here?
- I'm real and I hope some of my followers are too.
What Things To Put In Your Instagram Bio?
So you've read through the ideas, and you're still wondering what to put in your Instagram bio?
It really depends on you and your brand as to what you decide to put in your bio, and it's important to remember that you can change this at any time.
Here are a few things that you might want to consider including in your bio:
A link to your website
The Instagram bio is the only place that allows clickable URLs on the entire site (until you reach 10k followers, and you can add a link in your stories), so use this space wisely! If you run a blog or a YouTube channel, it might be worth rotating this around with your latest link. If you want to direct your visitors to all sorts of places, consider using a service link, such as Link Tree, to turn one click into multiple clicks!
Location and opening hours
Do you run a physical shop, clinic, practice, or other establishment? Think about putting your location and your opening hours right in your bio.
Your hashtags
If you want to track your user's or customers' feelings about your business, getting them to use a branded hashtag is an excellent idea. Even if it's temporary, such as a specific event hashtag, popping it in your bio can increase engagement and help you track that engagement.
Contact info
Want your customers to call you or email you? Why not put your number or your email details right in your bio? This could be a great idea for smaller businesses, but it might increase spam, so think wisely before adding it.
A Call To Action
A call to action tells your audience what you'd like them to do. Do you want them to sign up to a newsletter? Visit your website, sign a petition, share their story? Ask them in your bio.
What Things to NOT Put In Your Instagram Bio?
It almost goes without saying that there are a few things you should NOT put in your Instagram bio, especially if your account represents a private individual.
Remember that, for the most part, Instagram is a public platform, it's certainly possible to make your account private, but the general rule of thumb is that nothing online is really truly private, and even on a private account, your bio will be visible to the wider public. The golden rule: if you wouldn't wear it on a T-shirt, don't put it on your Instagram bio!
Unsure of exactly what that means? Here are a few things NOT to include on your Instagram bio:
Profanity
If you're a brand or a business that relies on a more clean-cut reputation, keep the profanity off of your bio.
Contact details – Unless you are a business and you want people to contact you, keep your contact details off of your public bio for privacy reasons.
Your address
The same as above, if you don't want people to visit you, don't put your address online
Your employer's name or your opinion of your employer – No matter what you think of your employer, don't make it public on your personal account. It's best to keep your personal social media accounts completely free of anything linked to work, or you risk it coming back to bite you.
Political Persuasion
This is a tough one, but for the most part, we recommend keeping your political persuasion off of your bio. Of course, there are some for whom this is their career or forms a big part of their identity, but if you're just a regular business, brand, or influencer who doesn't want to become associated with a particular political viewpoint, keep it out of your bio.
Private details of others
This one goes without saying, no private details of others. You may wish to write 'son Jayden Smith born 12.12.19, 11:27pm 6lb 4oz' but that is way too much information to make public.
Private medical info
Another tricky one, some use their social accounts to campaign for particular medical reasons, but if that's not what your account is about, keep it out of your profile.
The Power of the Emoji
Creating a unique bio for Instagram is every business and brand's top priority when they first start out on the platform, so why not say it with emojis?
One of the best ways to make good Instagram bios stand out, and to show your fun and quirky side, is to use emojis. One of the greatest benefits to using emojis is that they are universal and don't require your audience to understand your language at all.
If you need some inspiration for Instagram bio ideas with an emoji or two to get their story across, take a look at social media scheduler Later Media. They not only use emojis in their bio to convey a sense of fun and lightheartedness, but they also use emojis to give their story highlights a bit of individuality each.
Here are a few ways to up your Instagram bio ideas with emojis:
🐱 - Cat account, has a cat, loves cats
🐶 - Dog account, has a dog, loves dogs
🌱 - Vegan, nature, plant based
🥑 - Vegetarian, millennia, healthy lifestyle
⚽ - Football fan, football pro
🏆 - Sports, winning, inspiration
🚴♀ - Cyclist
🏋️♀ - Fitness, healthy lifestyle
🎤 - Singer, stand up comedian, speaker
✈️ - Travel company, travel, flying, wanderlust
📽️ - Film-maker, journalism
🖊️ - Writer, journalist, author
📸 - Photographer, photo editor, photography enthusiast
🔑 - Security company
🏰 - Places of historical interest
Summing Up
In conclusion, your Instagram bio should be as unique as you are, it should convey your business or your brand and what it stands for.
There are so many different ways to do this by being funny or professional, inspirational, or cute, but it's important to keep it unique to you and your brand.
In 2020, we're seeing more and more social media users getting savvy about seeing through 'fake' profiles and fake users. Staying on brand, authentic, and real will only serve to ensure that you will remain relevant and liked by your audience.
Don't be afraid to shed some light on the best part of your business or brand, or to be inspirational for your followers, but make sure it stays on brand and within the realms of what your audience expects.
If all else fails, cute puppy pics are always a winner!