Instagram stories are an inventive way for brands to reach their customers immediately. Since Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours, they’re the perfect way to convey timely info to your business’s followers. Some brands choose to add links to their stories, allowing customers to take immediate action and improve KPI performance.
But how do you add links to your Instagram story? If you have a verified account (with a little blue checkmark next to your account name), you can go ahead and add links to your Insta stories right away. Business accounts with over 10,000 followers also have the option to add links to stories. For now, those are the only kinds of accounts that have the link-adding power, but who knows what the future will bring?
Don’t worry if your business hasn’t quite hit the 10,000 follower mark yet—there are plenty of ways to use Instagram stories to engage with customers and build a following. For starters, you can learn how to use Photoshop to crop images for Instagram stories, and even turn horizontal videos vertical in Adobe Premiere Pro.
If you’re ready to learn how to add a link to your Instagram story, simply follow this 2-step process!
How to Add a Link to Your Instagram Story
First, add to your story by clicking on your profile picture. To insert a link into your story, click on the link icon in the top menu.
You’ll then be prompted to enter a URL. We recommend using a UTM code to track the performance of the link since Instagram currently does not track the number of link clicks in stories. Once you’ve entered your link, you’re good to go!
Now, this is what your followers will see when they view your story:
When adding a link to an Insta story, we also recommend that you include a CTA. The “See More” button at the bottom can be difficult to see—and people aren’t always looking for it—so just remind your followers to swipe up!
How to use Instagram story links to drive success
Instagram story links are more than just a fun gimick—they can have a huge impact on your brand’s KPI performance. This is why using UTM codes in your Instagram story links is so important. If you don’t track the links, you won’t know for sure which platforms are driving users to your site.
Short-term promotions
In the mockup above, we added a link for an accessory brand’s one-day sale. Flash sales are important for many consumer-facing businesses, and measuring the effectiveness of campaigns is essential for planning future promotions. In this example, a trackable link in the brand’s Instagram story can help increase the brand’s engagement, drive traffic to the website, and measure how effective the campaign is at driving on-site conversions—all within a 24-hour period.
New content
Creating fresh content is key, but how do you make sure that content is reaching consumers? Links in Instagram stories can be incredibly helpful in getting new content to audiences quickly. By linking to a new blog post, for example, you can increase the number of people who see your content as soon as it’s published—and give users a chance to immediately start sharing it with their followers.
Hype for preorders
The fleeting nature of Instagram stories gives everything a sense of urgency, so stories are a great way to tease new products and get consumers excited. That urgency and excitement can help drive preorders, so using your Instagram story to link to the order page can increase sales before your product is even released.
Contests and giveaways
Making sure that audiences are checking in with your brand is important, so contests and giveaways are a great motivator for audience engagement. This makes Instagram stories the perfect place to advertise giveaways, especially if they’re time-sensitive or first-come-first-serve. Including a link to a giveaway in your story will help drive traffic to your site and ensure people will engage with future content.
Are you ready to take your Instagram game to the next level? Check out our library of stock photos and vectors to propel your brand to #InstaFame.
