Did you know that you can drive traffic to your website from Instagram – which means that you will need to place or rather, share links on Instagram?
But Instagram being Instagram, there are not many places on where you can share your links – well, that’s what you thought, right? Not any more – even on Instagram, there are ways on how you can share your links.
Adding a link to the Instagram Bio
Of course, if you have long been a user of Instagram, then, you will know that Instagram Bio is the only space where anyone can share a clickable link. This clickable link – think of this link as a home link, and it will be there for anyone who happens to visit the profile.
Many users use this ‘home link’ in several ways – while some links to a specific blog post, others link to their mobile site, and there are many who links to the latest product in their e-commerce store. Despite all of the above-mentioned ways, there are a group of people who links it to their primary website.
Making use of link service to show off multiple links
When Instagram first launched, it very soon became popular with the marketers, and then, link services came into existence. But only after a few years, their popularity decreased.
But today, they are back – combined with much-needed features and a clean and simple user interface, you can opt for the renowned link service ‘LinkTree’ – with this service, you can add as many clickable links as you want, and then, add the URL of your profile to the ‘home link’ on Instagram Bio.
What’s more – you can even choose any style and color palette for ‘LinkTree’ that best represent you and your brand and matches with your Instagram feed.
Sharing short links in Instagram post captions
Just because you can’t add clickable links in the captions on Instagram, it doesn’t mean that you are not going to.
Heard of ‘link-shortening services’ like BitLy? They can shorten any links – no matter how long or short it is. On Instagram, write the caption as you would usually do – and then add the shortened link after the caption. And don’t simply add the link – you should write a clear description for the shortened link. That said, even if you decide to add a shortened link in your Bio or Stories, you will still need to add a clear description that will guide people on what the link is about – so that, if they so desire, they can copy the link and access the content.
Adding links to your Instagram Stories
Did you know that you can add links in your Instagram Stories?
Yes, you can and should do that – Instagram Stories are a great way to connect with your followers, think seasonal events, flash sales, limited sales promotions.
That said, if you plan to include a link in your Instagram Stories, you should do well to remember that the Instagram Stories vanishes after 24 hours, so, you will have only a day to catch the attention of your followers; and visitors won’t get that much time to react, so, you should give a clear CTA – to do that, you can make use of stickers and GIFs to point to the link that you have shared in the Instagram Story.
Creating links in Instagram Shoppable Posts
Did you know that you can make use of Shoppable Posts on Instagram to get traffic to your website? The ‘Shoppable Posts’ are pure examples of highly specific links, and though one shoppable post can link to only one product (and a physical one, at that, and only in a selected set of countries), the shoppable posts are known as the most targeted conversion routes.
To make use of ‘Shoppable Posts’ on Instagram, you will at first, need to create a product catalog on Facebook and upload all of the available products, complete with shopping links, photos, and descriptions, and after which, you can add shopping tags to your Instagram posts.
The ‘shopping tab’ will appear next to the standard tabs of your profile grid, and will contain individual photos, as well as tagged photos – click on this tab and it will show you the full product catalog.
Promoting links in Instagram Posts and Stories
If you are a business brand on Instagram, then, you must have an Instagram Business profile – and you know what, you can use your profile to promote posts and stories.
But did you know that you can add clickable links to your captions of the posts – the only caveat is that you have to pay for the posts? Yes, that’s right – you can share clickable links on your Instagram posts, provided you pay for them!
Adding links in Instagram Direct Messages
Did you know that you can even share links through Instagram Direct Messages?
When followers will reach out to you, you can welcome them by sending out an Instagram DM (set up quick replies for that – you don’t want to type out a new message every time someone joins your brand!) – and add to that, a clickable link (it can be anything from coupons to rewards to discounts), the new followers will thank you for treating them as valuable individuals, and will turn to be your most loyal customers.
Sharing links in IGTV Descriptions
Video content from Instagram is not going anywhere soon, and hence, Instagram offers link capabilities on IGTV – with this feature, it makes possible for you to add links in the description of any IGTV post.
Though you should remember one thing that the users will have to expand the description to see what’s mentioned in the caption, so, if you plan to share a link in the caption, you will need to mention about it in the IGTV video itself.
What’s the conclusion?
As of now, Instagram is a powerful marketing tool, but on the other hand, it is constantly changing and evolving – and sharing links, it has been one of the major obstacles that many marketers face on Instagram.
Simply adding a link in the profile bio is not enough – you will need to mention about it in the caption, then add profile buttons, stories, ads and may even have to cross-post from other networks to direct them there. It is for this reason that it’s very important to know how to share links on Instagram and make the best use of it for you and your brand.