Pete Davis
CEO, Ampjar
11 Feb, 2020
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Instagram is a great platform for reaching out to new customers and boosting your brand. However, there are some limitations that are a nightmare from a marketing perspective. One of these limitations is the Instagram bio character limit.
The character limit can cause real problems for brands and businesses as it can be really hard to sum up your business and motivate your followers with just 150 characters. But, as with most things, there are a few options you can test out in order to get around the limit.
In this article, we’ll give you some ideas about how to make your Instagram bio longer than 150 characters.
What is the Instagram bio character limit?
As mentioned above, the character limit is 150 characters. However, this doesn’t mean that you can use exactly 150 letters in your Instagram bio, it’s actually much more complicated than that. Let’s take a look at exactly how Instagram calculates the character limit.
Understanding how Instagram calculates characters
When Instagram counts your characters, it registers more than just the amount of letters you use. A ‘character’ actually refers to everything including punctuation, numbers, and most importantly, emojis!
Emojis look great in Instagram bios, but they take up way more space than you would think. All emojis are the equivalent to at least 2 characters but some can be equivalent to 3.
Cutting down on emojis is just one way of maximizing your 150 characters, but there are some other things you can try.
Keep reading to find out how to make your Instagram bio longer!
How to make your Instagram bio longer than 150 characters
The truth is there is no official way to increase or exceed the Instagram bio character limit. However, there are some workarounds that can help you to get your brand message across without exceeding the limit.
Add a link to your bio
If you want your followers to learn more about your business from your bio, the easiest way to do this is to add a link to your bio. The link should direct your followers to a more extensive bio page like ‘About Us’ or ‘Our Story’.
You can also use Instagram link sites like Linktree to give your followers a selection of different links to choose from.
Use posts
Although Instagram has a low character limit for bios, posts have a much higher limit in comparison. In each post, you can use 2,200 characters and you can use this space to help your followers learn more about your brand, and direct them to your bio.
Some Instagrammers update their bio’s and links regularly and direct people towards it using posts. This is an effective method, but it can be time-consuming to update your bio on a regular basis.
Make use of story highlights
Another great way to ‘extend’ your bio is to make use of story highlights. Story highlights are archived versions of the 24-hour stories that you post. You have complete control over which stories you archive and you can even separate them into categories to make it easier for your followers to browse them.
Story highlights appear directly below your bio and can include links to external URL’s. Lots of companies use story highlights to offer followers quick access to product pages and brand information.
Tools to count characters
Sticking to the 150-word limit can be hard, and there’s nothing more frustrating than constantly exceeding the limit and having to rethink your plan. Character counters can make it a lot easier to get it right the first time and we’ve got a few for you to check out:
Final thoughts
The Instagram bio character limit is super annoying, but it doesn’t have to stop you from promoting your brand and effectively driving sales using Instagram. Hopefully, some of the tips in this article will help you to get around the limit and make the most of your business’ Instagram profile.
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