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Wondering how to create swipeable Instagram Stories links?
In this article, you’ll discover how to add links to your Instagram stories and find ways to incorporate story links into your Instagram marketing.
Who Has Access to Adding Links in Instagram Stories?
Like many marketing features on Instagram, clickable links in stories were rolled out first to verified accounts. In May 2017, however, Instagram began quietly expanding this feature to more marketers on the platform. Clickable stories links are now also available to business profiles (not personal profiles) that have over 10,000 followers on Instagram.
There doesn’t appear to be any geographic restrictions to clickable stories links, and as the feature gains in popularity and usage, we can hope Instagram will continue to roll this feature out to even more users.
Adding a link to your Instagram story is easy to do in just a few quick steps!
#1: Start Your Instagram Story
You can take an image or video directly within the Instagram Stories app or swipe up on the Story screen to import any image taken within the last 24 hours.
#2: Add the Link URL
To add your link, click on the chain link icon at the top of your story.
A new window will appear on your screen, allowing you to input the link destination of your choice. Type in the complete URL address and tap on the green check mark (on Android) or “Done” (on iOS) to save the link.
Instagram Story analytics do not currently track URL clicks, so to measure your traffic and conversions, you’ll want to use a link that you can track separately. I recommend you use a link shortener such as Bit.ly or Rebrand.ly to create a shortened URL you can track metrics with.
Once you’ve successfully linked a URL to your story, the chain link icon will appear highlighted to indicate your story has a link.
#3: Continue Editing Your Story
Add any other content including text, stickers, and filters to your story, then upload it to your profile as you would any other story.
I highly recommend you include a call to action (CTA) in your story text to direct your viewers to access the link. Common CTAs include “Swipe up to see more” or “Tap ‘See More’ to visit our website.”
How Your Followers Can View Your Story With a Link
When people on Instagram view one of your story posts that includes a link, they’ll see the See More option at the bottom of the screen.
While the See More prompt is clearly visible, some viewers may not notice it if they aren’t looking for it. Less-frequent users of Instagram may not even know to look for it, which is why it’s prudent to include a CTA as shown in the figure above.
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Effective Ways to Use Links In Your Instagram Stories
Given that adding links to stories is currently the only way to add a specific link to any single post on Instagram, marketers may get over-zealous and add too many links too frequently.
Depending on the number of posts in your full story, you may want to include one or two posts with clickable links to the entire story collection. For example, if your story is a series of three or four posts, only one should have the link. If your story has six to eight posts, you can include the link in two of those posts.
And remember, not every story collection needs to include a link. As a marketer, you must ensure that the link you provide adds value and context to your story in a way that benefits the viewer.
Here are a few creative ways to add links to your stories and benefit your viewers:
Drive Traffic to Your Blog Posts
If you incorporate a blog into your marketing strategy, you know the value of sharing that new blog post in as many places as possible. With links in Instagram Stories, not only can you alert people to the fact that you have a new blog post up, but you can include a link directly to that blog post.
Complete Your Tutorial or DIY Stories
If you’re using Instagram Stories to share tutorials or DIY tips with your audience, you may want to include a link to your website, with the complete instructions, at the end of the story.
For example, if you share a recipe with your audience, the first post may be the finished dish, the next couple of posts would show scenes from the preparation process, and the final post in the story could show the plated dish with a call to action to Swipe Up to get the complete recipe from your website.
Unveil Exclusive Content
A creative way to use story URLs is to tease your audience with something they want to see more of.
Zach King shared an Instagram story to announce the winners of a recent contest, but viewers had to swipe up to see the list of winners on a page on his website.
This tactic also works well to reveal exclusive information, sneak peeks at new products or projects, or bloopers from a recent video shoot. Get creative in your approach to teasing your audience!
Promote Your Products or Services
Of course, if you have a product or service to promote, you’ll want to share that to your Instagram stories. Like most social media tactics, this is perfectly acceptable when used in moderation. Not every story should be used to promote a product or service.
If you do choose to use clickable links in stories to promote your products, you should also use links for some of the other tactics listed here. This ensures that your audience won’t assume you’re selling to them every time they see a link in your story.
If you’re going to promote a product or service or do a promotional campaign, keep it fun and styled similarly to how your stories typically appear.
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Conclusion
This clickable link feature has been highly anticipated by many marketers who’ve been looking for more ways to drive traffic from Instagram. When used effectively and creatively, marketers who have access to this feature will definitely be able to increase website traffic.
What do you think? Are you excited to use clickable links in your Instagram stories? Or have you already? Please share your thoughts or lessons learned in the comments below.
