05 — Publish / 05.04

Profile optimisation

The profile is where attention becomes a decision.

8 principles4 min read

Examples from

The Jet Business

@thejetbusiness

Someone has just watched a video, liked it, and tapped your name. In the next few seconds they decide whether to follow, message, or leave.

Every element of the profile should make that decision easy. This is the part most businesses ignore, and it is the part that turns views into enquiries.

The examples here are from The Jet Business, a client whose films are on the showreel. Read them as a worked example: the principle is the same in your field, the specifics are yours.

The profile that loses the visitor

Unclear profile imageA distant aircraft that reads as a grey smudge at thumbnail size.
Vague bioLuxury, lifestyle, travel. It does not explain what the business does.
No contact optionsViewers have to message and wait.
No pinned contentThe most important videos are not highlighted.
Inconsistent gridLooks random, not like a brand.

The profile that turns them into an enquiry

Clear brand imageRecognisable at any size, the same on every platform.
Informative bioWhat it does, where it operates, how to get in touch.
Relevant contact optionsWebsite, message and a call option to book.
Helpful highlightsThe business explained in one row of covers.
Strong pinned contentThe three videos that best explain who you are.
Consistent gridEvery cover looks like it belongs to the same brand.

On this page / 9

01Profile image
02Name
03Bio
04Links and contact options
05Pinned content
06Highlights
07Calls to action
08Turning attention into business
—Before you publish your profile

Profile image

The image is seen at the size of a fingernail, next to every comment and in every feed. It has one job: to be recognisable.

Weak

A distant photograph of an aircraft, with sky and tarmac, that reads as a grey smudge when small.

Strong

A clear brand mark, or a clean, well lit photograph of the person the audience will see on camera.

Use the same image on every platform so the account is recognised wherever the content is found.

Name

The name field is searchable. Use the name people would type, and where there is room, what you do.

Instead of

skyaviation_

Try

Horizon Aviation | Private Jet Charter

Someone searching for private jet charter can now find the account by what it does, not only by a name they do not yet know.

Bio

Three lines. What you do, who it is for, where you operate. Then a reason to follow or a reason to get in touch.

Vague

Luxury | Lifestyle | Travel. Living the dream. DM for more info. Worldwide.

Specific

Private jet charter, sales and aircraft management. London · Dubai · New York. Book a flight below.

Specific beats clever. The bio is read by people who have never heard of you; it should answer their first question before they ask it.

Links and contact options

One clear destination. The link should lead to the page that continues what the content promised: a booking page, an enquiry page, a page about the aircraft the video was about.

Turn on every contact option the platform offers

Email
Message
Call, where appropriate
Website

Then open the profile on a phone and test every one of them. A link that leads to a slow, unrelated or broken page ends the journey exactly where it was about to become business.

Pinned content

The three pinned videos are the first thing a new visitor watches. Choose them deliberately.

01
One video that shows what you do
The clearest demonstration of the service, the aircraft, the access.
02
One video that shows what you know
Your strongest educational or authority piece.
03
One video that generated enquiries
Whatever made people get in touch, keep it in front of the next person.

Review the pins every month. When a stronger video arrives, promote it.

Highlights

On Instagram, story highlights are a menu. A new visitor should be able to understand the whole business from the row of covers alone.

For an aviation business, that might be

Aircraft
Charter
Sales
Clients
About
Contact

Use consistent covers, in the brand's colours, with one word each. Refresh them when the content behind them goes stale.

Calls to action

The profile should tell people what to do next, and it should say it once. One primary action, in the bio, matched by the link and the pinned content.

Book a flight
Send an enquiry
Request a quote
Watch the latest tour

Two competing actions halve the result of both.

Turning attention into business

The journey from a viewer to a customer has a fixed shape. Every step should match the one before it.

01
The video
Creates interest in a subject.
02
The profile
Confirms who you are and what you do.
03
The link
Leads to a page about that subject, not the home page.
04
The page
Continues the promise and makes the enquiry easy.
05
The reply
Comes quickly, and sounds like the person in the video.

Reply to comments and messages; they are conversations with people who are already interested. Ask new customers where they found you, and write it down. Over time you will know which videos, and which subjects, actually turn into work.

The aim is to move viewers towards becoming customers without ever breaking the experience that brought them.

Before you publish your profile

Open it on a phone and ask

Call sheet

01Is it obvious what you do within three seconds?
02Would someone know where you operate?
03Is there one clear next step?
04Do the pinned videos represent the business you want to be known for?
05Does the link lead somewhere that matches the content?
06Is the profile image recognisable at the size of a thumbnail?
07Do all the contact options work?

The rule

A viewer arrives with interest. The profile should turn that into a decision.

Make it obvious what you do, who it is for and what to do next.

Got the rule?