If you’re planning to start with influencer marketing on Instagram it’s good to know where links can be shared on Instagram on both your profile, posts and stories. 5 tips + 1 PRO tip 😉
#1 Add a link to your Instagram bio
The most popular and simplest way to share a link on Instagram is via your bio. Regardless of whether you have a personal or branded account, you can always share a clickable link here. Some brands share a link to their home page here, while others update their link regularly (e.g. to their latest blog post). If you want to send followers to multiple destinations with just one bio link, check out Linktree… Here’s our Linktree to give you an idea on how it works.
#2 Add a link to your caption
Unfortunately it’s still not possible to include clickable links in your caption. Don’t let this stop you from sharing a link anyway. But, if you do so, use a link shortening service like TINY or Bitly. These services make it easier for your followers to remember and copy the link.
#3 Add a link to your story
Some brands can include a so-called swipe-up link to their Instagram story. Stories are visible for 24 hours, which makes them great for sharing links to time sensitive content about temporary promotions, giveaways, events etcetera.
To have access to this feature, you need more than 10,000 followers and/or be verified.
#4 Add a link to shoppable posts and stories
As with swipe-up links, links to shoppable posts and stories are highly specific. Each link directs to a specific product. Note that the product has to be physical! Using these links requires a product catalog in Facebook.
#5 Add link to promoted posts and stories
If you have an Instagram business profile it is possible to promote posts and stories. Not only does this gives you the opportunity to reach a bigger audience, you can also add a clickable links to the caption of your posts or story. Something that isn’t possible with organic posts or stories.
PRO TIP – Track all your links (not just on Instagram)
With Instagram insights you can check how many people click your links, but that’s about it. If you want to know more (e.g. what happens on your website after the link click, how long do visitors from Instagram stay on your website), then it’s time to set up UTM tags.
With UTM tags you add additional information to your link, this additional information can be found in your Google Analytics account. At Honest London, we always use the tool Campaign URL builder from Google itself, this tool makes it super easy to add the extra information.
The tool provides 6 fields of which 4 are required:
1. Website URL: The full website URL / link (e.g. https://www.honestlondon.co.uk) 2. Campaign source: The referrer (e.g. Instagram) 3. Campaign medium: Marketing medium (e.g. Instagram post, Instagram story) 4. Campaign name: Product, promo code, slogan (e.g. summer sale) 5. Campaign term: Identify the paid keywords (e.g. links on Instagram) 6. Campaign content: Used to differentiate ads (e.g. celebrity vs. product)
The first 4 fields are required, the rest are optional. From now on, always use UTM tags for your digital marketing campaigns. It’ll make the analysing much easier and valuable.