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As Liron Segev reported, all Instagram accounts can now link from Instagram Stories. Previously, only users with 10,000 followers or more could.
I tested this from my travel account, which has less than a few hundred followers. And it worked. I was able to add a link in my Story.
How to add a link in your IG Story
Post your picture or video to your story as you normally would, click the button in the top where you can find animations and other assets.
Then scroll down and click on link.
Then enter the link that you want to link to.
For the end-user it looks like this:
Links on Instagram history
In 2016, only verified users and celebrities could link from Instagram. Later that was expanded to accounts with more than 10,000 followers.
Read next: What’s with all the links on social media!
Prior to Story links there were only two ways for most users to link from Instagram:
- From your profile page. That prompted many brands to share pictures in their Instagram feed and say that users should please go to their profile page and click on the link in the profile to read more. I have done that as well but it’s clearly not the best user experience due to the extra steps.
- In sponsored posts. Instagram has always allowed links from promoted posts. I’ve tried them a few times, as mentioned before, and the click through cost is just a little high in my opinion.
When should we add links on Instagram in Stories?
In general across pretty much most social networks, I’ve seen a decline in click through rates. Everyone is sharing their links and everyone wants people to click over to their website, blog or landing page. I get it. I want people to come to my blog too but comparatively fewer people are clicking than let’s say 10 or so years ago.
But links still do have a place in social media story sharing. Here’s a quick guide with things to consider on when to link from your Instagram Story:
- When the click actually makes sense and we’re offering something of additional value to people.
- When there is truly something that’s worth buying or signing up for and that cannot be shared directly on Instagram Stories.
- When we don’t do it all the time. Don’t add a link to every single Instagram Stories post. That can get old before we know it.
- If it works and more more people are participating in Instagram Stories and are clicking on the links brands are likely to participate more and more.
And link or not Instagram Stories still delete automatically after 24 hours.
So there you have it. As much as I recommend that people don’t overdo linking off social media it’s also another way to stay connected with our audiences and communities and offer them more relevant content in addition to what’s posted directly on Instagram Stories. But you can add them to your profile highlights.
Example of great Instagram Stories linking
This New York Times on Instagram Stories is worth sharing as a way to do this:
Interesting story already and I swiped through it. I didn’t even notice the “see more” until I got to the final screen:
The Times built momentum and made her likable enough in a few pictures and with a few tidbits of the story to want me to know more. Much more effective than a typical one-sentence (clickbait) teaser.
I clicked and read. Tell me why they are worried! Of course, not just news organizations can use this technique but all content marketers.
Read next: How should we be using the Instagram Stories highlights feature?
Tell a great story on social media >>> cliffhanger >>> click for more
The key here is that The Times gave us something on the social media network. There was still meat to the story even if you didn’t click.
Even if this new feature won’t bring success to everyone from the get-go it’s still nice to have available.