What To Include In Your Link-In-Bio
AND WHY YOU SHOULDN’T USE A LINKTREE*
What’s your link-in-bio? That URL you attach to your social media bio that takes people where you want them to go. Technically it could be anything: your online shop, an Amazon wishlist, your Venmo account, literally anything with a link. If you’ve got a small business or treat your instagram as a personal brand, you want to be strategic with your link-in-bio. You’ll see a lot of people use Linktree for theirs. Which is fine…but maybe we could do better.
This blog will not slander Linktree. It’s is an amazing resource if you have a bunch of links that you want to direct your audience towards. If you’ve written blogs, been featured in podcasts, or want to provide links to products you’ve recommended to your audience, it’s a great way to organize all of those links. But if you have your own website, you shouldn’t be using Linktree.
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE A LINKTREE*
*If you have your own website
If you have your own website, you probably give a little bit of a shit about SEO. While there are a ton of things that impact your SEO, let’s focus on two things for now: traffic and bounce rate. Traffic is quite explanatory. The more people that come to your site, the better. If you’re utilizing Linktree, you’re missing out on all of the traffic that could be going to your site. By creating your own link-in-bio page, you can keep that traffic for yourself.
Bounce rate is when someone gets to your site and leaves before engaging. For example, if they make it to your homepage and click on your services, it’s not a bounce. But if they click on your site and leave without engaging, you’ve increased your bounce rate. A high bounce rate negatively impacts your SEO. An easy way to make sure people click through at least one page on your website? A link-in-bio page. By creating your own link-in-bio page, your audience will first click on your link-in-bio URL and then one of your other URLs that you’ve added to that page, whether that’s an inquiry form or your homepage or latest blog post.
And there we have two very good reasons to create your own link-in-bio. Another that’s probably less important in the scheme of things but I care about most? You can brand that shit. Using your own website to design your link-in-bio gives you a lot more freedom to actually customize the fonts, colors, and imagery. Since my business is branding, I give quite a shit about this one. Now the question becomes: what do you include in your link-in-bio?
FIRST TELL YOUR AUDIENCE THEY’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE
This may feel unnecessary but let’s say someone finds your instagram profile and hardly knows anything about you. They click on your link-in-bio URL first and want to know more. Use this opportunity to both make your first impression and let them know they’re in the right place. If you can think of something clever I always recommend it because suddenly the world is filled with boring AI content. If not, here’s a simple equation I like to use:
WHAT YOU DO +
WHO YOU DO IT FOR +
HOW IT WILL HELP THEM
I like this because it speaks directly to your audience and keeps the focus on them. Most people tend to write really self-obsessed copy. You’re proud of what you do, and that’s great, but you’re not really the point. Your audience is. Let them know how you can help them.
A FREE LINK IF YOU’VE GOT IT
People love free shit. I recognize that it’s not always possible to include something inherently free but try to think outside of the box. Find something that gets people through your door and maybe on an email newsletter thread. For me, it’s my Free Branding Checklist. For you, it might be a Free Injury Screen. Or a Free Discovery Call. A Free Course. A Free Download with your go to exercises or stretches. I don’t know, get creative.
FOLLOW UP WITH THE REST OF YOUR LINKS
Go crazy here. I really can’t tell you what links you have but consider your services, an inquiry form, your latest blog post, a podcast appearance, the option to subscribe to a newsletter, any upcoming events you want to promote, a course or download you’ve created, literally anything you can think of. Anything you’d put on a Linktree. But make it yours and customize your fonts and colors please and thank you.
LET PEOPLE GET TO KNOW YOU
As we talked about earlier, sometimes people find your account and click on your link-in-bio without knowing much about you. This is the perfect opportunity to tell them. Nothing long or heavy, just a quick little elevator pitch with a bit of personality to let your new audience get to know you. And I mean actually get to know you. It’s cool that you have your doctorate but so do all of the other PTs so that’s lame. What sets you apart? Or catches someone’s eye? Find something that keeps it interesting and then always always always bring it back to how you can help your audience.
PROVIDE MORE DETAILS
This could be anything. For me, it’s a list of my services to make sure you know what I have to offer. Maybe yours is also a list of the services you offer. Or it could be your treatment philosophy or a list of FAQs that you often receive. You could detail your involvement in the community or highlight one of your patients. Testimonials work too. Choose whatever feels right for you and what you think your audience values most.
A WAY TO CONTACT YOU
If you have a business number and email, it goes here. If you have a physical location, it goes here. If you don’t want to give that information away and instead provide an inquiry form for people to submit their information, it goes here.
FINALLY, GET THAT SHIT ONLINE
So how do you make your own link-in-bio? Simply create an unlinked page (AKA it doesn’t show up on your website header), change the URL to www.yourdomain.com/link-in-bio, and then throw that URL in your social media account. Of course, you make it pretty with your images, logos, colors, and fonts, but this page serves as the gateway between social media and your website. Most importantly? Optimize it for a phone. The majority of people will click on this link from their phone so don’t forget to make the phone layout as pretty as the desktop layout.
And that’s it. Go forward and make your fully customized link-in-bio and keep that traffic for yourself. Throw any questions you might have below and if you’re interested in a Squarespace website, there’s a handy little inquiry button below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
ERIN KELLY-SULLIVAN
When you bring someone in to help with your business you really want them to understand your needs. My time as a PT gives me that background to truly understand your business, your target audience, and the field. If you want to work with someone who gets you, my specialty is helping fellow physical therapists, strength coaches, and anyone in the health and performance field reach their branding goals.
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