The Lesson to Be Learned From This Silly Bio Generator (and 1 Great Tip that Helps Your Bio to Write Itself)
Maybe you heard about this randomized Tumblr, which parodies the tone of so many bios you see across Twitter and Instagram. If not, give it a try! I will wait.
Well, when I saw this, I blushed. That's because my Twitter bio used to be ... enigmatic. At one point, it absolutely did have the word "intersection" in it. Eventually, it said something like:
"Steady hand. Dodgers fan. Ladies man."
So, besides the fact that this bio is twee, there's another reason that this is a dumb way to write a bio.
And learning this lesson is KEY to finding and building your audience.
Because this is my Twitter bio now:
The difference? I watched Amy Schmittauer's video How to Write a Bio that Attracts the Right Following."
Her advice: a good 140-character bio contains
What you do
Why it matters
And (importantly!) what potential followers CAN EXPECT to see you tweet
That last element is so helpful because it really allows the bio to write itself. Many people take Twitter "bio" to mean: cramming my life story and accomplishments into 140 characters. (That is why I gave up after a while and just wrote some random lyrics to a song I like.)
But that is NOT what bio means when it comes to social media profiles. Whatever you write in the bio is searchable, which means, once again, you need to think like your audience.
You should include keywords and hashtags that your potential clients might search for. And once you've popped up in that potential client's search because you included those relevant keywords, the next step is to hook them as a follower by letting them know exactly what to expect.
"I tweet travel tips" or "I answer FAQs about applying for college." Or whatever it is that you do that is of use TO THEM. Take it away, Amy: