Chapter 1
Setting Up Your Profile
IN THIS CHAPTER
Deciding what info to use in your profile
Creating an effective bio
Upgrading to a business profile
Determining your privacy settings
After you install the Instagram app on your mobile device, the first major task you face is setting up your profile. Your profile should accurately represent you.
In this chapter, we show you how to set up the different components of your profile, including a username and name and a bio. We also explain how to set up a business profile, in case the account you’re creating is for, well, a business. Finally, we end the chapter by showing you how to select your privacy settings.
Practicing Good Personal Profile Management
Instagram gives you the option of choosing between a personal or business profile. We start by explaining how to set up a personal profile. Later in this chapter, we discuss how to upgrade to a business profile.
If you want both a personal and a business profile, you can’t do that in one account. You have to set up two separate accounts — one with a personal profile and another with a business profile.
Your Instagram profile is not only your first impression to potential followers and new visitors but also your consistent message to your existing audience. Your profile should be recognizable as your style and representative of what you want people to see about you. Figure 1-1 shows you what a standard personal profile looks like on Instagram.
FIGURE 1-1: The Instagram profile consists of these standard components.
Instagram profiles are composed of the following six components: username, name, pronouns, profile photo, bio, and web address.
Choosing a username and name
Your username and name are two of the most important components of your Instagram profile because they help other users find you in search results. When users type a keyword or name in the Search field on Instagram, the app looks at the username and name fields of accounts to determine if an account is relevant to that search query.
Instagram also scans the caption text within your posts and your profile bio description to see whether your content appears in a user’s search results when looking at keyword searches. If you want to get even more eyeballs to your profile, start adding keywords to your posts’ captions and see what good things happen. We explain how to add captions in Chapter 3.
The username is the string of characters at the top of the profile. The name is the bold text below the profile photo. If you want your account to be found by a keyword or phrase, be sure to include it in either the name or username for your account.
Choosing the best username
When you set up a new Instagram account, you’re required to choose a username. Your Instagram username is how you’re recognized on Instagram: All activity, from the content you post to how you engage with others, is associated with your username. The username is at the top of the profile (refer to Figure 1-1).
Your username is delineated with the at (@) symbol when referring to you as a user. The web address (technically known as the URL, short for Uniform Resource Locator) for your Instagram account is
When you interact on Instagram, the username appears as
yourusername
An Instagram username is limited to 30 characters and must contain only letters, numbers, periods, and underscores. You can't include symbols or other punctuation marks as a part of your username.
Choose a username that represents you or your name, is recognizable, and, if possible, distinguishes what you do. Your username may be simply your name or nickname. If you’re already established on other social media, such as Twitter, you may want to choose the same username on Instagram as you use on other sites, so that your current audience can easily find you.
During the registration portion of your Instagram account, you’re prompted to select your username. A check mark indicates whether the username you selected is available. If someone is using the username you entered, you see an X in the username field. Keep selecting alternatives until you find an available username.
If the username you want to use is unavailable, you can use alternative options by adding periods or underscores to the username, by using abbreviations, or by adding another word.
If you’re signing up for a new Instagram account using the website, Instagram populates an available username for you. You’re welcome to use this suggested name, but we don’t recommend it because it’s generic and won’t represent you or be nearly as creative as one you come up with yourself.
You can also make a slogan your username or add a word in front of your name to differentiate yourself from a generic name. For example, a clothing boutique in Vancouver, British Columbia called Plenty has the word Get in front of their name, so their username is GetPlenty.
Always check what your username looks like as one long word. If you want your username to be “christopher u,” it will appear as “christopheru,” which may be misread as “chris to pheru,” “christophe ru,” or some other version. Instead, include an underscore or a period to separate words, like “christopher_u”.
There is little you can do to have an existing username transferred to your account if it’s in use or was previously registered by another user. If another account is using your registered trademark as its username, visit https://help.instagram.com/101826856646059 for information on how to file a claim of trademark violation.
After you select a username, all content linking to your profile is associated with the username’s URL. If you want to change the username at some point, your URL also changes, and you need to update all backlinks and links to that profile accordingly. This is why it’s best to choose the right username when setting up your profile.
If you have a verified Instagram account, you can’t change your username without losing your verified status, which means the blue check won’t appear next to your new username.
If you want to change your username, follow these steps (see Figure 1-2):
- Go to your profile on Instagram on either your mobile device or your computer.
- Tap or click Edit Profile.
- In the Username field, type the new username.
Save your changes.
To do so, tap the check mark, Done, Save, or Submit button (depending on the device you’re using).
Choosing the best name
Your Instagram name is visible only when someone visits your profile directly or it appears in search results. The name appears in bold below the profile photo (refer to Figure 1-1). You can use your actual name or a nickname as your name on Instagram.
