The perfect Instagram profile checklist

First there was Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Then there was Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. And now there's TikTok. With so many social media platforms, and what seems like new ones launching everyday, how do you know where to play?

If you've got the team and bandwidth to have a consistent presence on all of them, we've got a gold star for you. However, for most entrepreneurs, solo professionals and small business owners, that's simply not the case.

Most of our clients come to us struggling to establish and maintain a consistent social media presence. They recognize the value and necessity in today's online business world, but if digital marketing and social media aren't already a natural part of your skill set, it can be a challenge just getting started, much less creating consistent content on top of all the other to-dos that come with growing a business.

Our recommendation? Pick the one or two platforms most relevant to your target audience or niche. And once you've mastered those, you can always expand to add others.

The most successful social media platform for your business

Ultimately, the most successful platform for your business is the one you will use—and use with consistency. For most, if not all, of the clients we serve, Instagram is the focus platform. And with over 1.4 billion users worldwide, for good reason.

With all of the available tools and publishing channels within the platform (and new ones being launched almost every week) from the feed, stories, live video and Reels, Instagram offers businesses and brands what we still believe is the best chance to engage with clients and prospects and build an authentic, connected community.

While knowing your audience, creating consistent, engaging content and building genuine relationships with followers is the best way to stand out on Instagram, we've also got a few tips to help you create the perfect Instagram profile for your business.

3 tips to creating the perfect Instagram profile

1. Optimize your username and display name for search results

Almost every single social media platform has some kind of search function. For Instagram, the search function is on the Explore page. When people are searching for you, both your username and display name are important. It's combined when someone is searching and gives you the opportunity to pop up in Explore when people are searching the keywords relevant to your niche.

The more hyper-focused and niche specific you are, the more you'll be shown to users using those keywords.

For example, our username is our business name @studiothree49. With your display name, you get 30 characters, so you want to be sure to maximize.

Since our display name isn't the same as our username, if people search my name, Tamara, our account will come up. If people search our business name or digital marketing, our account will still come up.

2. Use a headshot versus a brand logo to make a more personal connection

When available, select a headshot versus a brand logo for your profile picture. This doesn't necessarily need to be the company founder or president, just someone that is representative of your brand and will be engaging with followers.

Make sure the image is high resolution and keep it consistent across your website and other social media channels. People want to connect with people more than a faceless logo or brand and keeping it consistent will ensure your target audience is able to recognize you, no matter how or where they find you.

3. Include an "I help" statement and call to action in your bio

Like your display name, your Instagram bio has a limited number of characters available. In this case 150, so be sure to put them all to good use. Include an "I help" statement: a combination of what you do + who you do it for. Think about what you want to be known for and speak directly to your target audience in simple words, while bringing out your personality. You might also showcase a result you provide, number of clients you've served or other credibility marker.

Direct followers with the next step in their relationship with you by adding a call-to-action (CTA). You want to capture your followers as a new lead, client or customer, so make is easy with a link tree where you can share your blog posts, product pages, service pages, contact pages, landing pages, etc.

Be sure to grab our Instagram profile optimization checklist. It includes everything to help you get started from creating a catchy bio to optimizing your posts for visibility, plus more quick tips to immediately upgrade your online presence!