If you’re one of the more than 25 million businesses on Instagram, you’re well aware of the limitations of the Instagram bio. You have to achieve a lot in a very limited amount of space, telling people what you do and how customers can reach you while also putting your brand’s personality on display and encouraging visitors to take action.

How do small businesses achieve so much with so little? With these five tips for optimizing your bio, you’re sure to achieve maximum impact and Instagram success.

1. Include the Basics

Start with the basics by updating your Instagram bio with a profile photo (usually logo), pertinent business info, including your username, business name, website, category, and contact options. Then, make sure that your business category and contact options are actually viewable by going to Edit Profile > Display Options. That way, a customer can click and call or tap your brick-and-mortar address to get directions to your store.

2. Get to the Point

With only 150 characters, you have to be super clear and concise about what you do and who you do it for. Use a formula like “We provide [service/product] for [customer type].” Then, add in a brand tagline or phrase that embodies your company. For example, @Allbirds does a great job explaining its brand and point of view quickly and concisely:

3. Embrace Emojis

A clever way to maximize limited bio space is to use emojis to fill out your bio. If you’re worried about looking unprofessional, a study by social media analytics company Quintly found that emojis actually elicit more interaction on Instagram, so you can’t go wrong with some relevant, on-brand emojis.

• In the flower business?
• Local hardware store? ‍♀️
• Purveyor of costumes? ‍♂️ ‍♀️

Check out how Instagram Expert @elisedarma uses emojis to enhance her bio:

4. Leverage Hashtags

Pop a branded hashtag or two in your bio and write “Use #brandhasthag to be featured” to encourage fan engagement and participation. Once your fans start to create content with your hashtag, you can repost and use that content to build brand awareness and loyalty. Here’s some inspiration from @enlightpixaloop:

5. Maximize Your Website Link

Many businesses don’t know when you post a link in your captions, users can’t click on it! (What’s up with that Instagram?) It’s a frustrating experience for your fans when you say “Shop here:” with a link that they can’t click on. It’s equally frustrating to update the lone clickable bio link with a new link every time you caption a post with “link in bio.”

The solution: Use an app like Linktree or Link in Bio from Later to maximize the amount of links in your bio. With these apps, you can post a single URL in your bio that has links to your website, blog, Facebook page, shop, LinkedIn, crowdfunding campaign, and more. You can even customize your Linktree URL to match your branding.

Action Items:

1. Update your Instagram bio with the basics listed above in tip #1 (profile photo, business info etc.)
2. Write out your bio! Make the most of your 150 character limit by following tips #2, #3 & #4 above.
3. Update your website link – consider using an app that enables you to use one URL with multiple links.