Permanent link for How to navigate link and information sharing on Instagram on September 21, 2021

Instagram is a tricky place to share information on events or resources - especially when it comes to links.

Links don’t work in feed posts on Instagram. Instead, links are shared in the account's bios (found on their profile), or through Instagram Stories. Instagram Stories are temporary posts that last for 24 hours and do not show up in your feed. Instead, they can be viewed by tapping on your profile photo which will appear at the top of followers’ home pages. 

Link sharing has only been available to accounts that are verified, or accounts with over 10,000 followers. For smaller accounts looking to share information with their followers, this has been quite a hurdle. 

New Link Sharing Feature Coming Soon

Instagram has announced that they are introducing a new link sharing tool for Instagram Stories. Links will be able to be shared via stickers that people can tap when they view your story. 

Since it is still in its infancy, this feature is only available to accounts with previous link sharing abilities. It is currently being discussed whether or not this feature will be available to all accounts.

Until Then...

Still utilize Instagram Stories. This feature is perfect for promoting events, as promotional content may start to clog your main feed. The Instagram feed should show who your organization is and what it is doing; it’s best for documenting.

For promotional content that may still be relevant after the 24 hours that Instagram Stories last, create a highlight on your Instagram profile. A highlight is a collection of previously shared Instagram Stories that show up as small bubbles under your bio. To create one, simply press the small + under the “edit profile” button. This will take you to a page where you can view and select from every Instagram Story you have ever posted. 

Instagram Stories are best for promoting. Try to differentiate between which posts are best for your main feed and which are best for your story.We recommend taking advantage of Instagram Stories and getting creative with them by creating your own graphics made specifically for your Instagram Stories. 

A great tool for making quick and easy Instagram Stories is Canva. An account is free, and they have customizable templates sized for Instagram Story graphics. A paid subscription can offer even more template choices. Or, if you’re feeling creative, you can start from a blank template and create your own! 

Link sharing on Instagram is still available through different out-of-app providers when you require it. These apps add a general link in your bio that can direct your audience to multiple other links. GVSU uses tap.bio, a website that allows your audience to view your feed in a web browser and turns your photos into hyperlinks.

We recommend never sharing a link in Instagram captions. Since links shared in post captions are not clickable, people will most likely not take the time to type the link into their browsers. Sharing as much information as possible through a multi-slide Instagram story or utilizing an external link-in-bio service is a great way to get around this.

For more business resources such as analytics viewing and post sharing abilities, be sure to switch your account to a business account!

Categories: best practices
Posted by Sheila Babbitt on Permanent link for How to navigate link and information sharing on Instagram on September 21, 2021.