What Facebook’s New Link Rules Mean for Your 2026 Strategy

Are you frustrated that your Facebook posts with links barely get any reach? Wondering how Meta's latest changes will affect your ability to drive traffic to your website?

In this article, you'll discover what Facebook's new link posting limits mean for your strategy, how Meta's $2 billion AI acquisition will impact your marketing, and why Meta just released professional audio editing tools.

#1: Facebook Tests Link Posting Limits for Non-Verified Professional Accounts

Facebook has been quietly discouraging link posts for years. According to Facebook's widely viewed content report, only 2% of the platform's most viewed posts include links. Mari Smith explains that this has been a trend marketers have worked around for at least eight years.

The platform even started adding notifications directly in the composer, telling users they might get more reach if they didn't include a link. Now Meta is making this preference official by testing strict limits on link posting for non-verified accounts.

The company wants to keep people on their platforms rather than sending them elsewhere. This isn't surprising, given that Meta's business model relies on keeping users engaged within its ecosystem, where it can serve ads and collect data.

Meta is currently testing a system that limits professional users and Pages to 2 links per month unless they subscribe to Meta Verified. The subscription costs between $14.99 and $500 per month, depending on the tier.

The restriction applies to links in the actual post body. Users can still share unlimited links in the comments section without any limitations.

The Real Motivation Behind Link Limits

Mari describes this move as a revenue play for Meta. She points out that the company has ramped up advertising for Meta Verified across Facebook and Instagram feeds, using case studies and testimonials to promote the service.

These ads include disclaimers noting that results are self-reported and may vary. Mari notes she has yet to encounter anyone who enthusiastically recommends Meta Verified as worthwhile, though she acknowledges this is just her personal observation.

The timing is strategic. Meta is pushing this change while simultaneously promoting its verification service, creating a pain point for users who want to post links with reach, then offering to solve it for a monthly fee.

How Meta Verified Actually Works for Links

Mari explains that if you don't pay for Meta Verified, you won't necessarily be blocked from posting links. Instead, you'll probably just get no reach at all. Facebook isn't trying to prevent people from making posts; they're just using reach as the lever.

The restriction applies to personal profiles switched to professional mode and to business Pages. Mari confirms that if you pay for the Meta Verified subscription, you can post as many links as you want and get more reach.

Meta Verified Pricing and Benefits

According to the hosts, Meta Verified starts at $14.99 per month per profile. This means you need separate subscriptions for Instagram and Facebook, or for a personal profile and a business Page.

Higher tiers are available at $50, $150, and $500 per month. The premium tiers at $150 and $500 let you request a call with an actual agent, which Mari notes is very different from just doing chat or email support. This can make a difference if you really run into account issues and need human support.

Beyond link posting, the verification badge provides protection against impersonation and what Mari calls a vanity plate that people like to have. Some of the higher-tier plans also allow you to share links in Reels, with the $50 tier offering 2 links, 4 at the next level, and 6 at the $500 per month tier.

Mari's Bottom Line Recommendation

When asked if Meta Verified is worth it for businesses, Mari delivers a mic drop: keep your money and use it on ads instead. She points out that the support is outsourced and not the greatest unless you get lucky.

However, she acknowledges specific scenarios where it might make sense. If you're a creator who gets millions of views on Reels and can include an affiliate link or product link that benefits you, the $50 per month could be valuable. If you have a high-converting landing page and can track that those two allowed links in Reels are driving quality leads and conversions, it might justify the cost.

Otherwise, Mari suggests you could run ads for $50 per month and potentially reach a wider audience.

Alternative Strategies for Driving Traffic

Mari emphasizes that most marketers in the community say they're not going to pay for Meta Verified or limit their links. They're savvy enough to realize the link in comments works just fine.

She recommends several other places to put links. Link in comments works on Pages, profiles, groups, and events. Stories support CTA links, which are always worth testing and experimenting with.

Her number one recommendation is Messenger. Get people into the DMs, because that's what Meta wants with their whole ecosystem on Instagram and Facebook. Use comment triggers and automations to start a dialogue in the DMs, and you can add links there.

Mari mentions that Business AI is currently in beta. Users can check if they have access by going to Meta Business Suite, then All Tools, Engage Audience, and looking for Business AI Beta. This helps handle comments and begin dialogue in the DMs. She notes that, sooner or later, AI in Messenger will serve clients and let you add as many links as you want to inboxes and DMs.

Will Other Platforms Follow?

Mari doesn't think other platforms will copy the link limit approach. She points out that X, LinkedIn, and YouTube all offer paid premium subscriptions with various benefits, such as extra reach or support. But she strongly doubts that other platforms will actually implement link limits.

Marketers have generally accepted that posts with links tend to have lower reach, and they've come up with creative workarounds. Mari doesn't see this becoming a social media-wide strategy to charge people for putting more links in posts.

