Learn how to easily apply a link to an Instagram Story. This is a great way to boost the depth of the post and help build engagement with your community. Don’t miss out on this critical step.

Social media management isn’t just about posting content everyone desires to view. There are many tips and tricks, as well as technical know-how, to maximize the effectiveness of social media posts, especially with Instagram posts and stories.

Since you’ve spent the time to build out your digital community and following, you want to be able to maximize every single post you make and have it always come with a call to action. Below we’ll look at how to add a link to an Instagram Story.

WHAT ARE INSTAGRAM STORY LINKS?

This is Instagram’s response to helping provide a smoother experience for users when they view Instagram stories. The old way of handling this was that those with verified or business accounts could have a feature where users could swipe up for more. This proved not to be as user-friendly or intuitive as a user touchpoint, so it has since been updated with the ability to add a link on Instagram.

It used to also require 10,000 followers, but as of October 2021, that rule no longer applies, meaning most Instagram users are able to place a link on Instagram through their Instagram story. This develops that uniform process across the board and focuses on the stories themselves, with just the right amount of interaction. Once you look below at just how easy it can be to post a link on Instagram, you’ll be wondering why you haven’t been doing this since it was available.

HOW TO ADD A LINK TO AN INSTAGRAM STORY

So, the big question still is how to add a link to an Instagram Story? Is it difficult? Are there a lot of rules and technical pieces behind it? Not at all. It does take some getting used to, but once you do it the first few times, it starts to be as simple as adding any type of additional content, wording, or stickers on an Instagram Story.

The precursor to posting a link on Instagram: As always, with any social media application, you want to ensure that you have the latest version installed. This may be something common, but often this is the main reason you are unable to add a link on Instagram. Keep in mind this is only possible in the iOS or Android application.

Step 1 

On your home page, go to the upper left where it says “Your Story” and click on it. This is the normal route one takes to be able to post an Instagram Story.

Step 2 

Select the content that you want to include in your story. You can link it from your gallery and add a new story directly from your camera or any other linked media source.

Step 3 

With your content selected, head back up to your toolkit on the top and select the sticker function. It’s the icon that has the smiley face. Here all your sticker options will be available.

Step 4

Look for the LINK option from the stickers and tap on that to create your own link. You will be taken to the Add link page.

Step 5

From here, you can put in the URL that you want your users to click on. Place the link and feel free to click on ‘see preview’ in blue; that will show you what the whole story will look like. You also can customize the sticker text (i.e., create a custom URL), which may help with the overall story design. Once you’re satisfied with the link, tap done on the upper right corner.

Step 6

This takes you to the live preview of what your post will look like. You can feel free to add more content if needed and move the link sticker to where you think it will be the most visible for your users to click on it. If you’re not content with it, you can tap and drag it down to the trash icon to delete it.

Step 7

Once satisfied, select which friends you want to see it, and then tap the arrow to the right. This will ‘post’ your Instagram story with the link on Instagram as a sticker.

HOW TO FIX THE NO LINK OPTION IN INSTAGRAM STORIES

Sometimes there’s the possibility that you may run into an error with your link on Instagram. Previously, if there was no link option in Instagram stories, this was primarily because either the account wasn’t a business account, was not verified, or didn’t have 10,000 followers or more. All those restrictions have been removed, meaning pretty much anyone with an Instagram account should be able to have the link option available for their story.

With that said, there is still the possibility that no link may be visible. There are a few methods to use to troubleshoot this. The first and obvious one is to check if you’re connected to the internet. Instagram requires a stable internet connection, so it’s always a good idea to confirm this, as it’s also asking for an internet link.

If that is not the issue, check with the precursor to the steps above on adding a link to an Instagram story and updating your application. This should be another simple fix, and after refreshing your app, you should be able to find it.

If all else fails, then it might be a technical issue with Instagram, and either reach out to their support line directly or check out if there’s any news on their official page. Again, it’s rare, but it definitely was an issue in the earlier days of its launch.

PROS AND CONS OF LINKS IN INSTAGRAM

The Pros

Adding links to your Instagram stories will really increase the user engagement. Users in the past may have felt that the swipe-up feature was a purely advertisement function, but with the ability for everyone to post a sticker link, it’s just another interaction point for anyone looking at your story. So again, it’s a simple of-the-moment interaction with the user already engaged.

This leads to increased efficiency in managing your Instagram account. You can now add a story with an effective call to action without the flow changing. Posting stories and adding content to those stories is a much simpler feature than having to add an additional call to action that has people swiping up and away from the rest of the content. Of course, this means you’ll be posting links more often.

You are also able to do it in a fun and pleasant way. As you design your stories to be as professional to as meme-themed as possible, you can place the link where you see fit, when you see fit. It doesn’t even need to be related to growing your business but can simply be an informative link that helps to increase user engagement.

The Cons

At the very least, it was frustrating when there were so many requirements in the beginning, to be able to use these call-to-action items, as this practically eliminated highly engaged communities from micro-influencers.

That only leaves one issue with how to add a link to an Instagram story. It’s not really a con per se, but it is all about just knowing about it and understanding the functionality behind it. Once that learning curve and education are done, it tends to be one of the most user-friendly engagement tools possible regarding Instagram and brand building.

WRAP UP

How to add a link to an Instagram story has never been easier. These are one of the most intuitive and smartest ways to be able to interact with your user base and effectively grow your community.

As long as you’re familiar with how Instagram posting works and, more importantly, how Instagram stories are created, you should have minimal to no issue posting a link on Instagram.

At the same time, don’t underestimate its power while at the same time using it effectively. Although it’s a great call to action to get people to either redirect to a site that helps you generate followers or revenue, it needs to be used appropriately so as not to look as if you’re pushing your followers in a certain direction. It’s not about policies with Instagram but the perception you’re building out with your user base.

That’s why it’s always a good idea, even if you believe you’re a pro with social media, to seek support from the experts that can not only help you with how to post a link on Instagram but also work towards expanding your growing user base through the appropriate user engagement and content generation.

Working with professional social media managers can be a great way for you to focus on your consistent content generation and overall message while ensuring that it gets out there in the best way possible.

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