Wondering how to brand yourself on Instagram to attract the right followers? You’re not alone!

Building a strong brand on Instagram isn’t only important for your business, but it is essential for attracting the right audience, aka your future customers.

And since you only have a few seconds to make a great first impression when a new visitor lands on your Instagram profile, it’s important you make it count!

In this post, we’ll teach you how to brand yourself on Instagram by optimizing your Instagram profile to convert new visitors into followers:

Whether you’re new to Instagram marketing or just starting a new account, attracting new followers on Instagram can be a challenge.

We partnered with digital nomad and Instagram expert Elise Darma to create a free Instagram workshop about how to get your first 1000 followers for Instagram! In this section, Darma explains how to brand yourself on Instagram by optimizing your Instagram profile:
 

Free Workshop: How to Get Your First 1000 Instagram Followers

Learn how to get your first 1000 Instagram followers in this free workshop!

WATCH NOW!

How to Brand Yourself on Instagram #1: Combine Your Personal and Professional Instagram Account

Many business owners are still juggling two Instagram accounts — one personal account (which is typically set to “private”) and another account that reflects their professional lives.

However, Darma notes that many “professional” Instagram accounts are often missing one major thing: the owner’s personality. Instead of trying to keep things separate, Darma suggests “blending these two worlds into one account.”

As Darma discusses in our free Instagram workshop, when it comes to the focus of your account, she recommends creating a “personal business brand,” which is sort of a hybrid between a personal account and a business account. The benefit, she says, is that it allows you to pull elements from both, which can help you resonate with your audience more.

Bando’s Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Jen Gotch, maintains a great balance between personal and professional on her Instagram account — all while staying true to her brand:

In other words, your Instagram profile should show off your personality, while still letting your followers know you’re running a business!

#2: When It Come To Branding Yourself on Instagram, Keep Your Username Simple

The first thing Darma recommends doing is looking at is your username. If you’re a personal brand, it’s a good idea to use your real name. Otherwise, she recommends using the name of your business.

When it comes to choosing a username, Darma suggests choosing a username that’s as close to your name or online brand name as possible. You want your username to be simple and memorable.

This year many popular Instagram bloggers, including Jacey Duprie (formerly @damselindior), made the switch from the name of their blog to their real name:

Jacey’s “brand” encompasses both her personal and professional life, all on one Instagram profile.

Whether your building a personal brand or business, you should also try to keep your username as short and simple as possible. You want your username to stand out and be memorable, so don’t complicate it with any unnecessary symbols or numbers.

Take Darling Media for example, keeping their Instagram username simple, memorable and easy to find:

Want to go more in depth? In just 30 minutes, you can learn everything you need to know to get your first 1000 Instagram followers in our free Instagram workshop!
 

Free Workshop: How to Get Your First 1000 Instagram Followers

Learn how to get your first 1000 Instagram followers in this free workshop!

WATCH NOW!

#3: Use the Name Field to Share Your Top Targeted Keywords

Next is your name, which is different from your username! According to Darma, a lot of people tend to use their username in their name field. She warns using your username in this field is a lost opportunity because the words you include in your name field are actually searchable on Instagram! A better strategy is to use targeted keywords.

Try to think about keywords that your follower is searching for on Instagram — maybe it’s your business niche or the products you sell. Once you’ve found the right keywords, put them into your name field.

For instance, the account Courtney and the Babes wouldn’t show up when a user searches for new health and wellness products — that’s why they included “Botanical Beauty + Wellness” in their name field:

By doing a quick search for “wellness,” I was able to discover the new company and quickly learn about their products and mission by scanning their bio!

While trying to decide how to brand yourself on Instagram, it’s important to consider what your visitors are looking for and how you can present them with the most information in the least amount of time.

#4: Branding Yourself on Instagram is All About Optimizing Your Instagram Bio

Next, Darma shares tips on optimizing your Instagram bio. As Darma explains, it’s a good idea to segment your bio into two parts. The first part should quickly explain who you are, who you’re for, what you do, and how.

You have a limited space to make an impression, and it’s important that you can instantly let your visitors what your business actually is.

Instead of making your bio all about you, try to focus on your target customer and how your Instagram profile will help or inspire them.

For example, as you can see in Lively’s bio, they describe who they are, what they do, and the why behind their products:

You want to make sure you’re letting potential new followers know who your profile is for, and what’s in it for them to follow your account.

Darma also suggests to make sure your Instagram Bio keeps evolving! Once you write it, it shouldn’t stay stale, but rather keep changing over time. To properly brand yourself on Instagram, you’ll want to make sure your Instagram profile keeps up with your changes IRL!

You only have a few seconds to make a good impression — make sure to capture your potential new follower’s attention and make sure they hit “follow”!
 

Free Instagram Bio Planning Worksheet

Make your Instagram bio stand out! Get creative with our free worksheet and start planning the perfect bio!             Industry             Travel              Fashion              CPG              Media/Publishing              Beauty              Luxury              Fitness/Lifestyle              Agency              Food/Beverage              Influencer/Blogger              Photography              Other                         Number of Instagram Followers             <1k              1k-10k              10k-50k              50k-100k              100k-1M              >1M            

DOWNLOAD NOW

#5: Add a Call-To-Action for the Link in Your Bio

The second part of your bio should be used as a call-to-action for the link in your bio. Since Instagram only gives you one link on your profile, Darma recommends using that last line to tell users what’s in it for them to click your link.

For example, if you’re offering a new promo, resource or limited time offer, make sure to let your profile visitors know. Create & Cultivate uses both text and emojis to drive eyes to their link:

You only have 150 characters, so don’t be afraid to use emojis to save space and add some personality to your profile!

If you can’t decide on one main CTA for your Instagram, you can also use Linkin.bio to build a shoppable Instagram feed that links all of your Instagram posts to specific products or pages.

This is one of the best ways to help your followers find what they’re looking for. When you set up a Linkin.bio page for your account, you can easily send your followers anywhere by linking your Instagram posts to specific product pages, blog posts, or website — all without changing the link in your bio!

Need more tips on how to grow your Instagram account and get your get more followers? Don’t forget to check out the full workshop!

Free Workshop: How to Get Your First 1000 Instagram Followers

Learn how to get your first 1000 Instagram followers in this free workshop!

WATCH NOW!