Is the concept of the business biography a fairly recent innovation? Perhaps so. Think back to 20 years ago: We may have had investor profiles and other forms of written marketing collateral, but nothing like the sheer number of business bios we have today. In fact, between your company’s LinkedIn bio, its Facebook bio, its Twitter bio, and its Google+ bio—to say nothing of your website’s ‘About Us’ page—you probably have more bios than you know what to do with!
The question is, are they any good? The bios you have on each of your social channels ultimately reflect your company’s values, its priorities, and the benefits it can offer to clients—or at least, they should. That’s what makes it so important for your business to have a unique bio for each of these different social channels: Ultimately, prospective customers are going to look at these bios to get a feel for what your brand is all about.
Whether you’re just now writing social media bios for the first time or refining the ones you have, here are five tips that might make the process more effective:
- To begin with, focus on value. We’ve said this before, in other contexts, but it warrants repeating here: Your customers don’t really care that much about the whole long and detailed history of your company. They really care about what’s in it for them. So, while you might think of your bio as being mostly about you, you really shouldn’t: It should be just as much about your customer, the benefits they receive when they do business with you, and the reasons they should pick you over your competitors.
- Your bio should be a reflection of your business, but, more specifically, it should be a reflection of your company’s social media presence. In other words, you need to reflect the topics you post or tweet about. If your company is a property management or real estate company but you mostly post homeowner tips and insights, make note of it in your bio. Explain the value you’re trying to add to the consumer experience, through your social media posts.
- To some extent, it’s smart to keep things friendly and personal. That doesn’t mean professionalism goes out the window, and LinkedIn is somewhat of an exception here, but remember that this is social media. You’re allowed to be reasonably brief, conversational, and welcoming. In fact, we encourage it.
- Avoid empty words. We’ve made extensive note of this elsewhere. The long and short of it: There’s no need to pad your bios with meaningless buzzwords or business clichés. Convey specific value, and make it clear what sets your brand apart.
- Finally, for your Facebook and Google+ bios in particular, make sure to include some contact information. Yes, there are separate fields for this, but it never hurts to put your website URL and phone number right there in the bio field.
To learn more about the art of crafting a solid social media bio—or to inquire about outsourcing this important task—we invite you to contact Grammar Chic today: Call 803-831-7444, or visit www.grammarchic.net.
Amanda E. Clark founded Grammar Chic in 2008. She is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and holds degrees in Journalism, Political Science, and English. She launched Grammar Chic after freelancing for several years while simultaneously leading marketing and advertising initiatives for several Fortune 500 companies.