go through the editing steps used to set up your initial bio to change the text.
If you run marketing campaigns or have seasonal content or promotions, you can update your bio to align with these events.
Using a call to action to drive website traffic
The last line of your bio should be a call to action (CTA) that directs visitors to click the URL listed below it. (We cover this URL setup in the next section.) The call to action should be clear, actionable, and specific to the action you're asking visitors to do.
Do not simply write Visit our website or Click below. Instead, use something like Get your free ebook here or Shop our new styles now. Include a down-arrow emoji at the end of the CTA that points to where the URL will appear in the bio (refer to the example in Figure 2-4).
As with the rest of your bio, the CTA can be edited as often as you like. Experiment with different wording to determine which drives the best number of clicks to your website.
FIGURE 2-6: Add your bio in the Edit Profile screen.
Choosing a website link that encourages clicks
The most effective way to generate website traffic from Instagram is the link in your bio. To maximize your website traffic, make sure that the URL in your bio takes visitors to the exact page you're promoting. For example, if you're promoting an opportunity to sign up for your newsletter but the link goes to your website home page where there's no place to sign up, you'll lose potential registrants. In this case, you want the link to go directly to the website page where the signup form is located, making it easy for your Instagram audience to sign up quickly.
Your URL can be updated or changed as frequently as you like. You might have a default web page for your profile but change it to coincide with a promotion or campaign you're running on Instagram. After that campaign is complete, you can change the link back to your default.
Although Google Analytics is tracking that traffic for you, it's categorizing it alongside all other direct traffic to your site, not as a click-through from Instagram. As a result, you may look at your website traffic and be convinced that Instagram is not driving any significant traffic, when it may be sending much more traffic than you're aware of.
To correct this, use a link shortener that provides trackable data on the number of clicks. The link shorteners Bitly, goo.gl, and Rebrandly are the most reliable and safe options. Each provides a data analysis of each link to enable you to track how many clicks you're generating.
To use a link shortener, follow these simple steps:
1 Find your long-form URL (the direct link from your website) and copy it.
2 Open the link shortener website of your choice.
3 Paste the long-form URL in the link shortener website.The link shortener generates a short link.
4 Customize the short URL to match your branding or page.
5 Copy the short URL and paste it as your URL in your Instagram bio.
http://bit.ly/2X4y6. This doesn’t look professional, and visitors might find the link confusing or might question the link's validity. You can simply customize the link to reflect your brand. For example, if your long-form URL is http://jennstrends.com/blog, the short-form one might be http://bit.ly/JTBlog or http://bit.ly/JennsTrendsBlog.
Taking Advantage of a Business Profile Upgrade
In late 2016, Instagram introduced business profiles to Instagram. Before this feature rolled out, all profiles on Instagram looked identical. Now brands have the capability to stand out from regular accounts and can benefit from a variety of features available only to business profiles.
By upgrading to a business profile on Instagram, you get features such as the following:
Easy-to-access connection buttons that make it easy for your customers to email you, call you, or get directions to your location
An industry listing that informs visitors as to what you do as a business
In-app analytics to best monitor what is and isn’t working in your content strategy
The ability to boost posts from your Instagram profile and run ads on Instagram
The ability to manage your Instagram comments and engagement through your Facebook page
To upgrade to a business profile on Instagram, you must have a Facebook business page to which you can connect. Instagram advertising is managed through the Facebook Business Manager, and even if you don’t plan to run ads, Instagram requires you to connect to a Facebook business page.
Now that you've set up your Instagram account, as outlined in this chapter, you can easily upgrade your account to a business profile, following a few steps outlined next.
Connecting to a Facebook page
As mentioned, you need to have a Facebook business page if you want to upgrade to an Instagram business profile. Then you follow a few easy steps to connect your Instagram account to your Facebook business page and set up your contact information.
To upgrade your Instagram account to a business account, do the following:
1 Log in to Instagram on your mobile device, and tap Edit Profile.The Edit Profile screen appears, as shown in Figure 2-7.
