#AwesomeBios – Making Your Bio Fun

Your bio is one of the first things people see when they find you. Whether it’s on social media, your company website, your LinkedIn profile, or more, what your bio says about you can make the difference between a potential client or customer and an immediate bypass or click away from your content. Consider your bio to be your digital business card. There are over 2.2 billion active social media users. Making your bio stand out is imperative.

One of the ways to make you stand out from the crowd is to make your bio fun. Smiles are universal. People will always remember the way you made them feel over anything else. Humor isn’t the only way to make a connection, but it is an effective one. It helps use bond with one another, to attract others. It makes us feel better and it has a massive amount of entertainment value.

Your bio needs three distinct sections:

  • Your aspirations and goals as a human being are just as important as the values your company represents. It’s the humanity aspect that intrigues your potential clients and customers.
  • Credentials, education, and experience are key to building like and trust.
  • Your unique quirks and the softer side of your personality are so very important. They are the human aspect you need for personal connection.  

These three things are necessary to building the entire package. Customize your aspirations by lining them up with the audience you’re targeting. Don’t lie or fake it, but bring those things you both agree with to the front and center of your conversation.

Choose education and work experience that is only relevant to your audience. Remember that your bio is the highlight reel of who you are. Be selective in your humor here since this is key to social proof.

Humor is more than just laughing out loud. It can be observational, dark, sarcasm, satire, wordplay, witticism, and more. You can use a humble brag, a seemingly self-deprecating comment that draws attention to something you’re proud of. You can be whimsical about activities and interests. What’s funny to one person could be offensive to another, keep it tactful and professional and on brand. If you’re in doubt about whether your bio will be considered offensive, get an opinion from trusted friends and work associates.

If it fits with your branding, don’t be afraid to use emojis, gifs or other popular tools to spruce up your bios. Just don’t replace those great keywords that help people find you!

Keep in mind the following: Your tone should be the same across your platforms. Don’t give mixed signals, or you’ll leave your viewers wondering which “person” is the real you. Make sure you supply the important information as well: name, contact information, hours of operation if you have business hours, and best way to reach you.
Your bio is worth more than a generic description. Use it to build personal connections between you and your audience, and you won’t regret it.
How will you inject your personality into your bio and make it that much more awesome? Don’t wait. Get started today. The Social Media Advisor helps businesses create robust bios every day! Feel out of your league and want some support? Contact us or a discovery session.
Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

#AwesomeBios – Picking Images For Your Bios

When inputting your bio information on the various social media platforms that you want to associate with your business, it can be tempting to rush through the process in order to get started. I implore you to avoid this urge, and set aside time to really flesh out the bio areas of each site to optimize your profiles. Why? Because it will make it easier for your target audience to find you.

Once they have found you, however, you need to grab their attention if you want to convert them to followers or leads. You will only have seconds to do it. What is the best practice for extending the amount of time that a passer-by lingers on your profile? Using the right images.

Visual Content

We are a visual people. In fact, over 65% of people are visual learners, mainly due to the fact that 90% of all data processed by the brain is visual in nature. Before live video came along, photos were the most engaging type of content on Facebook with an overwhelming 87% interaction rate with viewers. Facebook data is so convincing that the social media giant adapted its algorithm so that text only updates weren’t given as much priority – and then implemented a method to the color the background of text only posts in order improve their reach.

The Right Images

Understanding that you need to use images in your bios and profiles is just the first step. It’s even more important to recognize what makes a great visual! Just grabbing something off-hand is not ideal. The image needs to be clear, crisp and engaging. It should also match your branding.

This means understanding resolution. The detail that a photo or image holds is its resolution. The higher the resolution, the better detail which makes the image look better. It’s measured in various ways but the key is to understand that you always want to use an original, or high resolution, version of an image in your marketing. Find out more about resolution at this website.

Ask around. Gather your brand advocates, your fans, and your cheerleaders, to make sure that the images you’ve selected are not only visually appealing but they make sense for what you are trying to accomplish. A confused lead is a prospect that moves on and finds something that makes more sense for them.

Copyright

The other error we see way too many small businesses doing is using images they do not own. The temptation to grab a stunning graphic off the internet and use it for your purposes should be avoided at all costs! What you don’t know about copyrights, trademarks and licenses can hurt you.

The best practices to engage in are to:

1. Purchase stock photography from reputable sites like Shutterstock, iStock, Dreamstime or Deposit Photos.

2. Download FREE stock photography from sites that offer images with no copyright or license concerns. (Always read the details on each image to be sure!) Our favorite sites are Pixabay, Pexels and Unsplash.

3. Take your own photos! Or enlist the help of a photographer that you know that will take photos that belong 100% to you and your brand.

If you have already uploaded profile pictures, cover photos or other bio images that don’t meet these standards, don’t fret. Just go find better images and get them uploaded as soon as you can. Your images are the perfect complement to your expanded, detailed bios. The bios will ensure that your ideal clients find you and the images will make certain that they stick around to find out why you are the perfect fit.

Just another way The Social Media Advisor team is encouraging you to #BeAwesome with your online presence and social media!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

#AwesomeBios – How Your Bio Helps People Find You

Most people miss this important section in their Social Media Accounts! Do you know what it is? Bios. A bio is the first impression for anyone who doesn’t know or understand what you do. Not only is it one of the first things people see, it’s also the heart of the social media platform’s internal search engine.


The bio can be a section that says bio or it can be part of the “About Us” area. Either way, it’s a key part of your profile, and is usually set up at the beginning of your account. If you haven’t looked at it in a while, you’re not alone.