#2: Meta’s Manus Will Supercharge AI Agent Capabilities

Meta recently acquired Manus, a leader in autonomous AI agents, for $2 billion. This represents twice the size of the Instagram acquisition and is one of Facebook's biggest acquisitions ever, second only to WhatsApp.

What Makes Manus Different

Manus specializes in agents that can actually complete tasks like market research, coding, and data analysis. As Michael Stelzner describes it, when Manus first came out, it opened what looked like a private browser window where you could give it commands and controls, and it would surf the web and do whatever you wanted it to do.

Michael explains the key distinction: ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can go out and get information and report back to you. But the big thing that Manus does that other AI platforms don't is it actually executes workflows. You can teach it to do something, and it will do it.

The Integration Plans

The Manus technology will be integrated into Meta's consumer and business products, including Meta AI. The company plans to continue offering Manus as a standalone service while building its capabilities into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

This type of AI has been called agentic AI. Michael notes that in 2024, major companies such as Salesforce and HubSpot discussed it extensively. The promise was that these AI agents would allow businesses to hire fewer people by doing work nobody else wants to do. However, the reality is these solutions haven't panned out as everyone expected and haven't been adopted by larger businesses as much as hoped.

Mari's Take on the Acquisition

Mari explains the competitive context behind this move. In early 2025, Meta AI was leading the race with its open-source approach. Then they released Llama 4, and it was a bit of a flop.

Mark Zuckerberg is exceedingly competitive, Mari notes, but in the 22 years since the company started, he doesn't ever seem to get a real leg up on the competition and be first to market anymore, even though Meta is the largest social media ecosystem on the planet with 3.5 billion users.

Mari describes Zuckerberg as being in full war mode with DeepSeek, OpenAI, and Google. By acquiring Manus, Meta is clearly trying to catch up and stay competitive in the AI race.

Potential Impact on Marketing

Michael envisions specific use cases for these AI agents within Meta's platforms. He imagines Manus agents handling customer support for Facebook, noting that the promise of agentic AI is solving customer support at scale.

Mari agrees, particularly regarding Messenger. She sees potential for AI to help service clients through Meta's messaging platforms, though she emphasizes these are possibilities rather than confirmed features.

#3: Meta’s SAM Audio Provides Intuitive, Professional-Grade Sound Editing

Meta introduced SAM Audio as an extension of their Segment Anything Model. Mari explains that SAM originally started as a foundation model for computer vision that can identify and separate objects from images and videos, even unseen ones.

You can use text, clicks, or visual prompts to enable applications from real-time video editing to 3D reconstruction and robotics. Meta has since added video, 3D, and, most recently, sound to the SAM playground.

SAM Audio Capabilities

SAM Audio is a powerful tool that can segment audio using text, visual, or time span prompts. It allows users to isolate specific sounds like vocals, instruments, or background noise through different input methods.

Mari describes Meta as encouraging everyone from dabblers and experimenters to full-on professional musicians to experiment with the Segment Anything Playground. The tool is all about content creation.

Why Audio Tools Now?

When Michael questions why Meta would have a tool like this, Mari clarifies that it's for content creation. It's to empower creators of all types and sizes, from brand newbies to professionals, to make content creation easier, more fun, and more engaging.

She draws a parallel to Instagram's Edits app, positioning SAM Audio as another tool Meta is developing to get people to crank out more content and have fun doing it, so they keep coming back to do more.

Michael notes this aligns with a broader industry trend. TikTok made CapCut to make video creation easier. YouTube made the Create app. Apple just announced that it's making all its audio and video tools available for $13 per month.

The Content Creation Strategy

Mari references a lengthy carousel post by Adam Mosseri published on December 31st. In it, he addressed how AI now allows anyone to reproduce anything, but authentic, creator-driven products and raw, real content are going to matter increasingly.

She quotes his key point: AI isn't replacing creators. It's changing what audiences crave. Authentic human content supported by powerful yet accessible tools will be the differentiator going forward.

Mari explains this is what Meta is trying to do. They have the resources and don't want people to go to different platforms, apps, or tools. The Edits app now has its own little ecosystem with a discover tab where you can see Reels.

With SAM Audio, she suggests there may eventually be a subscription model for higher use cases, but right now it's definitely a content tools play.

Platform Benefits

Michael observes that from the platform standpoint, more content creation benefits them directly. If they have a million pieces of content and need to find a thousand for a certain user, they can choose the best thousand. If they have two million pieces of content, they can choose an even better top thousand.

Mari agrees that Meta is providing these tools because better content keeps users on the platform longer and drives more engagement. The company has an incentive to make content creation as easy as possible.

Jerry Potter notes that the more content that's created, the harder it is for marketers to break through. But platforms benefit because they have more high-quality options to serve users.

Other Notes From This Episode

• Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Instagram and @Mike_Stelzner on X.
• Connect with Jerry Potter on LinkedIn and YouTube.
• Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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