Can I add a link to my Instagram posts?
Instagram is a hugely popular social networking site these days, with more than a billion monthly users and more than half a billion people using it on a daily basis. Because of Instagram’s popularity and reach, many people would like to put links to URLs in their Instagram posts, whether to promote their personal blog, their business website or just to post links to web pages that they like.
However, Instagram has steadfastly pursued a no-clickable-link policy: you can put any text you want in an Instagram post, but the service will not make the text display as a clickable link. Users are allowed one and only one clickable link, and that link has to be on their profile page.
Instagram users can, and often do, share links by cutting and pasting text links in captions and comments, but there is no direct linking allowed in Instagram. If you paste a link into a post, your followers have to copy and paste the link into their web browser address bar.
Why doesn't Instagram allow clickable links?
As frustrating as it is, Instagram has a very good reason for limiting linking. Once upon a time, users could include links in captions and comments. However, this function was heavily abused with link spamming in comments and frequent hacking and misusing of profiles. Instagram has since taken a firm stance against excessive self-promotion.
Instagram reacted to the abuse of their platform by banning clickable links altogether.
Is there a work-around to Instagrams clickable link restriction?
Yes and no. If you are an individual with a casual blog or website and no interest in spending money to get your link out there, you’ll need to settle for having your blog link on your Instagram profile.
If you’re concerned that your followers won’t know about the link unless they visit your profile page, include a call to action in your caption that directs them to your page to find your blog and a website link. Obviously, this isn’t ideal because it requires a couple of steps from the follower, but it’s better than nothing.
You could also try to make it easier on your followers to copy and paste your link from your caption by making it a shortened URL There are a number of URL shortening services out there such as Bitly and Firebase.
Yes, if you use a URL shortening service, your follower will still need to take the initiative to copy and paste your links, but a shorter link will look a bit easier and more inviting.
The only true workaround is to spend money on Instagram advertising. If you have a business and think you could benefit from advertising on Instagram, you can promote your posts as a paid advertisement. Paid advertisements on Instagram can include clickable links.
What about companies that promise workarounds?
Some companies like Linkin.bio and Link My Photos promise to get working links into posts or to fashion Instagram profile pages that can support multiple links.
However, these services cost money and are typically marketed to companies that want the capability to support regular self-promotion without always purchasing Instagram ads.
Fine, how do I advertise on Instagram?
If you are interested in creating a linked advertisement, go to Instagram’s advertising page. You can create stories ads, photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, or collection ads.
There are three ways you can purchase Instagram ads. You can just select the posts you want to promote and promote them., you can use the Facebook Ad manager, or you can use the Instagram Partners program to get help with your Instagram advertising.
Contact us for more information if you would like to advertise your business on Facebook or Instagram.