A fully fleshed bio loaded with the right keywords are how people will find you. The way you write them will vary depending on the platform. For twitter, you have 160 characters. In Instagram, using emojis can save space and connect with the right crowd. It’s also encouraged to use one or two common hashtags that represents a brand campaign or two. Your website is also necessary. A Facebook bio has a short bio and a long one.


Here are some top tips for developing an #AwesomeBio that you and your audience will love.


Be accurate. People are more willing to follow you based on what you over your attempts to be clever.


Write your bio according to your purpose. Your mission statement should dictate that.


Keep it exciting. Who you are is exciting to you, isn’t it? Make sure you use a little enthusiasm. Show a little upbeat tone and optimistic verbiage. Use active voice to show maximum impact. Which one is more appealing?


We are helping you get the clients you deserve.
We help you get the clients you deserve.


If you need a helping verb in the sentence, you’re probably deep in passive voice-land. Passive voice has its place in the world, but your bio should be full of powerful verbs that appeal to your potential customers and clients.


Include a call to action (if possible). How are you going to convert social media followers into leads? You put in a call to action that appeals to them. Here are some examples:


  • Shop everything
  • Download the free guide now
  • Latest blog post
  • Join the Adventure


A key note here: If you have a brick and mortar location, you should ALWAYS include your address and opening hours, when possible.


Develop multiple sizes for your bio. If you’d like to make things easier for yourself, develop a micro bio, a short bio, and a long bio before you make any changes. A micro bio should be one or two lines about yourself. You can use it on Twitter and the short bio section on Facebook. It also comes in handy as a quick logline when people ask what you do. A short bio is a paragraph (or two very short paragraphs) that include important aspects of your business and who you are. A long bio is two paragraphs long and covers the information included in both previous bios. It also has a few “nice to know” facts about you. Remember to include your opening hours if you’re a brick and mortar store!


Include contact details. This is so very important. If you don’t provide a website, email address, or any other way for people to contact you outside of social media, they will feel as though you’re not interested in their business. At a minimum, a bio should provide them with a connection between your social media account and your website.


Keywords are a must! You must use searchable keywords in your bio. While a Star Wars fan may love the “Jedi Knight” reference, it does nothing for your search results within your social media platform. Your bio doesn’t have to be clinical and boring by any means, but make sure you hit your key words first.


Keep it consistent. Your social media platforms should give the same impression of your business. It’s not unusual for a potential client to click all the social media links you provide in order to engage on their preferred platform. Brand consistency is imperative to your success.


Keep it updated. This is especially important. If your store hours don’t match across platforms, that’s a problem. If your website links aren’t updated, you can miss out on important leads. Sometimes your business may shift its priorities. If it does, changing your bios are important.

An #AwesomeBio is an important part of helping potential clients and customers find you.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

#AwesomeInSocial – People Are Searching You Online…What Are They Finding?

When was the last time you searched for you or your company online? Most consumers will start their search online before ever using your company. Reviews, social media interaction, comments left on product pages, website ease of use, and more are key factors in determining whether a new customer or client will do business with you.
When you consider that online reviews are the key to people’s trust in your business, the choice is clear. You have to know what people are saying about you. A recent survey by BrightLocal states that 84% of people will trust an online review the same as word-of-mouth.
This means it’s more important than ever for you to take control of your social platforms. You want those conversations to happen with you and your social channels. That’s not all. Knowing how they find you can help you identify new opportunities to reach customers on platforms that you’re either not using or have underdeveloped. In some cases, it can even help your company evolve to meet the changes of your customer base.
I’ve compiled a list of ways to find out how you’re being searched.
Use Multiple Search Engines
If you want to know how people find you, the best way to begin is by using Google or Bing to see how you measure up. A key point here is to use your browser’s private browsing feature so that your previous searches don’t affect the results. Google uses “Incognito” and Firefox has “Private Browsing” but they both work the same.
Do a search for your business name and see what the first page results are. You’ll likely find your website/blog, Facebook page, review sites like Yelp, online listing platforms like Google My Business, and other social networks.
After that search is complete, you’ll want to try search terms that could drive people to your business. Start with your website. Most website analytics will track the search terms that get people to your site. Compile that list and start searching. Where do you stand in first page ranking?
Next, you’ll want to do a local search for your business using key terms related to your work. This one is easy. Take your most popular key terms and add your town to the end of the search. A repair shop, for instance, would search for “car shop in [town name]”. If you offer particular services, make sure you use those terms as well. Where do you stand?
With this list, you can determine where your business is showing up and note the places where it should be listed, but isn’t.
Social Media
Make sure you use Twitter and Facebook’s search options to see what people are saying about your business. Search your business name first. What do you find? If your business has a more common name, you can add keywords to the list. This is a search you should often perform, since it helps you stay on top of customer complaints and celebrate business successes.

Also, your online presence will play a big factor in the impression you make to anyone searching for your business. What are they finding? Are the accounts current – or have they not been updated in ages? If you have social media accounts active, showing a lack of current content makes the audience believe you are no longer investing in your business. It’s better to not have an account at all then to have one that hasn’t been updated in ages.

If you have been posting recently, does that content coincide with your branding strategy and goals for the current year? Or is it random and confusing for your audience – sharing content that appeals to you but isn’t strategic can be damaging and counterproductive.
Set Up Analytics
You can use Google Alerts to search the web for keywords related to your business. Those results will be sent to your inbox as often as you wish. Social media platforms like Facebook now offer analytics, and you’ll want to keep track of those. Google My Business offers insights for your business listings. As mentioned earlier, you can also set up your website analytics to find out how people are tracking you. The tools are available, so make sure you use them.
Once you figure how they find you, the next step is to make it easier to connect with your business. The key to success is to keep on top of this. Your online reputation and being #AwesomeInSocial work hand in hand in convincing potential clients to contact you and set up a discovery session.
Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

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