Your profile performs better in searches and looks less amateurish if the name and username are different. Having a name that’s different from your username provides double the opportunity for keywords and searchable criteria in the Instagram app. Power users on Instagram take the time to craft good username and name components.
FIGURE 1-2: Editing your username and name information.
Unlike your username, which is one word, your name should be in proper sentence structure with capital letters and spacing. Your name (like your username) is limited to 30 characters, including spaces.
Avoid using a font generator to make your Instagram name look unique. These font generators allow you to create cursive fonts or block letters, but each letter is considered an emoji, not a character. Instagram doesn’t consider those when “reading” the text of your name, so it diminishes your likelihood of appearing in search results.
You can be found in more searches on Instagram if you include a keyword or phrase in your name or username or both. If you don’t put a defining keyword in your username, you should include one in your name field, in addition to your actual name.
The name on your profile is not tied to your URL or other defining aspects of Instagram, so you can change it without your username being affected. Consider adding or changing keywords, as necessary, to appeal to your target audience on Instagram.
If you want to change your name, do the following:
- Go to your Instagram profile, and tap or click Edit Profile.
- In the Name field, type the new name.
Save your changes.
To do so, tap the check mark, Done, Save, or Submit button (depending on the device you’re using).
Deciding on a profile photo
The profile photo on your account, as well as your username, is associated with all your activity. When you post anything to Instagram or engage with other users in any way, your profile photo is visible.
Your profile photo should represent you and be recognizable to others. If you actively use other social media platforms, you may want to use the same photograph for your Instagram profile as you already use on other platforms. That way, you create cohesion across your online media and assure your followers that they found the correct account when searching for you. The account of @cgritmon in Figure 1-3 is a good example of having a profile photo that stands out, is easy to recognize, and represents her as a person.
Profile photos on Instagram are cropped to a circle, so your photo should fit properly within that crop. Don’t use a logo or an image that loses valuable content when cropped to a circle.
The profile photo on your profile page appears larger than anywhere else on Instagram. When interacting with others, the profile photo is a thumbnail (small) version. Choose an image that isn’t too busy, overwhelming, or cluttered with text, which can make the image difficult to decipher as a thumbnail.
FIGURE 1-3: A good profile photo represents you.
The best profile photos have a clear object of focus, contain a simple background, and are sized at least 550-x-550 pixels. The ideal image size is 1,080-x-1,080 pixels for a square image. (If you upload a photo that’s too small, it may appear pixelated, which is what happens when a low-resolution image is enlarged too much and the individual square pixels become obvious, making the image blurry.)
Writing a Dazzling Bio
Your bio is a short description on your profile that tells people about you. This description is similar to a 30-second elevator pitch — it’s how you convince new visitors to follow your account.
Most people read your bio only the first time they visit your profile. Your bio is the first impression you give to new viewers and should accurately convey the message you want to share.
Deciding what information to include
Before you start writing your bio, choose at least two or three key aspects of your life to highlight, such as the example shown in Figure 1-4. These should be traits that will connect emotionally, in some way, with those you want to attract.
FIGURE 1-4: A well-written bio attracts more followers.
You need to determine the voice and style of your bio. If you’re the next Amy Schumer, your Instagram bio should reflect that irreverent, hilarious style through words and relevant emojis. In contrast, if your identity is more straitlaced and serious, your bio shouldn’t be silly and humorous.
Even if your profile is meant to connect with friends and family, sharing your personality and purpose in the bio helps clarify that to people who may find you.
The Instagram bio is limited to 150 characters, including spaces. The bio is designed to be one single paragraph of information, but you can use formatting techniques to add spaces and line breaks.
Because Instagram was designed to be used on a mobile device, it’s best to format your bio on a mobile device so that you retain the correct alignment.
Make use of emojis and symbols from your mobile device’s keyboard to create visual appeal in your bio. To add emojis, open the emoji keyboard on your mobile device — just tap the smiley-face icon at the bottom of your keyboard.
Instagram is a visual platform, and having emojis in the bio helps yours stand out from other users’. You have many emojis to choose from. If the traditional funny face and cartoonish emojis don’t translate to your style, use simple emoji symbols such as squares, diamonds, triangles, and arrows to add color and visual content without detracting from your professional style.
Formatting your bio
You can edit or create your bio by tapping the Edit Profile button in your Instagram profile. On the Edit Profile screen (refer to Figure 1-2), go to the Bio field and insert the text for your bio. Save any changes when you’re finished.
