How to Build a Killer Instagram Profile

Whether you are a big brand or a new kid on the block, Instagram is the ultimate place to be.

Primarily a photo sharing platform, Instagram is loved for its colorful perspectives and artistic textures. The artistic aesthetics and creative possibilities make Instagram the most happening social media platform today.

However, it is not easy to compete with world-class photographers, artists, amazing architecture, vivid portraits, beautiful fashion, bikini models, incredible landscapes, and rare behind-the-scenes photos of celebrities like Taylor Swift.

Before you jump into action, check out this Instagram guide to build a killer profile on Instagram.

Let’s get started.

Optimize Your Profile

You may have read other Instagram guides on building a successful account. While most of them emphasize creating a killer bio to gain new followers, very few explain how to do it.

This mini Instagram guide is meant to answer that question. When setting up your Instagram profile, it is important to write a bio that is short and to the point.
Your bio should include three main facts:

Who are you?
What do you do?
Why should people follow or trust you?

For instance, your bio may be something like:

“A gluten-free food enthusiast! Professional Chef, as featured in ”bon appetit” food magazine. Follow for quick and little known recipes that you can try at home!”

Here are some more tips to optimize your bio:

Fit in a few relevant emojis – A good Instagram guide will always talk about the importance of using emojis to make your bio more appealing.
It is more fun to read a bio that has well-placed emojis; it provides a good break from the routine professional day you had at office.
Use bio links – Also include in your bio a link to your personal website, your blog, a landing page, etc. This is a great way to drive traffic to your other business sites or pages that you want people to see. In your posts, you can then invite your followers to check out the link in your bio. Your link could directing followers from your Instagram page to any other ongoing campaign that you may want to promote.
Add a bio photo – Whether you are a business or are using Instagram for personal branding, a profile pic helps you get genuine followers.

In fact, this is a must that every Instagram guide should include. People like interactions with real people more than company logos. So, show your pretty face and let people discover the beautiful you.

The below Instagram profile is a perfect example of a killer bio.

2. Identify Your Niche

The second step fors building a killer Instagram profile is identifying your niche and the audience that you are looking to impress.

For example, if you are a professional fashion photographer and you aim to grow your fan following on Instagram, your niche is “professional fashion photographers.”

So when users come across your profile, they will judge you by the photos you post. Then they will compare your profile with other fashion photographers on Instagram to decide whom to follow.

On the other hand, if your aim is to just create funny and engaging stories to entertain your audience, then you don’t have to worry as much about amazing photos in your profile.

Such niches are based on the reactions and funny responses of followers rather than the quality of your photos.

@thefatjewish is a good example for such a niche. This Instagram account is known for making people laugh by funny posts, and so users follow this account to read humorous content.

It is therefore critical for you to research your niche and keep abreast of what is trending in your industry. Which type of posts are a hit and which posts are failing?

Ultimately, this research will help you to understand your audience’s expectations so you can create great content

3. Create the Perfect Post

Now that you know your niche, start crafting creative posts. This Instagram guide is the perfect recipe for a successful post. A good post could be of various types.

If your niche is portrait photography, post cool selfies and portraits with engaging captions.
You may try square shots as these are visually appealing and work well on a imagery platform like Instagram.
Use photo editing tools to create a unique image that forces people to stop and look at your post.
You could also use staged shots if your niche is around fashion, fitness, and lifestyle themes.

Once you are done with your photo shoots, work on crafting the caption. Yes, this is equally important as it leads to your main story.

There is a common belief that Instagram can’t handle long stories or posts. But this Instagram guide works differently.

It’s important to use your caption to tell the complete story; short or long. It doesn’t matter, as long as it captures people’s attention.

Share in your caption what led to your photo shoot or narrate the whole journey of how you became a fitness expert from being an obese housewife.

Share the new veggie recipe that you stumbled upon and got great results. Or show them how to cook that at home.

Your captions should provide some useful or interesting content to grab the attention of your followers.

Now that you got their attention, what’s the next step?

Direct them to your bio link, similar topics on your personal blog, or your YouTube videos.
Add your email so that people can find and contact you on other social platforms and anywhere that you have a presence.
Add your signature with relevant hashtags, a persuasive call-to-action, etc.

Check the example below for a classic Instagram post.