Android users can format a bio completely in Instagram. If you want to include line breaks and spacing, tap the Return or Enter key (on the keyboard of your mobile device) at the end of the line. Make sure that you don’t have an extra space after the final character on the line and that the last character on the line is not an emoji. If you have an extra space or an emoji as the final character, the space breaks you inserted with the Return or Enter key do not appear in your published text.
iOS users can format a bio in Instagram, but line breaks are not retained. Instead, it’s best to open the Notes app on your device and use it to craft your bio description, including all formatting. Then copy the bio, open Instagram again, select Edit Profile, and paste the description in the Bio field. As with Android users, you must ensure that no extra space appears after the final character on the line and that the last character on the line is not an emoji.
You can edit and rewrite your bio as often as you want. We recommend reviewing your bio every six months to verify that the information is still accurate and relevant.
Considering layouts for your bio
Instagram has traditionally had the profile photo on the left side of the profile and the bio directly beneath it. As Instagram has added more features, like Reels and Story Highlights, the profile section has gotten longer and taken up more space. To alleviate this problem, Instagram began truncating the bios with a “… more” link as shown in Figure 1-5. Tapping the “… more” link opens the full bio.
FIGURE 1-5: The “more” link in the bio appears just above the website link.
Adding a web address to your bio
Most people use web addresses in their bios when they’re using their Instagram profiles for business purposes. But there may be occasions where you want to share a website link even on your personal profile.
Perhaps you want to send people to your YouTube videos, your personal gallery of photos on Flickr, or a reservation link for an upcoming party. In any of these situations, or others, you can include the URL for that destination in the link location in your bio.
The only place that you can place a clickable link on Instagram is in the bio and in stories. You can’t include clickable links in regular posts. If you have any reason to send people to a website link, you need to place that link here in the bio.
From the Edit Profile button on your Instagram profile, there is the option to list a URL link. Simply copy and paste or type the link address in this field.
You can update or change your URL as frequently as you like. You may 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 or simply delete it if you don’t have anything to drive traffic to.
On a personal profile, you don’t get Instagram analytics regarding how many people clicked the link in your bio. If you want to use this feature for business and drive traffic for your business, you should upgrade to a business profile on Instagram (see the next section, “Taking Advantage of a Business Profile Upgrade”).
Taking Advantage of a Business Profile Upgrade
In late 2016, Instagram introduced business profiles. Before this feature rollout, 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 contact buttons that make it easy for your customers to email you, call you, order food, book an appointment, reserve a table, or get directions to your location
- An industry listing that informs visitors 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
You’re allowed only one clickable link (in your bio). The contact button feature means people can call, text, or email you, or get directions to your business location, providing you additional ways to connect directly with your customers and close more sales!
To upgrade to a business profile, do the following:
- Log in to Instagram on your mobile device and tap Edit Profile.
- Tap the Switch to Professional Account option (see Figure 1-6).
- Choose Business and follow the prompts to select your Category and email contact info.
- If you have a Facebook page to connect your account to, select it from the Pages you’re logged into. If you don’t have a Facebook page, tap Don’t Connect to Facebook Now.
Update or add information as necessary.
For example, if your information does not populate a phone number but you would like to include the Call contact button, you can add your phone number to that field in the Contact Options screen.
You can edit this information at any time in case you want to add or delete a contact option later.
Save your information.
Tap the check mark in the upper-right corner of the Contact Options screen.
FIGURE 1-6: Upgrade to a business profile by selecting the Switch to Professional Account option.
Your Instagram account is now set up as a business profile! After upgrading your account, your new business profile appears to anyone visiting your profile.
Even though you have these additional features as a business profile, your profile characteristics, such as your username, name, bio, and URL, remain the same.
Instead of a Business account, you can also opt to have a Creator account. This type of account has similar features to a Business account, including options for insights and analytics, but does not currently cooperate with third-party tools, so you won’t be able to use a scheduling tool or social media management tool to manage your Instagram account if you have a Creator account. Instagram gears its Creator account to content creators, public figures, photographers, artists, and influencers.
Modifying Your Account Privacy Settings
When you set up a new Instagram account, it defaults to a public account, meaning anyone on Instagram can find you and see your content. Many Instagram users are okay with this, but if you want to keep your account more private, you can.
When your account is private, other users are able to see your username, name, profile photo, and bio, but they can’t see any of your posts.
To edit your privacy settings, follow these steps (see Figure 1-7):
- Go to your Instagram profile and tap the three-line button in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Settings at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap the toggle button for the option to make your account private.
When you make these changes, anyone who is currently following you doesn’t see anything different on your profile, but anyone who is not currently following you can no longer see your account posts. If someone wants to follow you, they need to request to follow you. You receive that request, and you can approve or deny that person the ability to follow you.
FIGURE 1-7: Making your account private.